California, Yosemite National Park. On 12 March Ken Salzberg (21) and two companions, after climbing the first pitch of “After 6” on Horse Manure Buttress, decided to rappel down in order to try an interesting crack just to the right (east) of the climb. Salzberg tied their 2-7/16ths inch goldline climbing ropes together, using what he and the others thought was a fisherman’s (Englishman’s) Knot, secured with half hitches. As one rope was 120 feet and the other 150 feet, he lowered the knot 15 feet down from the anchor to even them up (a very secure bolt, with 1 inch sling), clipped in to his brake bar below it, and began to rappel. As he leaned out from the rock, the knot came undone, and he began falling down the approximate 70 degree face. Before the rope had passed through the anchor sling, one of the men above jumped on it and held it. As he was already falling quite rapidly, and completely out of the rappel, this did not slow him down (he was not aware of this, and thought he was falling free). About 10 feet from the rocks at the bottom of the face, a kink, formed by the rope being pulled through his brake bar, jammed in the brake bar and he bounced to a stop, a few feet above the ground (after having fallen about 110 feet). He suffered rope burns and scrapes on his hand, which had held the rope on the way down, and severe burns on his neck, over which the rope had passed.

Source: Steve Hickman, Yosemite National Park, and Ken Salzberg.

Analysis: (Salzberg). The knot, holding the two ropes together, was not tied correctly. The knot itself is an excellent knot for this purpose, and all three of us had used it successfully and safely many times in the past. A little more time, used to check the knot (and other parts of the rappelling apparatus), would have prevented this potentially fatal accident. A belay would also have prevented it, but we did not have another rope.