Accident Reports ANAM
Ground Fall – Anchor Failure Vermont, Smugglers' Notch, Workout Wall

On December 27 at 1:30 p.m., Stephen Charest (39) was guiding an ice climbing group at the Workout Wall area in Smugglers’ Notch. During the process of relocating a rope at the top of the cliff, the fixed anchor on which he was relying failed. He ...

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| Published 2018


Accident Reports ANAM
Avalanche – Failure to Assess Conditions, Inadequate Equipment Vermont, Smugglers' Notch

ON MARCH 14, two instructors and four students of the Army Mountain Warfare School were ascending Easy Gully, a wide snow gully that rises from near the high point of the unplowed road through the notch, following a prominent landslide path. The g...

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| Published 2018 | Author Technical Report of US Army Ground Accident and The Editors


Accident Reports ANAM
Leader Fall On Rock Utah, Zion National Park, Moonlight Buttress

On April 4 at about 4:30 p.m., Zion dispatch received a report of climbers calling for help on the Moonlight Buttress climbing route. Rangers observed through binoculars that two climbers were at the top of the second pitch, one of whom (male, 60)...

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| Published 2018 | Author Andrew P. Fitzgerald


Accident Reports ANAM
Leader Fall On Rock Utah, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Gate Buttress

In the late afternoon of October 7, a 23-year-old female was leading a route called Kermit’s Wad (5.10a) when she fell near the fourth bolt. The route ascends a steep granite slab, and as she fell, her climbing partners said, she flipped upside do...

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| Published 2018 | Author Salt Lake County SAR


Accident Reports ANAM
Leader Fall – Inadequate Protection Utah, Wasatch Range, Little Cottonwood Canyon

On Monday, June 11, my wife and I (male, age 31) went out for a casual day of climbing in Little Cottonwood Canyon. We headed up for a lap on Stifler’s Mom (multi-pitch 5.11a), which we have climbed several times. Finding the route empty, we cruis...

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| Published 2018 | Author Mike Marmar


Accident Reports ANAM
Lowering Error – Dangerous Swing While Cleaning Utah, Wasatch Range, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Lonely Challenge Area

In early afternoon on September 25, Salt Lake SAR was called out to the Challenge Buttress after a male and female climber were involved in a climbing accident on Watermelon Tetris (5.9) at the Lonely Challenge sector. This 70-foot sport climb lea...

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| Published 2018 | Author Salt Lake County SAR


Accident Reports ANAM
Rappel Error Utah, Wasatch Range, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Storm Mountain

On July 7, a male climber in his 20s fell to the ground while rappelling from a multi-pitch sport route called Addis Ababa (two pitches, 5.7). The climber and two partners had finished the route, and two of the three climbers had completed the rap...

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| Published 2018 | Author Salt Lake County Search and Rescue


Accident Reports ANAM
Stranded – Stuck Rappel Rope, No Headlamps Utah, Wasatch Range, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Steorts' Ridge

Salt Lake County Search and Rescue got called out at 9:54 p.m. on May 3 for two climbers (male and female, both 20 years old) near the top of Steorts’ Ridge. The pair had begun climbing the three-pitch 5.6 route around 5:50 p.m. At the top, they t...

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| Published 2018 | Author Salt Lake County Search and Rescue


Accident Reports ANAM
Ground Fall – Inexperience, Inadequate Protection Oregon, Smith Rock, Northern Point

On August 15, two male climbers (ages 32 and 47) were attempting Double Time, a 5.7 traditional route at Northern Point in the Basalt Rimrock area. After climbing approximately 30 feet, the leader fell, pulling out two cams (size unknown), and hit...

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| Published 2018 | Author Deschutes County SAR


Accident Reports ANAM
Rockfall – No Helmet Oregon, Smith Rock, West Side Crags, Mesa Verde Wall

On July 25, a male climber (48) was hanging from a fixed rope while cleaning a new route near the Mesa Verde Wall. The climber’s rope dislodged a dinner plate–size rock from above that fell and struck him on the head. He was not wearing a helmet. ...

