Bad SRT accident

[richy_B]

In the scenarios I often think panic is what get us. Talking it through now there are a number of safe ways of getting the climber down but in the heat of it you react quickly and its easy for something to go wrong. Knots not tied properly, too much slack leading to shock loading and failure, even cutting the rope in the wrong place. Easy done.

 

Glad to hear she's ok though. Could easily have been a fatal one.

[Mr. Squirrel]

Sounds like a rough one, but good on the lass for having such a positive attitude. It's a tragedy that it happened but also that it was completely avoidable. I've practiced the kind of rescue they attempted and it does work, but I wouldn't be doing it the way they did. It's also DEFINITELY NOT the sort of thing you want to 'give a go'. Cutting a rope, as stated, is not something to be taken lightly.

[BenR]

I just read her whole post on the other forum and all I can see is that the guy trying to rescue her A) didnt need to as she was already making her way down! and B) should have cut both legs of the eye on the bowline so that some form of a stopper was retained and the longest tail possible below the blakes.

 

Although to be fair she said they dont know if the blakes slipped off or the main anchor broke (weird you should be able to tell)

 

Moral of the story: always bang an alpine in above your base anchor as Mark said

[Negundo]

I often use a base anchor that incorporates a friction hitch to allow lowering from the ground. Even that is easy to set up. My most common basal anchor is wraps around the trunk with a bite coming up underneath them to anchor to the leg of line running up the trunk. I tie a midline knot in the bite and use a delta link to connect to the anchor leg. It can be removed even if it gets loaded. But the wraps usually keep it from loading.