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chotoken
Jun 16, 2011, 8:24 PM
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Accident Summary:
Apparently this occured during top roping, the report says it may have been an equipment failure. The climber fell 100' .However, they mentioned that the rope didn't fail. I didn't know if anyone had any other details or insight.
Link: http://www2.wsls.com/news/2011/jun/15/6/climber-falls-death-blue-ridge-parkway-overlook-ar-1110997/
Be safe out there
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j_ung
Jun 16, 2011, 8:47 PM
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chotoken wrote: Accident Summary: Apparently this occured during top roping, the report says it may have been an equipment failure. The climber fell 100' .However, they mentioned that the rope didn't fail. I didn't know if anyone had any other details or insight. http://www2.wsls.com/...overlook-ar-1110997/ Be safe out there
Clickable.
(This post was edited by j_ung on Jun 16, 2011, 8:47 PM)
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rnevius
Jun 16, 2011, 10:44 PM
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Just based off of some of the things the friend (White) said, it sounds like there was a lack of experience...I'm curious what the true culprit is.
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Gmburns2000
Jun 17, 2011, 1:38 AM
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something is not right in that story. if a rope breaks then it's obvious where it broke.
condolences to the family and friends of the deceased. RIP.
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moose_droppings
Jun 17, 2011, 4:56 AM
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As others have said, something is wrong with the News report. I won't even speculate without more info.
My condolences to all of the family and friends.
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notapplicable
Jun 17, 2011, 5:39 AM
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Damn, too many accidents coming out of VA this week.
It sounds like either the TR sling/cord came untied or the rope unclipped from the anchor biner(s?) Kind of freaky really. You just don't hear about TR anchor failures very often.
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iknowfear
Jun 17, 2011, 8:06 AM
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notapplicable wrote: Damn, too many accidents coming out of VA this week. It sounds like either the TR sling/cord came untied or the rope unclipped from the anchor biner(s?) Kind of freaky really. You just don't hear about TR anchor failures very often.
unless you count the times when someone threaded directly through webbing/ or the rope burned through the the anchor cordelettes threads... (Disclaimer: I'm not saying thats what happend here, just that toprope anchors do fail)
condolences family and friends.
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drivel
Jun 17, 2011, 11:05 AM
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notapplicable wrote: Damn, too many accidents coming out of VA this week. It sounds like either the TR sling/cord came untied or the rope unclipped from the anchor biner(s?) Kind of freaky really. You just don't hear about TR anchor failures very often.
or he didn't finish tying his knot, a la lynn hill.
(which is to say- yes, he was inexperienced, but it is something for everyone to be vigilant about.)
condolences to the friends and family.
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notapplicable
Jun 19, 2011, 3:50 AM
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In reply to: Rangers are looking for help in the investigation of a fatal fall at Raven's Roost Overlook on Wednesday. They are interested in talking to anyone who was at the overlook on the northern end of the parkway anytime between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Jonathan Sullivan, 20 died while rock climbing with a group of five other climbers. According to friends, it was Sullivan's first time climbing an actual rock face. Investigators first thought an equipment failure was to blame. If you were at the overlook at that time, or know someone who was there, please call the Blue Ridge Dispatch Office at (828) 298-2491.
Interesting. Not to say it's what happened, but it has always made me nervous to have my anchor up where the tourons hang out.
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Magua
Jun 19, 2011, 4:45 AM
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I was at Ravens roost this mourning talking to the park rangers conducting the investigation of the fall. Apparently all 3 climbers were gym climbers and it was their first day climbing outside. The rangers said it was the webbing used for the anchor that failed, yet it had not been severed. Which leads me to deduct that it was the climbers error, and someone failed to tie the knot in the webbing correctly.
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wwalt822
Jun 20, 2011, 4:47 PM
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From the article:
"White and Thompson had climbed the cliff before and each has about 10 years’ experience, they said."
I really hope they wouldn't count 10 years of gym experience as climbing experience.
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chotoken
Jun 21, 2011, 2:03 AM
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That's a good point. A non-climber may count gym experience as "climbing experience". Plus the fact that reporters always mess the facts up a bit. I would like to know where the actual failure was.
