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Climbing Information:
Accident and Incident Analysis:
Communication error, climber fell 70+ feet 4/2011:
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majid_sabet
May 6, 2011, 10:03 PM
Views: 22730
Registered: Dec 13, 2002
Posts: 8390
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This was forwarded to me by another RC member and I do not think it was posted here but its worth reading
MS
Source
http://www.erockonline.com/...t=20&#entry32725
ACCIDENT REPORT
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Enchanted Rock State Natural Area
Echo Canyon‐Triple Cracks area
Grass Crack
Written by: Neil Higa
Based on information from: Arik Yaacob, Chris Barton, James Faerber, Scott Harris, Du Lo, Andres Pelaez,
Joel Schopp, Anthony Stevens
Description:
On Saturday, April 16, 2011, several groups of climbers were climbing at, or in close vicinity of, the Echo
Canyon‐Triple Cracks area at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area in Fredericksburg, TX. These included a
group of 6 climbers from Austin, a group of 3 climbers from Houston, a group of approximately 15 boy
scouts guided by the Mountain Madness guide service, and another smaller group guided by the OWA
guide service.
Arik Yaacob in the Austin group was about to climb Grass Crack on toprope. Grass Crack is a 5.10a crack
climb, approximately 70 feet high. Before he started, his belayer and another climber below realized
that Arik would be the last person in their group to do the climb. They asked Arik if he was OK with
cleaning the anchors, which consisted of two bolts. He confirmed that he was. They asked him if he had
equipment that he could use to attach himself while cleaning, and he confirmed that he did. He then
proceeded to climb Grass Crack and reached the anchors.
At the anchors, he attached himself to the bolts and called “off belay”. The belayer verbally confirmed
that he was taking Arik off belay, then disconnected his belay device and walked away. There is a mild
positive slope at the top of this climb, which means the top is not visible from the bottom.
At the top, Arik rigged himself for lowering and yelled “take”. He did not receive a verbal response. He
yelled “take” again. This time, he thought he felt the rope tighten and felt like he was being supported
by it, so he assumed he was back on belay. However, the other climbers on the ground had not heard
him yelling “take” and had not put him back on belay.
He then disconnected himself from the anchors, called “lower me”, leaned back, and fell. On the way
down, he hit one boulder, then another boulder, and then a tree. The bottom of the climb has many
sharp rocks and uneven terrain, but he landed in a very small flat area between the rocks. He slammed
into the ground on his back and initially did not move. He had fallen approximately 70 feet, from the
anchors to the ground. He was not wearing a helmet.
The person who was previously belaying him rushed over to him. Arik initially did not appear to be
breathing. His belayer was about to attempt CPR, but Arik suddenly started gasping for air and moaning.
The OWA guide came over a few seconds later and stated he had wilderness first responder training.
The group at the base quickly decided that he should take charge. The OWA guide, along with a first
year medical student in the Houston group, and a guide from the Mountain Madness group, performed
the initial assessment of Arik.
Meanwhile, the head guide from the Mountain Madness group was able to scramble to a higher area
with better cell phone reception and was able to contact the ranger station to request emergency
response and a helicopter. Approximately 20 minutes later, the EMTs arrived on foot. A helicopter
arrived shortly after that, which transported Arik to a hospital in Austin.
Arik broke 6 ribs and suffered multiple cuts and bruises. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Analysis:
The primary mistake made was when Arik weighted the rope expecting to be on belay, when he had not
received a verbal confirmation that he was on belay.
This lack of communication was facilitated by the fact that there is no clear line of sight between the top
anchors and the belayer. The large number of people in the area may have also been a factor, as
witnesses said that the boy scouts and other climbers in the area were being very loud. This could have
made verbal communication between the climber and belayer even more difficult.
Arik was a relatively new member of the Austin group. He had climbed with some members of the
Austin group a few times previously. However, all of these times were in the Barton Creek Greenbelt in
Austin, where the top anchors are primarily sport clips. While convenient, these clips make cleaning
opportunities very limited. This means it is possible to climb a lot in the Greenbelt without being
exposed to the procedure of cleaning anchors, a procedure that is very common in other climbing areas.
Arik had cleaned anchors before in Israel before moving here, but he had not cleaned any since moving
to Texas in August 2010.
The fall may have been slowed by a number of factors. It is possible that hitting the two boulders and
the tree on the way down slowed his fall somewhat.
There is another factor that may have slowed his fall. After the fall, other climbers found his ATC and
several quickdraws scattered around the area, including one hanging in the tree he hit. Some of the
quickdraws had very deep scratches in them. Later examination of his harness revealed a broken gear
loop. A possible explanation for the damaged items is that the quickdraws were damaged on impact
with one of the boulders, and somehow snagged some protrusion and ripped the gear loop. Another
possible explanation is that the gear loop caught some part of the tree and ripped. Either of these
situations would explain the scattered gear, and could have further contributed to a slowing of the fall.
Finally, the fact that he was pulling the rope through the anchors as he fell may also have been a small
factor in slowing the fall.
It is still absolutely amazing that he was not hurt worse, given he fell 70 feet with no belay and no
helmet. It was probably some combination of the above factors, plus hitting the one flat area at the
base of the climb, that prevented him from receiving far worse injuries.
(This post was edited by majid_sabet on May 11, 2011, 5:23 PM)
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Edit Log:
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Post edited by majid_sabet
() on May 11, 2011, 5:23 PM
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