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boglins
Jul 4, 2005, 4:00 PM
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This weekend, on Sunday, July 3, 2005, a friend to all in the Columbia, SC climbing community passed away. Lewis Jones fell while on rappel at Ship Rock. Little Lewis worked for his dad at The Backpacker in Columbia. We'll all miss you, Lew.
-Brian
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andy_reagan
Jul 4, 2005, 4:21 PM
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My condolences to family and friends. I'm very sorry to hear about this.
Any idea what went wrong while he was rapping?
Peace
Andy
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boglins
Jul 4, 2005, 11:06 PM
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Haven't heard anything yet. I know the guy he was climbing with, but haven't gotten to speak with him personally yet.
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ottoman
Jul 5, 2005, 2:00 AM
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Deepest Sympathy to the Family....
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emilb
Jul 5, 2005, 2:35 AM
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My condolences to his family. I was planning on climbing at Shiprock on Sunday. Driving down the parkway it started raining hard and we saw some emergency vehicles go by. We decided to bail on climbing for the day because of the weather but I said to my wife that I hope it's not a climbing accident that they were responding too. Unfortunately it sounds like it was. Does anyone know if the weather was an issue?
Emil
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cjstudent
Jul 5, 2005, 2:48 AM
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I wish i had more info that i could throw out there. I am a member of one of the responding rescue agencies. (but i was out of town at the time of the accident) All I know is that it was very rainy during that day, and at the time of the call and during the time that my team was out at ship rock, it was raining. However ship rock is not in my county and therefore I haven't been able to easily find out information. I climbed out at ship rock on saturday, the weather looked too iffy for me to climb there on sunday. When i heard that there was a climbing accident there, i was surprised that anyone was climbing there at all.
Any info that you could post in regards to the accident would be good to know for accident prevention.
This is not the first accident that has happened at ship rock. Becareful out there!!!! My thoughts and prayers go to the family and friends of the climber.
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lstockett
Jul 5, 2005, 2:51 AM
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I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of a fellow climber. My thoughts and prayers are with the family.
There's a short article here:
http://www.wcnc.com
about an accident on Grandfather Mountain (which I thought was closed to climbers). It's entitled "Rock climber killed after rope snaps". I assume this is a reference to the same accident with the facts distorted, but I don't know for sure. Can anyone confirm this? One tragedy is bad enough. I hope we haven't had two.
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cjstudent
Jul 5, 2005, 2:54 AM
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In reply to: I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of a fellow climber. My thoughts and prayers are with the family. There's a short article here: http://www.wcnc.com/...killed.72b23378.html about an accident on Grandfather Mountain (which I thought was closed to climbers). I assume this is a reference to the same accident with the facts distorted, but I don't know for sure. Can anyone confirm this? One tragedy is bad enough. I hope we haven't had two.
Yes that is referring to the same accident.
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kman
Jul 5, 2005, 2:55 AM
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That news link is pretty much useless. It said the rope "snapped".
Condolences.
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edwardmedina
Jul 5, 2005, 3:02 AM
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I had a bad feeling today when I reached the base of Borrowed Time. I had heard nothing about an accident, but feared the worst when I saw what appeared to be the backing to one of those defibrillator electrodes that they stick on your chest to monitor heart rhythm.
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braaaaaaaadley
Jul 5, 2005, 3:50 AM
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This is very sobering considering I climb out at ship frequently. My condolences to family & friends.
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thorne
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Jul 5, 2005, 11:56 AM
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My condolences to the family.
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jfreeham
Jul 5, 2005, 1:25 PM
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Here's some more information:
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050705/NEWS01/50704018/1001
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gblauer
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Jul 5, 2005, 1:45 PM
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Rest in peace. My condolences to his family.
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para
Jul 5, 2005, 1:50 PM
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This is truly terrible news. I send my condolences to the family. Does anyone know if there is a memorial fund for the family.
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sandstonejunkie
Jul 5, 2005, 2:09 PM
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This was not how I wanted to start my week, losing a member of the climbing family. My condolences to family and friends.
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cracklover
Jul 5, 2005, 2:48 PM
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As I said on the other thread, I'm very sorry to hear it, and my condolence go out to friends, family, witnesses, and rescuers, and my thanks to those involved in the rescue effort.
