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Fatality at Arapiles 11/11/14 18-Nov-2014 At 6:13:13 PM gordoste

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On 18/11/2014 kieranl wrote:
>For me the significant thing to take from this accident is not whether
>descent, ascent or abseiling were involved but that detached/loose blocks
>are really dangerous and there are a lot of them.
>That's now 2 deaths at Arapiles involving large loose blocks, the other
>being Denis Kemp on Birdman. There have also been at least 3 accidents
>at Arapiles resulting in serious injury due to loose blocks (Marbuck, Five
>Fingered Mary, Yesterday) as well as close calls (high on Bard last year).
>Last week's death wasn't in a popular area but it shouldn't be downplayed
>because of that. Just because hundreds or even thousands of people have
>pulled or stood on something doesn't mean that it will stay there the next
>time. There are lots of time-bombs out there that are highly likely to
>kill someone if they do come off.
>
>...
>
>We can't totally avoid this loose stuff and still climb but we can raise
>our awareness of the risk inherent in it.

Absolutely agree 100% with Kieran. People need to be aware and be careful of loose blocks. I ran across one just the other day on the first pitch of Beau Geste, where the chimney gets tight and it seems easier to go across to the arete (as I did). It was about 50cm each way.
I'm hoping nobody just thinks to themselves "everyone else must stand on it" and keep on trucking... but I don't believe in common sense any more.