On April 30, I was leading Diagonal (5.6) on the Small Cliff at Ragged Mountain. I fell from a point about halfway up, at a point where the diagonaling crack offsets to the right. I had put in a cam about 10 feet up and then a nut in a not-great placement. I was looking for another placement, holding a sloping hold, and my foot must have slipped. I pulled out my second piece, which was in an expanding crack, and the next moment I was on my back on the trail. There was a rock among the leaves, resulting in the ribs on my back right side being broken in 10 places. I also had a laceration on the top of my head that required six stitches. I was airlifted to a hospital in Hartford.

Analysis

I was familiar with the climb and had led it many times, although not recently. A more secure placement for the nut and a hard hat would have turned this fall into merely an embarrassing incident during an otherwise beautiful spring day. (Source: Sam Streibert.)