On March 5, C. Schmidt (44) and I (J. Eudy, 53) started up Grand Funk Railroad (5 pitches, 5.9-). I was super-focused and led the first (crux) pitch without issue. I brought up my partner, and he led the second pitch. The third pitch gets progressively easier but doesn’t have any bolts or gear placements. Instead, it’s protected by slinging horns.

I started up the third pitch and climbed 10 to 15 feet above the belay. Before reaching the first horn (protection), I shifted my weight to my right foot and felt my foot slip. I began to slide. At this point I wasn’t concerned, since I was on low-angle slab and expected to slide until the rope went tight. Unfortunately, as I slid past the belay, my left foot caught a tiny ledge, twisting my ankle and flipping me on my back. C. did a great job pulling in as much rope as he could, and I stopped six feet below the anchor.

My initial assessment revealed some minor abrasions on my side and elbows, but when I tried to stand I felt severe pain in my left ankle. Within a few minutes, the ankle had swelled and I was unable to weight it, so we decided to bail. From the pitch-two anchors, it was a double-rope rappel to the base. I descended, weighting my right foot only, while C. packed out all the gear and helped me hobble to where we were able to get a ride down to the lower parking lot.

An X-ray and MRI showed that I had a grade 2 sprain (a partially torn ligament), a small fracture in my tibia, and a non-displaced fracture of my talus. I would not consider this fall high impact, and I was surprised at how easy it was to fracture my ankle.

ANALYSIS

This accident was totally avoidable. I was hyper-focused on the first pitch and then mentally shifted gears when I started up the third. In my head, climbing the remainder of the route was easy, and I got complacent. If I had given the entire route the same focus that I did on the first pitch, I would not have slipped and sustained this injury. (Source: J. Eudy.)