Accident Reports ANAM
Ground Fall – Small Cams Pulled Out New York, Adirondacks, Chapel Pond Pass

Our party of six, with three experienced climbers and three newbies, headed to the Lower Beer Walls on June 25. I chose to lead a 5.8 trad route, Rockaholic, a left-leaning finger crack on polished granite. As I started up the climb, I placed a nu...

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| Published 2016 | Author Alan Jenn


Accident Reports ANAM
Ground Fall – Loose Rock, Inadequate Belay New York, Adirondacks, Starbuck Mountain

The following report is condensed from “Unbelayvable: A Missed Catch,” published November 2016 in Climbing magazine, with permission of the author, Kevin Corrigan, and the climber, Annie Nelson.I’m a 20-year-old from upstate New York. Last August ...

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| Published 2016 | Author Annie Nelson and Kevin Corrigan


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Ice – Using Microspikes Instead of Crampons New York, Adirondacks, Haystack Mountain

I organized a trip to the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks for March. The plan was to summit Mt. Haystack, Saddleback Mountain, and Basin Mountain in one day, under late-winter conditions, in order to simulate a long alpine climb. There were n...

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| Published 2016 | Author Shaun So


Feature Article ANAM
Essentials: Clear Weight Transitions A Critical Yet Often Ignored Step

Cochise Stronghold, Arizona: A climbing instructor stands on a ledge, cleaning an anchor for her students. Amid multiple pieces of tat, she incorrectly threads the rope on which she is to be lowered. She misses the error due to excess slack in the...

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| Published N/A | Author Molly Loomis


Accident Reports ANAM
Fatal Rappel Error – Uneven Rope Ends, No Stopper Knots, No Helmet Utah, Indian Creek Canyon, Way Rambo

Mark Davis was 50 years old and had been climbing for 25 years, with successful ascents of El Capitan and routes in Patagonia. He was well loved by his community in Salt Lake City and around the country. On Saturday, March 12, Mark and friends wer...

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| Published 2016 | Author Jeremy Collins


Accident Reports ANAM
Leader Fall – Loose Rock, Chopped Rope Utah, Indian Creek Canyon, Bridger Jack, Hummingbird Spire

On November 14, Kelsey Brasseur (29) and I (28) planned to climb all of Indian Creek’s Bridger Jack towers in a day. By 3 p.m. we had dispatched four of the towers and arrived at the base of Hummingbird Spire, where we ran into an acquaintance, ...

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| Published 2016 | Author Craig Gorder


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Kijai Nala: Peak 6,038m, North Ridge; Arjuna, West Face India, Kishtwar Himalaya

Visiting the Kijai Nala had been on the bucket list for Hayden Kennedy, Marko Prezelj, and me since 2015, when we climbed together above the Chomochior Glacier in eastern Kishtwar (AAJ 2016). We had planned to head into this western Kishtwar valle...

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| Published 2017 | Author Urban Novak


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Talgar, West Face, Partial New Route and First Ski and Snowboard Descent Kazakhstan, Tien Shan, Zayliyskiy Alatau

The Zayliyskiy Alatau is the most northerly system of the Tien Shan (see note below). It extends around 350km and reaches its maximum elevation on Pik Talgar (4,973m, 43°7'5.18"N, 77°20'21.34"E). The region has a rich climbing history, beginning 1...

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| Published 2016 | Author Vitaly Komarov


Accident Reports AAJ
Gran Muralla, Northwest Face, Kamasa Bolivia, Cordillera Quimsa Cruz

I set off from Italy with Giovanni Penna and Marco Rainone to achieve two goals: working with the Università Campesina and attempting a new route on the south face of Illimani. Università Campesina is a project run by my friend Antonio “Topio” Zav...

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| Published 2017 | Author Enrico Rosso


Accident Reports ANAM
Leader Fall on Ice – Thin Ice, Inadequate Protection New York, Adirondacks, Pitchoff Mountain

My two partners and I (male, age 40), all experienced climbers, were in the Adirondacks on January 26 for the AAC Metro New York Section’s Winter Outing. We decided to climb Screw and Climaxe, a well-known, 350-foot WI3+ on the north side of Pitch...

