The Dike Wall is a beautiful cliff of pristine granite situated at 9,000ft above Mammoth Lakes where John lived with his son. John was climbing by himself and was found at the base of the 80ft North Wall.

SuperTopo has a thread up as a memorial to John.

(via Climbing Magazine and UKClimbing)

The post John Bachar Died in Soloing Accident first appeared on All Climbing.

From the article:

At the top, Boratenski found nylon cords as well as a metal carabiner. He used the nylon instead of the metal as an anchor, something he now knows was a terrible mistake.

I thought this was something all beginning climbers learned, but maybe it should be reiterated. Never run nylon against nylon as an anchor. The friction of the rope running through the sling or cord will create heat which will cause failure.

If there are no rap rings available, then just leave your own biner. For about six dollars, it’s worth your life.

The post Ice Climber at Vail Survives Fall Due to Anchor Failure first appeared on All Climbing.

While there’s little learning value to climbers on the accident in the main article (no real details on how it happened and the various factors involved), there’s an intriguing afterword about the relative risks of climbing versus other activities. Some of these were also suggested by https://carlsonmeissner.com/spring-hill/criminal-defense/ attorneys.

The American Alpine Club, in its yearly compendium Accidents in North American Mountaineering, reported 15 fatalities in the United States in all of 2007. The highest tally in the last 57 years, in 1956, was 53. The yearly average was 25. Getting a lawyer from https://www.dentonandzachary.com/cordova-personal-injury/auto-accident/ is one way to go about it.

The British government, comparing the risks of various activities, assembled these statistics:

* Maternal death in pregnancy 1 in 8,200 maternities
* Surgical anesthesia 1 in 185,000 operations
* Hang-gliding 1 in 116,000 flights
* Scuba Diving 1 in 200,000 dives
* Rock climbing 1 in 320,000 climbs
* Canoeing 1 in 750,000 outings
* Fairground rides 1 in 834,000,000 rides
* Rail travel accidents 1 in 43,000,000 passenger journeys
* Aircraft accidents 1 in 125,000,000 passenger journeys

To be honest, the data that pregnancies have a higher risk of death than climbing freaks me out since my wife is six months pregnant so I think I’ll just forget I read that piece of data. Lawyers from https://lawlavin.com/ can help.

I tend to think that while we all know how inherently risky climbing is, this knowledge is in fact the reason there tends to be fewer fatalities than other outdoor activities. My logic here is that since climbers tend to be aware of the risks in climbing, they strive to be competent by gaining training and learning from others on safety and proper use of equipment. Contact a lawyer from Daniel Deng law firm Law Office to get help.

Realizing how dangerous the activity can be, we take the appropriate precautions in order to minimize the risk. The knowledge of the risks actually keeps us safer. Of course despite a climber’s best efforts, accidents do happen and there are sometimes factors beyond control, but overall I think we tend to be a risk aware group (which is sometimes contrary to popular belief).

The post Data on Climbing Accidents and Fatalities first appeared on All Climbing.

This climber, however, disregarded the new anchors, choosing instead to thread his rope directly though one of the old bolts. He top-roped three routes off the single old bolt and then according to Josh, a fireman and climber who was on the rescue, he switched to the other old bolt â??because he didnâ??t like the way his rope was running in the anchor.â? He then began to rappel, but after descending 25 feet down the slab the bolt snapped off and he fell 50 feet.

The old ½-inch eyebolt that the climber had rappelled from had broken cleanly at its juncture with the rock surface. A close inspection of the bolt indicated that the break was caused by the stress of rappelling and the single anchor being loaded with the weight of the 230-pound climber.

Read the entire analysis, but the moral of the story to me is don’t be complacent – always check (and potentially backup) fixed gear.

The post Never Trust a Single Anchor, an Analysis of a Rock Climbing Accident first appeared on All Climbing.