Accident Reports ANAM
Inadequate Equipment - No Sunglasses, Snow Blindness Washington, Mt. Rainier, Camp Muir

On June 8, a little before 7 a.m., rangers at Camp Muir received notification of a 32-year-old female climber from New York City having difficulty opening her eyes due to pain and swelling. Rangers assessed the individual and determined her eye pr...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Avalanche, Fall on Snow/Ice - Inadequate Equipment, Inadequate Protection, Weather, Exceeding Abilities Washington, Mt. Rainier, Liberty Ridge

On the morning of May 18, we (Cory Smith, 26, author of this report; Sydney Seyfart, 30; and Tim Smith, 23) were at about 13,000 feet on Liberty Ridge, just above the Black Pyramid. We were 1,100 feet below the summit of Liberty Cap and the end of...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Rock Utah, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Wheels of Fire Direct

On August 2 an experienced climber, David Buckland (46), was out with his son when he took a fall on Wheels on Fire Direct (5.10) in Little Cottonwood Canyon, a route he had done many times before. He pulled a piece on the way down, got flipped by...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Rock - Fatigue, Inadequate Protection, Exceeding Abilities Utah, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Beckey's Wall

My daughter Alex (27) had demonstrated very good climbing and protection skills the previous summer when she took me up a two-pitch, 5.7 trad route. Now it was May 11, and neither she nor I had climbed much since. Since she is young and strong (an...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Rock, Protection Pulled Out, Compromised Rope-Carrying Carabiner Tennessee, Sunset Rock, Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park

On the afternoon of June 30 the park received a report of a serious fall and injury to a male climber (30) approximately one mile from Sunset Rock in the Celebrity Flake area on Lookout Mountain. The climber, who was wearing a helmet, fell approxi...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Rock, Rappel Error Oregon, Smith Rock State Park, Wherever I May Roam

On May 11 at 5:15 p.m., Deschutes County 911 received a call from Ryan Orr (29) reporting that his climbing partner, Kathy Pawelski (34), had sustained injuries after falling on Wherever I May Roam (5.9). Orr said that Pawelski had fallen about 30...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall into Crevasse - Snow Bridge Collapsed, Climbing Unroped Oregon, Mt. Jefferson, Whitewater Glacier

Our team—Craig Hanneman (64), Mark Morford (56), Bob Alexander (56), and Jim Walkley (40)—was traversing the Whitewater Glacier at about 1 p.m. on July 20, after successfully summiting via the Jefferson Park Glacier route. We were traveling unrope...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Snow Oregon, Mt. Hood, Hogsback

On November 25, John Andrews (62) fell more than 200 feet into a “crater” (sic) near the Hogsback area, along the south-side route. Andrews’ climbing partner used a cell phone to call 911, then remained in contact with the Clackamas County Sheriff...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Snow, Climbing Alone, Exceeding Abilities Oregon, Mt. Hood, Cooper Spur

On August 11, Sebastian Kinasiewicz (32), a Polish military officer reported to be a novice climber, attempted a summit climb via the Cooper Spur route. He was reported overdue. Hood River Crag Rat volunteers were able to find and follow his track...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Snow, Climbing Alone Oregon, Mt. Hood, West Side

On June 22, Kinley Adams (59), an experienced climber, registered to climb Leuthold’s Couloir. It appears that he got off route, crossed the Yocum Ridge, and continued to the upper headwall section of the Sandy Glacier. Apparently he slipped or wa...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Rock, Free Solo Climbing North Carolina, Pisgah National Forest, Black Fork

A male climber (18) was seriously injured in a fall on August 3 at the Black Rock climbing area, located in the Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest, near the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area. He was free soloing Crazy River (5.9) w...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Rock, Protection Pulled Out North Carolina, Hanging Rock State Park, Moores Wall

I witnessed an accident on June 8 that teaches a good lesson and luckily had an okay outcome. The climber was a strong and competent, but new to the area. I watched him easily climb Nuclear Crayon (5.10c R) and Quakerstate (5.10d/11a). After onsig...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Falls on Rock (16), Inadequate Protection (3), Inadequate Belays (4), Rappel/Lowering Errors (2), Falling Rock (1) New York, Mohonk Preserve, Shawanhunks

There were 17 reports from the Gunks in 2013. There were no fatalities, but there were seven serious injuries, along with 10 sprains/strains and other minor injuries. In one case, a spontaneous shoulder dislocation caused the climber to fall.Fourt...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Rappel Error - Ropes Uneven and No Knots in Ends, Miscommunication New York, Adirondacks, Chapel Pond Canyon

On December 18 a climber rappelled off the short end of his rope at 30 feet, fell 20 feet to a ledge, tumbled 20 feet more over steep terrain, and slid another 20 feet on steep snow. He suffered a broken pelvis and torn adductor tendon.Analysis A ...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Stranded, Inadequate Equipment New York, Lake George, Rogers Rock, Little Finger

On October 13 my partner (27) and I climbed the route Little Finger on Rogers Rock, a three-pitch 5.5 with a descent by 60-meter rappels from bolted anchors to the right of our route. I brought a 70-meter (9.2mm) single rope, and a 75-meter (5mm) ...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Rappel Error - Inadequate Protection, Climbing Alone, Inexperienced New York, Albany, Thatcher Park

On September 18, Ronald Czajkowski (44) fell 120 feet to his death at Thatcher Park, according to police. “He had a harness and rope with him. It appears it was human error as far as attaching it to the anchor point on top of the cliff,” said Capt...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Rock, Falling Rock New Mexico, Sandia Mountains

In the early afternoon of March 29, parties called 911 and reported “cries for help near the Upper La Luz Trail in Upper La Cueva Canyon.” Bernalillo County Sheriff officers located Carlos Cox (35) by helicopter at the northeastern base of the Tri...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Rock, Carabiner Unclipped From Bolt New Hampshire, Rumney, Bonehead Roof

Bonehead Roof is a 5.10d climb with a classic “Rumney Runout”: five bolts protect the route. The first bolt is about 20 feet off of the ground. The initial two-thirds of the climb are approximately 5.8, containing three bolts. A slope of about 20 ...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Rock, Falling Rock - Failure to Test Holds, Inadequate Belay Humphrey's Ledge, Tree Keys

According to two reports, someone fell after the second bolt on Tree Keys at the Geriatric Walls on September 14. The belayer (age unknown) received significant rope burns on her hands.As reported, the belayer lost control of the rope as the leade...

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| Published 2013


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Rock, Protection Pulled Out - No Helmet, Exceeding Abilities New Hampshire, Cathedral Ledge, Barber Wall, Nutcracker

On August 10 a climber in his mid to late 20s was leading Nutcracker (5.10a) on the Barber Wall. He fell and at least one of his pieces pulled, causing him to flip backward. He hit his head before falling to the ground. He was not wearing a helmet...

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| Published 2013