On June 4, Alex and Jane (pseudonyms) started their afternoon of climbing on Mockery, a bolted 5.8 route. Jane began leading, but a few bolts up she asked to get lowered. The climbers switched roles and Alex ascended the route to the bolted anchor. He clipped the rope through two alpine quickdraws for a top-rope anchor, and Jane began to lower him. She reported that Alex asked her to “stop” or “hold on” about halfway to the ground (approximately 35 feet). He appeared to be manipulating something on his harness and then suddenly fell to the ground.

Rangers responded and provided emergency medical care (Alex had a fractured femur and other injuries), then performed a low-angle evacuation to transport him to a park ambulance.

ANALYSIS

During the investigation, rangers inspected the route and climbing gear. The climbers’ rope was still hanging from the anchor, with a properly tied figure-eight follow-through knot jammed against the carabiners clipped to the slings. The knot was not tied to anything. The ranger performing medical care on Alex found all his buckles intact and properly secured when removing the harness. The harness generally seemed to be in good condition. The only exception was that the small, non-load-bearing “keeper loop,” below the bottom “hard point” between the two leg loops, was undone.

The evidence suggests Alex may have been distracted while tying in and tied a correct knot to an incorrect place on the harness, threading the rope through the keeper loop instead of the reinforced hard points of the harness. Alex tied in with the lead rope still clipped into a couple of bolts above him, and the rope may have obscured the incorrect tie-in. He may have noticed something amiss while lowering and might have been manipulating the harness when the loop came undone.

Although these two had climbed together before, they were  not  regular partners. They reported that buddy checks were performed prior to beginning this climb. Nonetheless, this accident highlights the need for climbers to guard against complacency during routine procedures like tie-ins and buddy checks. The error did not reveal itself until Alex weighted the system, after having climbed the full pitch. Alex is fortunate the accident did not occur right at the anchor.

Alex was wearing a helmet and commented, “I remember my head hitting tree branches or rock on the way down and being thankful I had it on.” It is not uncommon for climbers to forego a helmet when climbing below their limit, especially on bolted routes. This incident highlights the importance of helmets even when the hazards seem minimal. (Source: Yosemite National Park Climbing Rangers.)