Accident Reports ANAM
Rappel Anchor Failure – inadequate Anchor and Backup Washington, Mt. Rainier National Park, Dewey Peak

On August 14, three climbers summited Dewey Peak, a 6,710-foot mountain on the east side of Mt. Rainier National Park with a third- or fourth-class route to the top. The climbers had met earlier that year in a local climbing course, in which Climb...

| Keywords
| Published 2018 | Author Tacoma Mountain Rescue


Accident Reports ANAM
Fatal Slip During Descent – No Helmet Washington, North Cascades, Washington Peak

About 3:50 p.m. on August 4, climbers used an inReach device to notify the North Cascades Communication Center that a man had fallen while descending Forbidden Peak (8,816 feet) and was in need of help. The man was later identified as Eric Lindblo...

| Keywords
| Published 2018 | Author North Cascaes National Park Incident Reports


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall On Rock – Inadequate Protection and Anchor Washington, North Cascades, Washington Pass, Le Petit Cheval

On July 14, Alexis and I scrambled to the base of Spontaneity Arête (multi-pitch 5.7) on Le Petit Cheval. There were no photos on Mountain Project of the first pitch, so we weren’t sure exactly where the route started. We scrambled up to a ledge b...

| Keywords
| Published 2018 | Author Andrew Leader


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall On Rock – Broken Hold, Inadequate Protection Washington, Mt. Thomson, West Ridge

On July 14, King County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue was notified that Peter Keckemet (24) had fallen about 100 feet on the west ridge of Mt. Thomson and possibly had broken bones. A helicopter crew was able to pick up Peter and take him to Harborv...

| Keywords
| Published 2018 | Author King County Sheriff's Department


Accident Reports ANAM
Fatal Fall On Snow – Fatigue, Failure to Self-Arrest Washington, Cascades, Mt. Stuart, Cascadian Couloir

About 11:50 a.m. on June 24, a climber called 911 to report that his partner (Varun Sadavarte, 32) had fallen several hundred feet on Mt. Stuart and couldn’t be reached. Sadavarte and Owen Thomas (37) were friends who had taken a mountaineering co...

| Keywords
| Published 2018 | Author Chelan County Sheriff's Department


Accident Reports ANAM
Belay Error – Rope Burns Washington, Vantage, Frenchman Coulee

On June 12, Climber 1 planned a day of instruction and climbing at Frenchman Coulee for his friend, Climber 2, who had no experience climbing outside. Following instruction on knots, equipment, and belay techniques, Climber 1 provided on-the-spot ...

| Keywords
| Published 2018 | Author Anonymous Report


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North Twin, Full North Ridge Canada, Alberta, Canadian Rockies, Icefields Parkway

ANYONE WHO WALKS over Woolley Shoulder—the pass that accesses the big mountains of what Bow Valley locals call the Black Hole—is rewarded with a fine view. To the north is Mt. Alberta, and to the south Stutfield Peak. But the climber’s eye is dr...

| Keywords
| Published 2019 | Author Ian Welsted


Accident Reports ANAM
Fatal Fall On Snow – Party Separated, Possible Avalanche Washington, Mt. Adams, South Spur

On May 27, about 12:30 p.m., a call came in to the Yakima County Sheriff’s Department that a climber (Alexander Edward, 28) had fallen from around 11,000 feet on the south side of Mt. Adams. His two partners were ahead of the climber and did not s...

| Keywords
| Published 2018 | Author The Editors


Accident Reports ANAM
Lowering Error – Miscommunication Virginia, Richmond Area

On January 6, after a prolonged cold spell, my climbing partner (36) and I (33) checked to see if a small cliff that continuously seeps water had frozen into something climbable. We found a 30-foot wall of poorly bonded ice, with a free-hanging pi...

| Keywords
| Published 2018 | Author Rick DeJarnette


Accident Reports ANAM
Lowering Error – Rope Too Short, No Stopper Knot Virginia, Elizabeth Furnace, Buzzard Rocks

My partner and I were climbing at the Buzzard Rocks crag, a series of slabs at the top of a ridge. A hiking trail goes to the top and climbers have to either rappel or hike down a climber’s trail to reach the base of the wall. As we were setting u...

| Keywords
| Published 2018


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 ...

| Keywords
| 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...

| Keywords
| 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)...

| Keywords
| 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...

| Keywords
| 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...

| Keywords
| 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...

| Keywords
| 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...

| Keywords
| 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...

| Keywords
| 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...

| Keywords
| 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. ...

| Keywords
| Published 2018 | Author Deschutes County SAR