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Arapiles - Fatalities

gfdonc

28-Jul-2005
3:26:40 PM

The recent post about an abseiling death on Alis (on the SCV forum, thanks Neil) raised questions in my mind.

It used to be the case - many years ago - I could make the claim "there had been no deaths while (roped) climbing in Victoria" - until the unfortunate accident on Deckout Crag many moons ago.
Since then I lived OS for a while and didn't climb much, and in any case don't like to keep score on these things, but I'm not aware of many fatal accidents at Arapiles in all the years since - perhaps 4 spring to mind. 5 now I recall Dennis.

Sorry to be morbid, but can Chockstoners post a short summary of known incidents? Including: area, year, type of activity.
e.g. Declaration Crag, mid-80s?, lead fall/hit ground.


IdratherbeclimbingM9

28-Jul-2005
4:34:18 PM

Local Rescue Authorities records may help?


billk

28-Jul-2005
4:42:24 PM

There is a report on Climbing Accidents in Australia by Iain Sedgeman that's available on the VCC website. As I recall, it doesn't list individual events but Iain presumably has up to date records of all fatalities.

28-Jul-2005
7:38:42 PM

From Louise Shepherd's guide p24:
John Rasmussen 1968, slipped walking above Curtain Wall
Ian Cruickshank, Marmot's Mall 1980
John Freer D Minor 1984
Ian Leeson Dreadnought Buttress 1988
Dennis Brown Bushranger Bluff 1990
Dennis Kemp Birdman of Alcatraz 1990
Anne L'Hoste Atridae 1990
Bruce Naylor Ali's 1992

p7 gives the nature of the latter 7 but not which was which:
2 from lead falls (one for failure to place a directional at the start)
3 from falls when deliberately unroped
1 from rockfall
1 from abseiling (failure to clip in properly)

That's as of 1994 - anyone kept track since then?


HM33

28-Jul-2005
8:09:10 PM

2002 (?) - beautiful possibilities
i also recall something about the good the bad and the ugly?

steve

gfdonc

28-Jul-2005
10:36:30 PM

The rockfall one was presumably Dennis Kemp.
I have fond memories of scheming with Dennis early one Sunday (7am I recall) to wake up the whole of the Pines with Pink Floyd "Time" (the one with the alarm clock chimes at the start), using a car stereo with removeable speakers, cranked up to maximum volume.


tmarsh

28-Jul-2005
11:26:18 PM

On 28/07/2005 steve wrote:
>i also recall something about the good the bad and the ugly?

From memory, it was a visiting European climber. Not a blow-in, but someone who had been at Araps for some time and a solid climber. A very dusty recess of my memory says Shaggy might know more about the accident.

tim

Rocky

29-Jul-2005
12:14:10 PM

Bryden Allen also had an accident, not sure where, possibly around Castle Crag, where he was scrambling, fell, and became a either a para or a quadraplegic, although this doesnt exaclty qualifiy as a fatality/death, it is pretty severe.


shaggy

29-Jul-2005
12:34:24 PM

me? I dont know anything! Well, not about this anyway.

ronny

29-Jul-2005
1:05:04 PM

On 28/07/2005 tmarsh wrote:
>On 28/07/2005 steve wrote:
>>i also recall something about the good the bad and the ugly?
>
>From memory, it was a visiting European climber. Not a blow-in, but someone
>who had been at Araps for some time and a solid climber. A very dusty recess
>of my memory says Shaggy might know more about the accident.
>
>tim

As i recall it was over xmas/nye time 2-3 years ago (maybe more) and involved a fall on the wide bit of the second pitch resulting in the climber hitting his head.
But this is purely hearsay from some mates who were there at the time, but probably didnt' really know much about what was going on.
J


HM33

29-Jul-2005
1:19:53 PM

im sure there is something about the the good, the bad accident on the web somewhere.

29-Jul-2005
2:51:33 PM

isn't hearsay a wonderful thing. The stories I've heard are:

Bryden - scrambling up those slabs across from lamplighter (he's paraplegic not quad)

Good Bad Ugly - A pom fell from first pitch crux (just below the belay). Having done the route, it is definitely a trap for the unwary - its an overhung section after a long easy slabby section and thus the fall would generate big outwards forces on your gear, PLUS it's hard to find gear good for such an outward pull (assuming you're even aware of that scenario), PLUS it's tempting not to place gear on the easy section leading up to it. Adds up to big fall potential - off the crux. Mick Hampton could attest to that though severing a rope doesn't help.


rodw

29-Jul-2005
3:40:52 PM

Didnt someone last year deck of Beautiful Possibilities, I think that was a fatality?

dalai

29-Jul-2005
3:44:08 PM

On 29/07/2005 rodw wrote:
>Didnt someone last year deck of Beautiful Possibilities, I think that was
>a fatality?

http://www.chockstone.org/Forum/Forum.asp?Action=Display&ForumID=5&MessageID=69

April 2003

gfdonc

29-Jul-2005
4:07:25 PM

For the record, the story I always heard about Ian Cruickshank was that he fell from the top of Marmot's Mall, and while sketching around for pro, one of the undersize (1/4''') bolts below his feet came unclipped (hanger slipped over the head?).
They (heard it was HB) were trying to arrange an emergency toprope from above when he fell.
Always gave that route a lot more respect after that.


billk

29-Jul-2005
4:15:41 PM

If my memory serves me correctly, Rob Oliver went up and cleaned the remaining gear after the GBU fall and he said it happened pretty much as Will's post outlines. Rob also said it would have also been possible to get plenty more gear in just below where he came off (ie: in the hard territory, where he might have wanted to keep moving). I've heard it suggested that climbers who are accustomed to the sparse protection of gritstone are more likely to pass up opportunities to get a piece in. There might be a bit of a lesson there about adapting to new conditions. Alternatively, that suggestion might be drivel.

I'm gonna bring out the helmet issue here too. I seem to recall that he wasn't wearing a helmet and that his head injuries were the eventual cause of his death.

jmgh

29-Jul-2005
7:47:36 PM

> his head injuries were the eventual cause of his death.

That was the story at the time, Phil sold his stock of helmets the next day and for the rest of the season it seemed everyone wore one. I also heard that he'd ignored good protection.

>Alternatively, that suggestion might be drivel.

I don't think it's drivel but I've had a few freinds come croppers from not protecting ground they feel they can't fall off so I think it's more a case not getting c--ky more than learning to adapt.


Richard

2-Aug-2005
1:11:32 PM

On 29/07/2005 WM wrote:
>Good Bad Ugly - A pom fell from first pitch crux (just below the belay).

Did a pom also fall of "Coke Adds Life" about 4 or 5 years ago, or am I confusing this with the above accident?

gfdonc

2-Aug-2005
3:19:28 PM

On 29/07/2005 WM wrote:
> Mick Hampton could attest
>to that though severing a rope doesn't help.

Wot's this in reference to Will?


nmonteith

2-Aug-2005
3:27:52 PM

Mick fell off GBU, and cut his rope, thus decking out from 20m or so. His ankle was fairly mushed - and
he still limps considerably today with a semi fused ankle. He was very lucky to walk away alive!

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