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| Published 2016


Accident Reports ANAM
Leader Fall – Inexperience, Inadequate Protection New Mexico, Sandia Mountains, Muralla Grande

On August 14, a leader (male, 40s) was attempting the third pitch of La Selva (5.8), which begins in low fifth-class terrain and steepens into a dihedral with a wide crack before an exit left on vertical terrain. The leader placed a number 4 Cama...

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| Published 2016 | Author James Marc Beverly and Erin Renee Beverly


Accident Reports ANAM
Long Leader Fall New Hampshire, North Conway, Cathedral Ledge

On July 31, Stephanie Angione was leading the second pitch of Still in Saigon, a popular 5.8 at Cathedral Ledge, when she fell at the crux, sailed past her gear, and broke her foot upon impacting the rock. The crux is protected by a good horizonta...

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| Published 2016 | Author Michael Wejchert, Mountain Rescue Service


Accident Reports ANAM
Broken Hold – Inadequate Protection New Hampshire, North Conway, Humphrey's Ledge

On May 28, a party was climbing at Humphrey’s Ledge, just outside of North Conway. The leader was attempting a climb called Sting Like a Butterfly, an obscure 5.10. A handhold broke as the climber was pulling through the crux of the route and the ...

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| Published 2016 | Author Michael Wejchert, Mountain Rescue Service


Accident Reports ANAM
Benighted and Stranded New Hampshire, White Mountain National Forest, Cannon Cliff

On November 19, two men in their 20s started up a long climb in the Vertigo area. The pair had a single rope and adequate clothing for a full day out. After the first four or five pitches of most routes in this area of Cannon, the climbing tends t...

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| Published 2016 | Author Michael Wejchert, Mountain Rescue Service


Accident Reports ANAM
Sliding Fall Before Roping Up New Hampshire, Mt. Washington, Huntington's Ravine

At approximately 12:10 p.m. on Sunday, February 7, one member of a climbing party of three slipped while approaching a technical snow and ice climb in Huntington Ravine. The climber rapidly gained speed on the 35–40° snow slope beneath Central Gul...

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| Published 2016 | Author Mount Washington Avalanche Center


Accident Reports ANAM
Avalanche New Hampshire, Mt. Washington, Tuckerman Ravine

Two climbers and three skiers were involved in an avalanche in Tuckerman Ravine on Sunday, January 17. The two climbers, both from Canada, were ascending a gully called the Chute on the left side of the ravine. Four skiers and an avalanche class w...

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| Published 2016 | Author Mount Washington Avalanche Center


Accident Reports ANAM
Leader Fall on Ice – Hit by Unknown Falling Object Colorado, Ouray, Camp Bird Road

On January 5, Dale Remsberg (44), an IFMGA guide and very experienced ice climber, was teaching an AMGA I2 Ice Instructor Course to students Aili Farquhar, the belayer at time of accident, and Kerr Adams. While leading pitch two of the Skylight (W...

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| Published 2016 | Author Dale Remsberg


Accident Reports ANAM
Rappel Error – Inadequate Anchor Knot Colorado, Raggeds Wilderness, Dark Canyon

In early January, two Colorado ice climbers began their third first ascent of the day in the Dark Canyon, 25 miles south of Redstone in the Raggeds Wilderness. Duane Raleigh (age 56, with 43 years of experience) was leading the first pitch of the ...

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| Published 2016 | Author Rock and Ice Magazine


Accident Reports ANAM
Glissading Without Ice Axes Colorado, San de Cristo Mountains, Humboldt Peak

On May 26, two climbers took long falls and sustained injuries while descending from 14,064-foot Humboldt Peak. Starting in midmorning from a campsite at the trailhead, they had snowshoed to the upper mountain and then climbed the easy west ridge,...

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| Published 2016


Accident Reports ANAM
Leader Fall – Rope Behind Leg Colorado, Garden of the Gods, Red Twin Spire

My climbing partner, Warren (23), and I (28) had come to Garden of the Gods during a climbing and hiking trip to Colorado from our home in Kentucky. It was almost 8:30 p.m. on July 23 by the time we finished hiking around the park, but we felt the...

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| Published 2016 | Author Philip Rodriguez