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Tell us about your groundfall experience! 20-Mar-2004 At 12:04:10 PM runnit

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I had a 10m grounder at Thompson's Pt (Nowra) about 6 wks ago on Barbie Twins (16) and landed on flat rock.

I was pretty uncurrent with trad, but my mate did the route before me and left the gear in, plus I was placing additional stuff as I went so we were being pretty careful.

At the crux I'd put a cam in a fairly marginal crack (it was more of a fold under a flake which opened downwards, it wasnt that deep and the edges were flared), but at the time I didn't think there was much else. As I tried to move up my feet slipped and I fell. The cam popped and then a nut below it popped as well (I can't remember who placed the nut).

After the 2nd bit of gear blew I sensory overloaded and blacked out so thankfully I missed the bit where I decked. I think I must have landed flat on my back, but put my right arm down. I ended up with an open fractured ulna, my radial head was dislocated up and along the inside edge of my humerus, I bruised/stretched my radial nerve so most of the extensor muscles in my forearm are paralysed (but I am starting to get a bit of muscle twitch coming back) and broke the transverse processes (the wing looking bits) on the right side of my L2, 3, 4 and 5 vertebrae. I wasn't wearing a helmet and by some weird fluke I didn't do any damage to my head, all I got was a little graze. By all rights I shouldn't have survived so I pretty stoked about coming off as lightly as I did.

My mate was totally switched on with the 1st aid and I owe her big time!! I couldn't have asked for anyone more in control and doing everything text book perfect.

At least I learned a lot of good lessons from it and I've had a good discussion about it on the Crag X forum trying to work out why the pro failed.