What on earth happened? Did the rope get sawed over an edge and "snap" while he was rapping, as the first article suggests? Or did he rap off the end of the rope? Were the ends uneven, or did he lose control of the rap? Anyone know?
GO
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boo
Jul 5, 2005, 3:37 PM
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Prayers to Lewis' family.
You guys in SC, please reach out to that partner. Make sure they are okay?
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whipperman
Jul 5, 2005, 6:02 PM
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Condolences to the family and S.C. climbing community.
I can't speculate as to what happened but I've rapped from the same station many times at Ship Rock. The anchor is down below the edge so there is no chance for a sharp edge contacting the rope. The station is also clearly longer than a single rope rappel, and if you climb any route in this vicinity it is clear that you need two ropes to rap or that you have to trend left to an intermediate anchor. The anchor however is down below the edge of the cliff and you have to lean over the edge to thread the rings and clip yourself into the bolts. Then lower yourself over the edge and down to the anchor. Mistakes could happen here. Please be careful.
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forkliftdaddy
Jul 6, 2005, 9:37 PM
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According to his partner, Lewis simply lost control of the rap and fell.
http://www.thestate.com/...s/local/12062468.htm
Word is it was raining very hard around the time emergency vehicles showed up. I'm guessing everything was wet/slick and that he had no prusik/autoblock in place. Sad.
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cjstudent
Jul 6, 2005, 10:54 PM
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Every single news report that I have read has had it different, I am not sure what to believe. The local paper here says that the climbers climbed Hindu Kush (a 5.8) and were then rapping. But it said that since there are no anchors above Hindu Kush they went to rap down at Castaway. I am wondering if they meant Boardwalk instead of Castaway because the main rap station is at boardwalk.
The local paper here, which is quoting the Park service said that he hooked up his rap device and climbed over the edge (since the bolts are below) and then at that time he fell. Sounds to me that he just didnt clip the bolts while he was climbing down and he fell before he had his hand below the rap device.
So I think it is important that us climbers to take this accident to remind us to not be complacent while climbing. It happens to all of us, I've talked to my climbing partners about our complacent behavior. Clip into rap anchors while you are going on rap, and then sit and weight your rap device to double check everything before you unclip from the anchor.
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badmammerjammer
Jul 7, 2005, 3:04 AM
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Another key thing to remember is to always tie knots in the bottom of your rope before you start your rappell, no matter how sure you are that they are going to carry you safely to your next belay station or the ground. In the local paper here in Columbia, SC, Lewis' home town, his climbing partner states that Lewis slipped while rappelling. It's another good thing to make sure your partner absolutely knows how to take care of him/herself if something happens to you, whether it be how to rappell alone, find a way out of the area, and/ or get help. Regarding the question about a memorial fund, I'm sure one of the best ways to honor Lewis would be to donate money to the Access Fund or a like-minded organization in his honor. The Backpacker in Columbia, which his family runs and is where he worked, would be a good place to send condolences or memorials. The address is 1215 Wayne St., Columbia, SC 29201. Columbia has a very active, close-knit climbing community that is taking this loss quite personally. Lewis' family has always been at the center of the climbing community here and I'm sure they greatly appreciate your kind words.---LM
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boglins
Jul 7, 2005, 1:14 PM
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For those who want to know what exactly happened, it appears that there can only be a lot of speculation. But there are a few facts that Lewis' uncle, Lewis Jones Jr., had to give us:
Lewis and Joe had finished Hindu Kush. They were going to rappel on the Boardwalk anchors. They were using 2 ropes to rappel. The boardwalk anchors are awkward to rappel from. There was no equipment failure. The ropes were in the anchor properly. The ropes had been placed in his rap device properly. Lewis apparently somehow lost control of one of the ropes near the beginning of his descent. Lewis died on impact.
From there, all we can do is guess. I do have this to say... if you ever rappel, please be as careful as you are when you are climbing. Also, consider learning how to use a prusik knot during your rappel. With a very short prusik on the rope near your brake hand and attached to your leg loop with a biner, you can hold the prusik knot while you rappel and you can completely let go of the brake hand if you need to or if you get injured and the prusik will hold you. It's not just good for safety, it can allow you to do things like untangle rappel ropes on your way down (not that mine ever get that way). Anyways, everyone be safe.
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