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The primary purpose of these experience reports and the Annual Report of Accidents in North American Mountaineering is to aid in the prevention of accidents.
Narrative Description of Accident:
Matt Amling, 21 of Portland traveled to Smith Rock
State Park with his climbing class from a Willamette Valley Community College.
The class was working on Five Gallon Buckets, a 5.8 climb rated four stars by
Jonathan Thesenga, in his new guide “Smith Rock Select”, published in 2006 by
Wolverine Publishing, Newcastle CO.
Five Gallon Buckets is completely bolted and is a very popular Smith Rock top
rope climb.
Matt was lead climbing his final pitch of the day. He notes that he was pretty
tired and was just about to clip the top anchors when his instructor warned him
that his climbing rope was under his leg. At that moment, Matt lost friction
with the crag and fell.
Matt dropped about ten feet, ending up jerked upside down. His head banged hard
against the rock, he recalls. He was wearing a helmet. He was not knocked
unconscious, but he received a cut on his forehead, perhaps from his helmet,
that later required stitches. He was bleeding profusely.
The instructor called 911 from a cell phone. Matt was lowered to the ground and
was helped down the climber’s trace to a waiting State Park ATV which
transported him up the steep trail to waiting Paramedics from Redmond Fire
Department.
The Paramedics cleaned the cut and applied a temporary bandage and agreed that
he could be transported by the Instructor in a private car to the ER, thereby
saving the high cost of ambulance service. He was stitched up at the ER and
released.
This mishap is one of five reported minor accidents to sport climbers at Smith
Rock in 2006. There were several un-reported accidents that were resolved
unofficially by the injured climbers and their friends.
Analysis of Accident: What knowledge and techniques will help prevent future
accidents?
If Matt had not been wearing a climbing helmet he feels he might have died.
If the climber allows the rope to pass under a leg and the climber falls, he or
she may be jerked upside-down at the end of the fall. Keep the climbing rope in
front of your legs.
Traditional climbing techniques can be studied at home. Climbing can be
practiced at local Crags with the understanding that there is ever present risk
in climbing that can be mitigated only in part by traditional techniques, good
gear and knowledge gained from the experiences of others.
Report filed by Robert Speik for
the 59th edition of ANAM to be published in 2007
Copyright© 2007 by Robert Speik. All Rights Reserved.
Read more . . .
American Alpine Club
Oregon Section of the AAC
Accidents in North American Mountaineering
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SMITH ROCK EXPERIENCES
AAC Report: Smith Rock Leader fall turns climber upside down
Smith Rock - Fall on rock, protection pulled out
Smith Rock - WARNING - top rope belay error
Smith Rock - inadequate top rope belay
Smith Rock - climber injured on the approach
Smith Rock - WARNING - belayer drops climber off the end of the top rope
Smith Rock - novice sport climber injured
Smith Rock - fall on rock, protection pulled out
Smith Rock - fall on rock - poor position, inadequate protection
Smith Rock - pulled rock off - fall on rock, failure to test holds, exceeding abilities
Smith Rock - belay failure, fatal fall on rock
SMITH ROCK PHOTOS
Smith Rock from above the Burma Road
Smith Rock rescue cache by AAC/ORS and TraditionalMountaineering
Smith Rock weekend
Smith Rock Monkey Face practice
