At 2 p.m. on March 28, Parker Kempf (28) dislodged a large sandstone flake (approximately three cubic feet in size) at the overhanging start of Is It Soup Yet (5.10b) in the Moderate Mecca area. This resulted in a ground fall of roughly six feet, with the detached flake landing on his lower legs.

Kempf suffered an open fracture and dislocation to the left fibula, cartilage damage to the left knee, and a fractured right tibia. His partner provided immediate first aid, including applying pressure to the bleeding wound. Due to the nature of the terrain, he eventually was airlifted to a waiting ambulance to be transported to the hospital. (Source: Parker Kempf.)

ANALYSIS

There had been no rain at Red Rocks in the previous six days. Kempf had used this same flake earlier in the day to hang a quickdraw on the first bolt of the route for another climber and noted that it “flexed” and sounded “hollow” when he knocked on it, but no worse than other Red Rock jugs, in his judgment. Kemp’s fall occurred after the climber changed her mind and decided not to do the route and he repeated the first moves to attempt to remove the quickdraw. Had he used a stick-clip to remove the quickdraw, this accident would have been avoided, but he felt that bouldering this move was easy and safe enough. Quick first aid and evacuation prevented lasting damage to his legs. Kempf was wearing a helmet, and even with this relatively short fall distance, there was damage to multiple support ribs on the back portion of the helmet. (Sources: Parker Kempf and the Editors.)