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Moonarie 2019-08-11 14-Aug-2019 At 2:38:09 PM Stugang

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I was gutted to hear about this tragedy and I send my sincerest condolences to family and friends.

The climb Dry Land is on the right end of the Great Wall. At the base of the GW is a huge ledge that is 10m to 20m off the ground. For the climbs in the central part of the ledge/GW my view is that it is quite safe not to have the belayer tied in to anchors at the base (this is opinion NOT advice). However the ledge does drop away on the left and right extremities of the GW and for the climbs here you should make sure the belayer is tied to a solid anchor capable of holding a factor 2 fall.

There is an article in the Adelaide advertiser behind a firewall that says that there was gear on the rope between the climbers and suggested it was a lead fall that ripped gear out and both were pulled off the ledge. Whether that gear was lead gear and/or anchor gear is not clear. In any case this is a brutal reminder to make sure you have a solid belay anchor unless you’re 110% certain there is no chance of a factor 2 fall.

Take care all
Stuart