Reported Mountaineering Accidents, Table III
1951-96
1959-96
1997
1997
USA
CAN.
USA
CAN.
Terrain
Rock
3464
415
100
12
Snow
2038
303
43
9
Ice
182
87
7
13
River
13
3
0
0
Unknown
22
6
0
1
Ascent or Descent
Ascent
3060
439
100
19
Descent
1891
295
47
15
Unknown3
247
3
2
1
Immediate Cause
Fall or slip on rock
2392
222
72
9
Slip on snow or ice
774
154
33
11
Falling rock, ice or object
479
106
16
4
Exceeding abilities
399
27
19
0
Avalanche
253
106
3
1
Exposure
234
12
3
1
Illness1
269
20
10
1
Stranded
258
5
9
3
Rappel Failure/Error
196
35
12
3
Loss of control/glissade
166
15
2
1
Fall into crevasse/moat
129
41
3
0
Failure to follow route
121
25
5
2
Nut/chock pulled out
97
3
3
0
Piton pulled out
84
12
0
0
Faulty use of crampons
65
5
4
0
Lightning
39
6
0
1
Skiing
48
9
0
0
Ascending too fast
43
0
0
0
Equipment failure
7
2
0
0
Other2
181
23
21
1
Unknown
59
8
0
0
Contributory Causes
Climbing unroped
889
146
13
4
Exceeding abilities
828
167
8
8
Inadequate equipment/clothing
541
70
11
1
Placed no/inadequate protection
463
64
30
11
Weather
369
50
9
7
Climbing alone
316
54
9
3
No hard hat
227
23
16
1
Nut/chock pulled out
169
16
12
0
Darkness
114
18
4
1
Party separated
97
16
3
1
Piton pulled out
82
10
2
0
1951-96
1959-96
1997
1997
USA
CAN.
USA
CAN.
Contributory Causes (cont.)
Poor position
107
13
4
2
Inadequate belay
107
18
7
2
Failure to test holds
66
18
1
0
Exposure
55
11
1
2
Failed to follow directions
60
5
4
0
Illness1
32
4
0
0
Equipment failure
9
4
0
2
Other2
227
79
7
0
Age of Individuals
Under 15
112
11
0
1
15-20
1142
196
19
1
21-25
1422
222
30
3
26-30
1023
187
28
2
31-35
669
95
15
1
36-50
824
105
24
3
Over 50
128
18
4
2
Unknown
888
466
52
111
Experience Level
None/Little
1471
280
31
0
Moderate (1 to 3 years)
1332
340
29
0
Experienced
1336
359
50
0
Unknown
1437
264
62
124
Month of Year
January
178
14
9
1
February
177
37
2
3
March
238
46
5
2
April
328
29
10
0
May
705
47
17
1
June
830
54
24
3
July
911
215
30
5
August
840
124
28
13
September
1048
48
11
1
October
335
29
9
1
November
152
5
3
5
December
61
17
1
0
Unknown
4
0
0
0
Type of Injury/Illness (Data since 1984)
Fracture
691
132
68
14
Laceration
364
51
45
6
Abrasion
203
39
18
0
Bruise
224
57
33
2
Sprain/strain
178
20
11
1
Concussion
115
13
18
1
Frostbite
77
7
9
1
Hypothermia
97
11
8
1
1951-96
1959-96
1997
1997
USA
CAN.
USA
CAN.
Type of Injury/Illness (cont.)
Dislocation
67
6
4
2
Puncture
27
4
0
1
Acute Mountain Sickness
17
0
4
1
HAPE
49
0
0
0
HACE
16
0
0
0
Other3
183
31
10
0
None
103
68
22
0
1These included: diabetes (1), AMS (4), HACE (1), hypothermia (2), fatigue (6), frostbite (7), shoulder dislocation (1).
2These included: unable to self-arrest (16), failure to turn back (2), route selected had extreme objective dangers (1), late start, carabiner broke, inattention (3), handhold came off (3), rock roof collapsed—unfamiliar with type of rock, wind gust knocked climber off summit, jumped crevasse—landed on ice, unable to free snow from crampons (2), mis- communication (2), inadequate food, homemade rivet hanger failed, jumars “failed”— came off rope.
Rappel errors included: rope ends uneven (2), rope entangled, ropes too short, forgot to untie safety knot in end of rappel rope—knot jammed in anchor ring.
3These included: pneumothorax (5), severe dehydration (3), punctured lung, collapsed lung, diabetes, rope burn on hand.
(Editor’s Note: Under the “other” category, many of the particular items will have been recorded under a general category. For example, the climber who fell into his unanchored partner knocking him off would be coded as Fall on Rock, Falling Rock/Object, and Placed Inadequate Protection. The point in this category is to provide the reader with some added detail. It should be apparent that many of these details can be translated into a few basic categories.)
N.B. Also please note that the data for Month of Year for March was reported incorrectly for 1996. It should be the number 2, not 82.