On August 31 a woman (20) was seriously injured when she fell approximately 30 to 40 feet after a piece of gear pulled while she was climbing on the Happy Hour Crag. According to her belayer, she was somewhat run-out when she placed her third cam and made one or two more moves. She slipped and pulled out the last cam. The belayer tried to take in slack as quickly as he could. When he realized that she was going to hit the ground, he let go of the rope and tried to catch her. She suffered a broken neck and fractured skull. She was not wearing a helmet. (Source: Matt Cochran, via a series of posts on Mountainproject.com.)

Analysis

Run-outs are often a part of traditional climbing, with the risk of injury being greater when they occur near the ground. Climbers must stay aware of the consequences of any failure of climbing protection, and should consider backing up protection where failure could be catastrophic. While this fall still may have resulted in a head injury, climbing with a properly fitted helmet can help reduce the severity of an injury. (Source: Mark Vermeal.)