Damn, I read all this sh#t and I wonder why the hell I still climb. I guess though that one hospital visit in 31 years of climbing isn't all that bad.
Here's Dave Harden's version of my March 18, 1999 crash and burn:
"A nice sunny day in Yosemite with Brad and Ron started with a couple of obscure, semi-worthless routes at Sunnyside Bench just to do something new. Then Brad took off on a lead of Sultans of Sling. About thirty feet up, his feet cut loose and he popped off. I was belaying, and it looked and felt like a normal leader fall. A split second later everything changed. His protection slowed his descent but then ripped out, and the next two pieces fractured a chunk of granite; he cratered right in front of me. Then fifty or a hundred pounds of rock landed on him.
Needless to say, Ron and I were freaking out. Brad was screaming bloody murder, and we were trying to get him to hold still, suspecting spinal cord damage while pulling rocks off of him. Fortunately his head and neck were uninjured. After we quickly stabilized him and did a primary survey, Ron blasted down to the car to get help started. Before too long, Brad was in the clinic getting pumped full of morphine and having head-to-toe x-rays to determine the extent of his injuries. A monster of a hematoma on his thigh looked the worst, but then an x-ray revealed a separated pelvis. Miraculously, nothing was broken. The pain of widespread abrasions, contusions, and ripped muscles was moderated by the drugs. That night he was in a hospital in Modesto. Bad day."
A few other points:
- The first two pieces that "ripped out" were the two smallest RPs (brass nuts) on my rack. There were very, very limited pro possibilities in that spot.
- The next two pieces down are the ones that blew out chunks of rock. In my defense, these were well placed, medium sized gear. Although I saw a slight fracture nearby, there were no other protection possibilities at all here. I commented to Ron and Dave about the fracture, but it was, after all, Yosemite granite, and the fracture was slight. I went on.
- Both Dave and Ron are Wilderness First Aid Responders (at the time Ron was a YOSAR volunteer). Twenty seconds after I hit, an emergency room nurse from Florida, in Yosemite on vacation, walked up to the scene. She had her cell phone in hand and called 911. I was then 1/4 mile from the Yosemite medical clinic.
- Vicki has never forgotten Dave's words when he telephoned her (after I was already into the clinic): "Hi Vicki, this is Dave. He's going to be alright, but..."
