On July 30, Dillon Blanksma, 26, fell from Broadway ledge during the approach to the Diamond wall. The fall was fatal. Blanksma and his climbing partner had done the standard North Chimney approach and were on their way to a route on the left side...
The Diamond on Longs Peak. (A) Approximate location of fatal fall from Broadway ledge in another 2020 incident. (B) Approximate location of fall from the North Chimney approach to the face. The ledges had less snow at the time of these accidents...
In September, during a weekend trip to Shelf Road, my wife took a ground fall while leading Ian’s Climb (5.7+) at Cactus Cliff. She couldn’t clip the second bolt, fell and hit the ground, tripped backward, and hit her head. She was wearing a helme...
At approximately 4 p.m. on September 26, a climber started up The Promise, a 5.12c sport route on the left side of the Ruckman Cave. Just before a ledge at the start of the steep climbing on the route, the climber pulled onto a chalked-up jug that...
On the morning of June 2, a party of four descended the Cruise Gully to attempt Scenic Cruise, a 13-pitch 5.10d trad route on the North Chasm Wall. The group planned to climb as two parties of two. While leading pitch five, a long 5.10 finger and ...
Before (left) and after photos showing the ice pillar that partially collapsed and the resulting slide path. Around 8 a.m. on January 18, a guide and three clients departed Ouray for ice climbing in the Uncompahgre Gorge. From U.S. Highway ...
Climbers often consider hypothermia and frostbite as part of their risk assessment. Yet, heat-related illnesses can be a significant and often bigger threat in many regions. Heat illness is a preventable condition ranging in severity from mild hea...
On August 22, two climbers completed Meteor (multi-pitch sport, 5.8) and multiple rappels to the base of the climb. After separating during the hike back to the car, Climber 2 realized his partner was delayed. He hiked back up and located Climber ...
On February 8, two seasoned climbers were planning to climb Sleeping Giant (5.10a), a ten-pitch mostly bolted climb. Finding the route already occupied with a party of five, with a single lead climber, AC (37) and his partner warmed up on nearby s...
The north face of San Jacinto Peak rises more than 9,000 feet above the desert floor. The Snow Creek route follows obvious gullies to the summit. Photo by Blake Douglas On April 24, Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU) received a call-out at...
Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU) performed multiple rescues on Lily Rock (a.k.a. Tahquitz Rock) during 2020. Two of the incidents involved climbers underestimating routes and calling for help when they became stranded. On May 5, a leader ran...
Anyone reading this book understands the value of wilderness medical training. Fortunately, climbers have numerous ways to obtain formal education. Wilderness medicine is now both an industry, with multiple private schools, as well as its own medi...
On February 9, near the end of a good weekend of climbing, my partner/wife (female, 61) and I (male, 61) headed to Hidden Tower to climb Sail Away. A party of four was just starting that route, so instead we set up to climb Split, a 5.6 hand crack...
A climber on Double Dip at Echo Rock. The top anchor is high and to the right of the climber. Photo by Kailey Cox On February 8, our group of friends of varying abilities began climbing in the Echo Rock area of Joshua Tree. One of the climber...
On July 12, Ramiro Mosquera (24) was climbing with a group of friends on Bye Crackie (5.7), a 60-foot sport climb. After cleaning the anchor, Ramiro was being lowered when his belayer lost control of the brake strand threaded through a tube-style ...
Avalanche on Independence Peak. The approximate crown line and injured skier’s location (X) after the slide are shown. The skier was carried about 1,000 vertical feet. Two skiers, male and female, both in their late 20s or early 30s, set out ...
On May 7 around 1:30 p.m., the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office received notification of a fall victim with critical injuries in Pine Creek Canyon. The patient was reported to be near the top of an unnamed scrambling route, approximately 500 feet off ...
On June 10, Inyo SAR was notified of an overdue climber (age 59 and experienced) in the Mt. Humphreys area, west of Bishop. His wife reported that the climber’s intended itinerary was to ascend the North Couloir (ice and snow up to 50°+) and desce...
Some friends and I went to Lembert Dome on August 4. I was a moderately experienced sport and gym climber but new to trad climbing. One friend climbed the first pitch of Northwest Books (5.6) and left the gear for me so I could “pinkpoint” the rou...
Bailing off a steep route is a nearly inevitable outcome if you climb enough walls, so it’s best to know how to get down safely before you find yourself dangling in space, wishing you knew what to do. Yosemite climbing rangers advise the following...