Climbing Injury

A quick story about a climbing injury yesterday from a BAMRU member...

So yesterday I go climbing with a guy. We've been at the crag maybe 20 minutes, he starts leading a sport route. Clips the first bolt no problem. Second bolt is significantly higher, almost seems too high and super sketch. He flails for a good 2-3 minutes trying to get to next bolt but finally throws a cam in a crack just below waist level. He pulls up rope to clip the cam and, you guessed it, he misses and woosh!

He falls a solid 20 feet, flips, landing head (helmeted) & neck first on a ledge 15 feet above me. Unconscious for a good 10-15 seconds.

Finally sits up and blood starts pouring out of his helmet down the rock like a waterfall. I escape belay and scramble up to the guy who is woozy but A&O x 4, throw a sam splint collar on and hold pressure on his scalp lac. Bystanders run down trail to road to drive about 15 minutes to get cell reception to call 911.

Mtn Rescue arrives soon thereafter and rigs a high angle to a steep angle and subject goes to hospital.

Subject seen at hospital later that evening and discharged. No skull or c-spine fracture or intracranial bleed, just a solid lac where his helmet impacted and the adjuster strap dug into his skin.

Bottom line folks, not that you ever doubted it, please, please wear your helmets, even for a quick jaunt to a sport crag, stuff happens. If this guy were unhelmetted, I'm scared to think of how this scenario would've turned out. Fortunately, all he has is a smallish laceration and was back out drinking beer later last night.