A Lucky Day

[Ollie]

For those of you thinking that your outdoor adventures have brought you close to the edge... how are these people still alive!?

[Ollie]

And one for luck...

[MariaD]

I had a VERY lucky day last Sunday... I'll tell you about it when I have more time!

[David]

Wow, after those, I can't imagine what it could have been!

[MariaD]

I walked away from a 60m fall.

[MariaD]

My first proper fall as well - by all accounts it was pretty spectacular!

[David]

wow - you'll have to say exactly what happened some time!

[MariaD]

Basically, I was finding the climbing very easy, so didn't pay enough attention to route finding. There was an ice pitch which could be climbed on either the left or the right - I climbed it on the left, before realising that it should have been climbed on the right. Then I made the stupid decision to attempt to traverse some blank rock rather than reverse that section (yes, yes, I know I was an idiot, but it certainly won't ever happen again).

It was only a short traverse (2m at most), but halfway across I felt my left foot jerk strangely and I was off. I attempted to brake, but the ice was too hard & the axes just flew out of my hands. I had run out 30m of rope and had placed 2 pieces of ice gear - both were a fair way below me & ripped when shock-loaded. I shot down the gully at speed, ricocheting between rock & ice, past the belay and down to below the starting point of the route. The force of the fall eventually stopping was immense & completely winded me - I could hear my partner shouting out of sight, but was completely unable to respond.

After a couple of seconds, I stood up and tested my various limbs. I looked around and there were dozens of horrified faces all staring at me open-mouthed. Another climber came over to check if I was okay and called up to my partner that I was fine. I then climbed 5m up to the first belay, stuck a sling round the spike, clipped on to it and sat down to inspect the damage. My left crampon was completely buckled (possibly what caused the fall?) and my jacket was ripped, but miraculously I only had a few cuts and bruises. A climber passing by on another route grinned at me and said "That was spectacular - I give you 9 out of ten for that one!"

I attempted to bend the crampon back into position and decided (rather optimistically) that I would be fine to continue climbing on it as long as I only seconded. I then climbed up to meet my partner at the belay. Halfway up the pitch I realised my mistake - the crampon was completely unstable & there was no way I wanted to climb on it - so once I was at the belay we decided to climb back down to the Coire, head into Aviemore and invest in a new pair.

That evening we spent about half an hour undoing the knots in the rope which had been shock-loaded & the next day I was back climbing in the same place. During the walk in we got chatting to a pair of climbers, whose first question when we mentioned that we'd been in the Coire the previous day was, "Oh my god - did you see that guy fall?"

[David]

I can't imagine what you must have been thinking while it was happening. It certainly sounds pretty spectacular. Also interesting to know how effective your gear was - being a non climber, I think I've been under the impression that 'if it's sold then it must be safe', even though I know people have said don't rely on protection.

[MariaD]

Actually, during the fall I was pretty relaxed. As soon as I realised I wasn't going to brake, I just closed my eyes and waited for it to finish. I could feel my body hitting things very hard (including my head - I'd be dead if I hadn't been wearing a helmet), and I remember vaguely wondering how I was still conscious, but that was about it.

Regarding the gear - ice gear is only as good as the ice it's placed in. The gear didn't break but the ice did - unsurprising when you consider how far above it I was when I fell. If the climbing had been harder, I would have spent more time hunting out rock protection, but because I was moving fast & finding the climbing easy I didn't - another thing I've learned from! At the point when I fell, I had just completed the crux and should have been on easy ground & about to sort out a belay.