FALL ON ICE, BELAY DEVICE SET-UP INCORRECTLY

Colorado, Ouray Ice Park

According to reports, on February 6, a client topped out and placed his partner, a guide, on belay. In the process, the client rigged his Reverso incorrectly. Sometime during the climb the climber was being lowered and because the rope was threaded incorrectly through the belay device, the guide was dropped 40 feet, resulting in a broken pelvis along with a few other bones.

Analysis

A good practice to follow before going on belay is to do a pull test on all autoblock devices when they are in autoblock mode, even if you’re sure the device is threaded the right way. (Source: www.mountainproject.com)