Climber Down

[Darrin Turnbull]

Working for a local tree business today.

Their climber fell 8 metres damaging his spine he was ascending on single rope system as the anchor point broke.

The anchor point  was no where near strong enough .

From what I’ve heard there’s no permanent damage he did have a operation.

 
Please everyone while choosing a anchor point from the ground be 100% sure that it’s strong enough. Make that your goal.

Nothings 100 % but accept nothing less.

Choose your path with care.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Darrin Turnbull

[Stubby]

1 minute ago, Darrin Turnbull said:

Working for a local tree business today.

Their climber fell 8 metres damaging his spine he was ascending on single rope system as the anchor point broke.

The anchor point  was not strong enough .

From what I’ve heard there’s no permanent damage he did have a operation.

 
Please everyone while choosing a anchor point from the ground be 100% sure that it’s strong enough. Make that your goal.

Nothings 100 % but accept nothing less.

Choose your path with care.

Sorry to hear this .

[Gray git]

Always the potential problem with high canopy anchor placed from the ground.
Hope that's the lads ok and can make a full recovery.

[Darrin Turnbull]

I actually know him , top bloke .

Two kids and a wife.

 

 

[Darrin Turnbull]

3 minutes ago, Gray git said:

Always the potential problem with high canopy anchor placed from the ground.
Hope that's the lads ok and can make a full recovery.

Damaged lumber vertebrae but no permanent damage.

[Gray git]

Damaged lumber vertebrae but no permanent damage.

That's going to smart for quite a while!

[Darrin Turnbull]

He usually uses a ladder for accessing the tree.

From what i can make out he’s choked his rope in the canopy on a thin branch, and maybe a nearby limb stopped it from moving so much until it broke.

 

Any useful info I’ll pass on.

 

[Rich Rule]

Hope he heals up.

 

I have had two top anchors fail whilst ascending.  First time I damaged my ankle but luckily I was only about 12 foot up and the anchor broke was about 60’.

 

Second time, the top snapped out as I was ascending and I started to fall (strangely in slow motion) and then the top landed in a fork and got wedged there.  I looked up, thought that looks bomber now and carried on.  The guy I was working for looked white as a sheet.

 

It is very easily done and I climb SRT 99% of the time.  I now will pull a line back out if it isn’t perfect or close to sketchy.
 

The plus side, you do get better with the throw line the more you use it and therefore should be more accurate with your throwing.

 

I hope your friend recovers and takes some important experience from this.

 

Climb safe everyone.

[Darrin Turnbull]

I usually choke my access rope at top of the canopy , less stretch and less chance of cutting out.

 

I first started out using a base anchor, running the rope down the back of tree.

 

I don’t use srt , it’s just for access.

maybe a base anchor is little bit safer ( only for access )

 

[Rich Rule]

Maybe, maybe not.  

 

I find a base anchor a lot easier than isolating a limb.  I usually try and pick an anchor that if it were to fail it would get caught pretty quickly on another limb/crotch.  Minimising the impact.

 

I find the ease of setting a line SRT is a major benefit, where as I find (in most cases) trying to isolate a limb a right royal PITA.