During a personal trip recently to climb the multi-pitch Bellbird Wall, a club member was hit by a falling rock. We are very glad she is okay. In summary, for all of us to keep as safe as possible in future, the main lessons learned by the party were:
- Never stand directly or nearly under an abseiler, ascender or climber if you can help it. Always consider chance of rock fall.
- When climbing, ascending or abseiling, check and look for loose rock. Be careful not to dislodge it. If you do, repeatedly yell "ROCK" to warn others until it hits the ground
- Always weight your abseil setup and let it run through the device a little BEFORE taking your safety off
- Understand where you’re going and what anchors you’re abseiling from. Memorise and possibly print out the notes.
- Have prusiks or ascenders (and know how to ascend with them) in case you miss the end point of the abseil (also tie knots in the ends of your rope)
For the full trip report see here: Trip Report Bellbird Wall.
And ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET, which everyone was, even sport climbing.
Cheers, Brendan