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Massive grounder at duck reach 11-Dec-2009 At 9:03:36 PM Rob S.

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We (a couple of mates, my bro (henners) and myself) were climbing at duck reach this afternoon. We
were doing some climbs that started on a rock terrace that was about 7m high, the terrace was quite
wide, 3 - 4m so we weren't anchoring to belay. My bro led up an 11 belayed by my mate jules while
hugh (another mate) and I went fishing up the river. When Hen and Jules had both done the climb I led
up the same climb while hugh belayed me. While I climbed Hen tied into the other end of the rope and
began to lead up a hard looking sport climb that wasn't in the guidebook but he thought he would just
give it a go, the first bolt was high so he had a wire in before. Jules was belaying him. I reached the
top of the climb I was doing and had just anchored myself and got hugh to take me off belay when I
heard a massive thud and hugh started shouting at me to get down there.
Henry had fallen, the wire had pulled and he had collected jules and they both free fell off the
terrace into the solid rock at the bottom, thats when Hugh had started shouting for me. Hugh called the
ambos straight away and they arrived really fast, three of them- two ordinary ones and a 4x4. A police
car arrived too. I abseiled down real fast cos I'd seen them sprawled at the bottom while I was at the
top of the climb. Me and hugh met the ambos and police up at the car park and showed them where
jules and henry were, there was so many ambos and they had so much gear we had to help them
carry it all.
Jules had a lot of rope burn and a graze on his back but was able to walk so they walked him up
to the carpark and took him to hospital in one of the ambulances.
Henry had hit his head so his forehead was huge and covered in blood and we didn't know it at
the time but he'd broken his pelvis. They gave him all sorts of drugs and got a drip in one of his arms,
then they bandaged his arms right up cos they were pretty badly cut and grazed. They wrapped him in
all sorts of stuff and strapped him into a stretcher type thing. Another two police 4x4s arrived and the
police were all over the place telling the media not to come down and to get people off the suspension
bridge when the chopper came.
The chopper was a police search and rescue chopper and they winched him out on a cable.
He's now in hospital and won't be climbing for a long time cos of his injuries.
I'm sorry for ya hen and I hope you heal quick as pos.