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gimmeslack
Jun 24, 2011, 6:16 PM
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As of today, I'm told the investigation is still underway.
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gimmeslack
Jun 30, 2011, 7:44 PM
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Area is 'temporarily' closed.
Anyone have any new info?
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Magua
Jul 17, 2011, 2:50 AM
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For anyone who is interested, I was climbing at Ravens roost today, (which has re-opened since the accident) and was talking to a park ranger who said the investigation was almost complete. He was not allowed to divulge any information regarding the accident, however he said that they would be releasing the full report in about a week.
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rohr
Sep 10, 2011, 4:23 PM
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A little more information about this accident has come out. The NPS has ruled out foul play. (Since they TR anchor was at a popular overlook, it's possible that someone messed with their anchor. But they've ruled that out.)
http://www.readthehook.com/...nap-ravens-roost-rip
In reply to: It was Sullivan's first outdoor rock climb, and he and his friends put plenty of appropriate gear in place, Stinnett says, including one-inch tubular rope. What they didn't have, however, was a proper connection to an anchor point. "He was climbing, and he put his weight on the system,' says [Park Ranger] Stinnett. 'They hadn't put a carbiner on one end, and it failed."
Unfortunately it's still not very clear what happened. Earlier articles said that the fatal climb was the sixth climb on that anchor that day. If it lacked "a proper connection to an anchor point," I'm not sure how it worked for the first five climbs.
My best guess at what the ranger is getting at is that they were top-roping directly through webbing. If this is the case, I'm a bit surprised that the system didn't fail earlier in the day.
Anyway, condolences to the victim and his friends and family. Perhaps a more detailed report will come out soon.
[Edited to make the link clickable.]
(This post was edited by rohr on Sep 10, 2011, 4:26 PM)
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wwalt822
Oct 12, 2011, 9:50 PM
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Perhaps they had several pieces of 1 inch webbing with no biner "to be redundant".
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atdrennen
Jan 9, 2012, 5:21 PM
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Anyone ever find out what happend?
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gojiclimber
Apr 18, 2012, 2:59 PM
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Didn't see a follow up to this anywhere else, so I will post. This accident was actually recently reviewed in last months Rock and Ice.
My understanding was the anchor was not properly extended. A sewn sling was used to extend the anchor from the original master point by a single overhand knot. Presumably this was a temporary knot. The rope was attached with biners to the extended sling, which was attached to the original anchor with an overhand knot.
The group top roped off the anchor this way for some time, before it gave way on the last climb of the day.
My analysis would be to never use non-loading bearing knots in your anchor set up even if you intend for it to be temporary.
My condolences to Family and Friends.
*Dont have the article in front of me. I will update any inaccuracies.
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chotoken
Jul 16, 2012, 2:39 AM
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I don't follow the overhand not use. Was it not clipped in? I'm not sure I understand the way they had this set up.
Chotoken
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Marylandclimber
Jul 16, 2012, 10:50 PM
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I cant see how somebody couldn't just use a girth hitch there...
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drivel
Jul 18, 2012, 1:20 AM
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gothcopter wrote: chotoken wrote: I don't follow the overhand not use. Was it not clipped in? I'm not sure I understand the way they had this set up. Maybe he meant something like this?
that image makes me honestly sick to my stomach. that is the scariest thing i've seen on this website in a while and I can totally see both how someone would do that and how it'd cost their friend his life.
condolences again to the loved ones.
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JasonsDrivingForce
Jul 20, 2012, 7:20 PM
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drivel wrote: gothcopter wrote: chotoken wrote: I don't follow the overhand not use. Was it not clipped in? I'm not sure I understand the way they had this set up. Maybe he meant something like this? that image makes me honestly sick to my stomach. that is the scariest thing i've seen on this website in a while and I can totally see both how someone would do that and how it'd cost their friend his life. condolences again to the loved ones.
What type of scenario would lead someone to setup an anchor like this? I have no experience in setting anchors at all. I am just trying to understand what type of situation would compel someone to setup like that.
Is it ever necessary to tie a temporary load bearing knot like this?
(This post was edited by JasonsDrivingForce on Jul 20, 2012, 7:23 PM)
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