Chockstone Forum

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

Chockstone Photography

Australian Landscape Prints

Chockstone Forum - Trip Reports

Tells Us About Your Latest Trip!

Topic Date User

The wombats road trip! Watch this space 13-Dec-2004 At 1:38:56 PM wombats

Message

Well, well chockstonians...

we began the advencha of a lifetime...

we successfully arrived in Kalbarri...

we successfully found someone to photocopy an old guide (yes, we mistakingly believed that we could buy a comprehensive guide at each climbing mecca we reached)..

we bumbeled around the z-bend on day one, arguing about which climb we thought was where only to find on the next day that none of that mattered in the least.

DAY 2 -

the discovery of a well-bolted route with seemingly great holds and a lovely roof to end (still unable to tell you the name of this now infamous climb) reignited the excitement within...

Carwyn was to lead but Nina ended up clipping the first bolt and downclimbing - something she did once more later. On her third attempt to this bolt which was unfortunately 8 metres above ground, she (as in me) slipped and fell.

The result - 3 broken bones, Royal Flying Doctors flight to Perth, 6 days in hopsital, open compound wound, 50 cms of titanium and a pair of crutches.

The moral of the story - BE CAREFUL and DON'T GET TOO c--kY!

Written in a less story-like and more factual manner:

Nina-Jay Molina fell 6 metres direct, while climbing in Kalbarri on Saturday, 4th November. She incurred a compound fracture on her lower right leg, fractured both tib/fib and cracked her heal. Nina was rescued within 2 hours by the (AMAZING) local SES team (thank you to Ron, the team-leader and Rob the adventure tour guide that happened to be close by at the time) and flown to Perth by the Royal Flying Doctors. The doctors inserted a 50cm titanium rod through her bone and waited for several days to close the deep wound inflicted by the break. She was released from hospital on Friday, 10th Novemeber - all is going well, ain't nothing wrong with her mouth or fingers.

Lesson's Learnt:

1) smoking cigarettes increase your chances of bone never healing by 50% (has now given up smoking since the fall and on day 9!! Yay)

2) breaking bones hurt - A LOT

3) morphine is very good for pain but makes your head fuzzy.

4) life is precious

5) climbing can be dangerous if you do silly things. (knew that before but REALLY REALLY know it now)

Life can change in a split second and there are so many positive things to have come from this accident. The fact that I have lived to tell you all about it is enough on its own...

Ciao for now.

Nina-Jay