CLOSE CALL AT CROW HILL

Friends of mine recently experienced a close call top-rope climbing at Crow Hill in Leominster State Park. On this particular day, Darren and Julian had dropped a rope on a classic overhanging 5.9 route called Blow up. Darren had just finished struggling to pull himself over the crux of the climb which is the overhanging section of rock. Julian lowered Darren back to the ground and prepared himself to do the same. Julian tied in and was on belay before he headed up the climb. Darren decided to belay Julian off his body.

Both of my friends are regulars to Crow Hill and feel comfortable with the surroundings. Julian made it to the overhang which is approximately 35 feet above a large ledge and another 50 feet from the ground. Julian made the awkward moves out into the overhang and reached up for the positive jugs above.

In order to accomplish the overhang you need to continue reaching for positive holds until you can swing your feet up over the imposing rock that continues to push you out. Once you get your feet over the overhang several small, but, well rooted shrubs stare you in the face beckoning you to grab hold. It is difficult not to grab them since nothing else presents itself clearly. I can hardly think of anyone I have spoken with that has actually done the climb, first time, without grabbing on to the shrubs.

On this particular day, as Julian, like hundreds of people before him, started grabbing hold of the big jugs and pulling himself up into the overhang, without any warning, he actually pulled a microwave size block right off the climb. Julian immediately shouted rock and luckily Darren was being attentive on belay. He literally had just enough time to dive out of the way. Clearly he could have been crushed by such a huge block falling from almost 80 feet. Darren ended up falling face down a slope and in the process lost hold of brake end of the rope. He heard the sound of the rope running through his belay device and scrambled to grabbed the brake end of the rope. By the time Darren was able to gain control of the rope and arrest his friend from falling further, Julian had actually hit the large ledge and rolled over it.

As a result, Darren suffered from rope burns on his hand and Julian was only badly bruised. In listening to them recount their story it was hard not to picture myself in that same situation or imagining what else could have happened, especially if Darren had been anchored to a tree at the base. Would he have been able to get out of the way of such a huge, falling block? If he did get hit what would have happened to him and his partner then? Anyway you annalize it, things could have been a lot worse.

Having been climbing for almost 10 years I have seen many different styles of belaying a top-rope climber. Often times people belaying are either anchored in or they belay off an anchor. Certainly, Darren and Julian's experience helps to illustrate the importance of knowing various methods of belaying and being aware of the all the different belay devices on the market today.

It also helps to illustrate just how critical it is for the person belaying to always pay careful attention to the climber. If Darren had not been paying attention he might not have reacted quick enough to avoid being hit by the block. Also, it is crucial that climbers warn everyone below whenever any sized rock is dislodged from the cliff. It is through clear and effective communication and careful observation that serious accidents are avoided. It is also extremely important to always be on guard when climbing, no matter how many times you have climbed somewhere. The environment is always changing and the way the cliff is today might not be how it is tomorrow.