On January 13, a female climber (34) was leading Karate Wall (5.12c R), a mostly bolted route with old-school runouts at the Dihedrals. The climber was above the next-to-last bolt, a few feet to the right of the bolt line, when she fell. She flipped upside down and hit her head on the wall, sustaining a head injury. She was not wearing a helmet. The climber had no rope burns on her legs and does not remember catching her foot on the rope. The belayer was able to lower the climber to the ground, and she was evacuated to medical care. (Source: Deschutes County SAR.)

ANALYSIS

While any number of things could have caused the climber to invert during her fall, a rope behind the leg is often the cause. Extra care should be taken to keep the rope in front of you while traversing. The climber and belayer report that they now both wear helmets. (Source: Deschutes County SAR and the Editors.)