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| Published 2018 | Author Deschutes County SAR


Accident Reports ANAM
Stranded – Stuck Rappel Ropes Oregon, Smith Rock, Monkey Face, West Face

On May 15, two male climbers (ages 37 and 21), after having climbed Super Slab (5.6) on the Red Wall, attempted a shortcut to the base of the West Face Variation (5.8) on the west side of the Monkey Face to avoid hiking down the Misery Ridge Tra...

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| Published 2018 | Author Deschutes County SAR


Accident Reports ANAM
Fatal Ground Fall – Slip On Exposed Terrain Above Climb Oregon, Smith Rock, Picnic Lunch Wall

On April 10, Alex Reed (20) was working on a new route on the Picnic Lunch Wall. He had hiked up Misery Ridge alone to access the top of the route, where the terrain is very exposed and requires some 4th- or 5th-class downclimbing. For unknown rea...

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| Published 2018 | Author Deschutes County SAR


Accident Reports ANAM
Stranded – Failure to Follow Descent Route Oregon, Smith Rock, Smith Rock Group, Northwest Face

Late on March 27, three male climbers (ages 24, 24, and 34) completed the popular five-pitch sport climb Wherever I May Roam (5.9). With darkness approaching and being unfamiliar with the established rappel route, the party mistakenly rappelled fr...

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| Published 2018 | Author Deschutes County SAR


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall While Scrambling – Loose Rock, Haste Oregon, Smith Rock, Northern Point

On February 17, a male climber (30) fell while free soloing an “easy chimney” between the Lower Gorge and Northern Point. He was attempting a shortcut back to the parking lot after a day of climbing in the Marsupials, rather than taking the longer...

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| Published 2018 | Author Deschutes County SAR


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall On Rock – No Helmet Oregon, Smith Rock, Dihedrals

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 flipp...

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| Published 2018 | Author Deschutes County SAR


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall While Descending – Tool Pulled Out of Ice Oregon, Mt. Jefferson

In the midafternoon of July 20, Sam Lowry (age 60) and I (Jon Sprecher, age 64) climbed the Jefferson Park Glacier route and were descending the North Milk Creek snowfield to loop back to our camp via the Russell and Jefferson Park glaciers. This ...

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| Published 2018 | Author Jonathan Sprecher


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Snow – Inexperience, Inadequate Equipment Oregon, Mt. Hood, South Side

On May 28 a roped party of three climbers was descending the Pearly Gates at approximately 8:30 a.m. when one climber fell, pulling the others into an uncontrolled fall. No anchors or running protection were being used at the time of the fall.The ...

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| Published 2018 | Author Steve Rollins, Portland Mountain Rescue


Accident Reports ANAM
Ski Mountaineering Fall – Failure to Assess Conditions Oregon, Mt. Hood, South Side

At approximately 10 a.m. on May 26, an experienced skier (male, 35), attempted a ski descent of the Mazama Chute on the upper south slopes of Mt. Hood after reaching the summit. Following many days of warm conditions, the night of May 25 had been ...

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| Published 2018 | Author Mark Morford, Portland Mountain Rescue and the injured skier


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall On Rock – Inexperience, Inadequate Protection North Carolina, Linville Gorge Wilderness, The Daddy

On Saturday, October 27, a trio of climbers (James, Markus, and Jason), all from the Atlanta area, arrived at the base of the Daddy (5.6), located in the Amphitheater. Jason (46) was a relatively new trad climber being mentored by James, who was t...

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| Published 2018 | Author Jason Januzelli and James Robinson and Adrian Hurst of Burke County Rescue.


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall On Rock – Inexperience, Inadequate Protection North Carolina, Linville Gorge Wilderness, The Daddy

On Saturday, October 27, a trio of climbers (James, Markus, and Jason), all from the Atlanta area, arrived at the base of the Daddy (5.6), located in the Amphitheater. Jason (46) was a relatively new trad climber being mentored by James, who was t...

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| Published 2018 | Author Jason Januzelli and James Robinson and Adrian Hurst of Burke County Rescue