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Chockstone Forum - Accidents & Injuries

Report Accidents and Injuries

Topic Date User
Minor accident Mt Buffalo 9th March 2014 16-Mar-2014 At 9:54:19 PM gordoste
Message
Hi all, Just thought I would post about the accident I had last weekend and a couple of things I've learnt. I always try to read others' accounts to take lessons and make my own climbing safer, and so I thought I'd share in turn.

We went up to Mackey's Lookout at Mt Buffalo to do the 3-pitch slab route "Fundamental Difference of Opinion". It's not a difficult route, and is quite safe, as it is equipped with modern stainless bolts (mostly hangers and rings). A bit about us - I have been climbing for quite a long time however mostly as a weekend warrior, and the majority of my climbing has been trad. My climbing partner Dave hasn't been climbing very long, however we've done about 10 days of trad climbing together and he does a lot of research about climbing at home, reading books and using the internet. This means that he has picked the theory up quite quickly, however he has limited experience in applying it.

Anyhow, we located the route (I'd done the top 2 pitches about 7 years ago) and abseiled in with no problems. I took the first lead (as I had led the 2nd pitch last time) and - as expected - found that the climbing was not technically difficult, just requiring a lot of faith in smearing and a bit of mental fortitude to avoid worrying about the fairly large runouts (6-7m in some spots). I had gotten up most of the pitch and at the time of my fall, I was maybe 5m up and significantly left of the previous bolt. I'd gotten the best handhold for some time and needed one more foot move to get to a massive flake. I placed my foot on an edge about the width of a 10c piece (pretty standard for the route), and shifted my weight onto it in order to reach up to the flake. Next thing I know I was running backwards very quickly. When the rope came tight, I got pulled sharply to the right, and my right foot rolled underneath me. I knew it was at least sprained as soon as it happened, and immediately let Dave know that I wouldn't be climbing any further.

After curling up in the foetal position and swearing for a couple of minutes, I got Dave to tie my water bottle on the end of the rope and pulled it up, as I'd suddenly become exceedingly thirsty. My vision also went hazy for a few seconds - probably due to mild shock. After I got myself back together and the pain had subsided somewhat, I used the rope to pull myself up about a foot so I could clip the bolt below the one I last clipped. I then made a 2-point anchor off this bolt and the bolt above. Dave then climbed up to me, took some draws off me, and finished the pitch without incident. I was then able to hand-over-hand up a line fixed to the anchor whilst he belayed me up. I was extremely happy to reach the relative comfort of the belay scoop, however we still had about 70m of climbing to get off the cliff. Dave wasn't 100% confident that he'd get up the next pitch, so we briefly discussed other options. If all else failed, we could abseil to the bottom of the cliff and bush-bash down to the road in a couple of hours (ok it would have taken me longer but at least Dave could get help).
As it turned out, Dave managed to get through the next (very long) pitch, pulling on bolts to save time. By the time he got to the top my ankle had swollen sufficient to allow me to ascend fairly quickly. I could hand-over-hand on the 2nd rope, keeping my right foot at right-angles to the rope to ensure the ankle wasn't flexing at all. This technique found us at the top of the cliff quicker than I expected and we were both very relieved to finally sit down and take our shoes off (I didn't take mine off on the cliff as I knew it wouldn't go back on).
After that, it was a delightful 45-minute hike (about 800m I think) along a rocky track to the car.
So, what have I learnt? Well - firstly, carry a mobile. Reception is fine from the cliff and if I was immobile (e.g. if the ankle was broken), it would have made a rescue much easier to organise. We both felt a bit silly in retrospect when we realised we didn't have one.
Secondly - discuss retreat options in case of an accident, especially if the usual access is from the top of the cliff.
That's about it really, however I do think my next few climbing trips will be to more accessible places - just in case something does go wrong :)

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