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Blue Mountains - male climber injured after fall 11-Nov-2013 At 10:19:49 AM Sabu

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On 11/11/2013 Wendy wrote:
>Most people here also seem ready to slag off some unknown belayer based
>on a few lines of onesided information from someone who's being decidedly
>weird. Yes, it is awful to have a major climbing accident, be seriously
>injured, to be dropped by a belayer. But we really have very little idea
>of what went on and even only this guy's story that what happened was that
>he was dropped. He could have started climbing before being on belay for
>example. But what I am mostly thinking is that I see people doing stupid
>shit that could lead to horrific accidents all the time. People are slack
>belayers, have poor technique, place crap gear, build dodgy belays, make
>bad judgements a lot. People also make stupid mistakes or stop paying attention
>occasionally. Any one of these people/events could lead to someone getting
>badly hurt. It's not just 1 person being stupid/incompetant. It's a quite
>a lot of people and just luck and circumstances that they get away with
>it and if that's what happened here, it was one of the times that someone
>didn't get away with it. It's really a lesson to review your own practices,
>those of people you climb with, and keep an eye out for other people who
>may need some tactful (or not so tactful) direction. Think of all the stories
>of people failing to tie knots properly, ripping gear, hitting the ground,
>getting way out of their depth on routes, needing rescue for easily avoidable
>situations. What they suggest is that we are far closer to having more
>bad accidents in climbing than we like to think we are.

I agree entirely and to add to that, its not just stupidity or incompetency but also complacency that we have to watch out for. Last weekend at Araps I was struck by how easy it was to become complacent on low grade climbs when setting anchors, placing gear, belaying etc. In an effort to be efficient I realised I was starting to cut corners and had to actively shift my mentality to ensure I wasn't compromising safety. This was most evident on low grade, familiar climbs that I'd been on several times and was trying to climb quickly. It one sense its a lot easier to climb harder routes safely because falling is a distinct possibility and something that is at the forefront of one's mind but it is very easy to forget the seriousness of an unexpected fall on an easy route that you may not be prepared for and a little carelessness could dramatically influence to outcome of such an event.

In regard to this whole situation: I feel for the injured climber but agree that a few things aren't stacking up. Its a pity he hasn't yet taken the time to thank Vwills or make an effort to return her gear. I hope that changes once his medical issues are no longer an immediate concern. We should perhaps also avoid being to harsh in passing judgement as such a traumatic event can really shake up a person's mentality and priorities in life (as I'm sure others who have had accidents can attest to).