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Life Crossroad

I have hit a huge crossroad in my life.

On Monday, October 13th I went climbing with a girl who I had met here in the Red River Gorge.

I was her belayer as she top-roped the climb Ro Shampo at the Roadside Crag.

The story is complex and includes errors from both of us.  Regardless, she ended up taking a 60 foot fall from the chains, landing on the below boulders.

It was horrific.

She is doing better and is in the West Virginia hospital.  She has numerous broken bones and needs surgeries, but will definitely live.

I am more emotionally stable today than the last three days, but feel completely lost in life.

Something positive needs to come from this incident so I am going to write about it later, explaining our errors in hopes that lessons of safety can be implemented.  And to remind all readers that climbing is dangerous.

I hope all you readers are well and safe.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 16th, 2008 at 12:48 pm and is filed under Destination: Red River Gorge, KY, RoadTrip2008, climbing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Don
    Rachel,

    How are you doing? I sat here for a few minutes contemplating something to say. What do you say at these times other than we're here for you, ever from afar.
  • Thank you all for your comments!! I appreciate you stopping by and reading my blog, plus posting up your thoughts. At this time in my life people's thoughts and advice has been extremely helpful. So, thank you! I hope you are all well.
    Best.
    Rachel
  • Gumby Adam
    You already know that my best are with you.

    Always,
    adumb
  • Donald [southern light]
    Hi Rachel,

    my thoughts are with you. Be strong and far sighted - maybe be strong enough to be fragile too. I've spent a lifetime in the mountains, and these things happen. The trick is in how you perceive things and the process of coming to terms with the other side of what we do.

    Cheers

    Donald
  • Brian in SLC
    Ugh, hang in there, Rachel. Tough row to hoe. Looked at what happened on rockclimbing.com (I'm assuming the guy who drew the schematic got it right). Complicated in the least and certainly not your fault. Since you clearly explained you were unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the system, a bit more patience and double checking should have occured on the top end before she let go (like checking to see if the right rope was taught!).

    I feel bad for both of you. What an unfortunate accident. From all I've heard and seen, you have very good communication skills. Don't beat yourself up too bad and get back up on that horse. Take it as a hard lesson learned and try to move on. Go to Buffalo Trace and take their distillery tour (might help clear the mind, in one way or the other).

    Here's to healing, both physically and mentally!

    Cheers,

    -Brian in SLC
  • melissa
    rach,

    my heart is hurting to read this, i am so sorry, and i am thinking of you. if you need to talk, please give me a call. i can't imagine how difficult that this is, and i hope that you have some support there in the red. have you decided whether to continue the trip? regardless, there are people who love and support you all over, so please know that. most of us who have climbed for a while, sadly have been involved in, witnessed, or been affected by an accident- it is a terrible part of this beautiful lifestyle that we love so much.

    thinking of you, and sending you much love and positive energy.

    ml
  • Rachel, I'm sorry to hear that you had to experience something like this, especially in an area as beautiful as the Red. If you can pull through this, you will gain an amazing respect for the sport. I myself have been dropped, and because of that experience I am the guy at the crag that checks my harness, my partners harness, my knot, my partners belay device, etc., just like you learn when you're first learning to climb. You also start climbing because it's fun, not because of the adrenaline rush.

    I know you're out of town, but if you need to talk/vent/decompress, let me know.
  • Vanessa
    Dear Rachel, I am so sorry to hear about that horrible experience. You are such a great person and I admire your strength and positive outlook on life. Is there a anything I can do for you? Hang in there. My thoughts are with you during this tough time.

    Love, Vanessa
  • Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear about this. A few years ago, my husband and I went up to RMNP to watch the sun set. We ended up at a turn in the road with an amazing view, and a hundred foot cliff line. There was a thoughtless family on top of the cliff, goofing around, and just after the sunset, the 15 year old daughter fell about 70 feet off the edge of the cliff. I climbed down to help her, and it was the worst thing I have ever seen. I understand that accidents are horrible for the families and the people involved, but they are also very, very traumatic for those who see them happen.

    For me, it was the beginning of a sad decline in my climbing. It took years to get that image out of my mind when I was climbing or cleaning a route. I vowed that I would take a NOLS wilderness first aid class to be more prepared and empowered if I ever encountered something like this again, but I have yet to do that. :(

    I think it's a reminder of the seriousness of our sport, and the rules that we use in our safety system. All accidents reinforce the importance of every detail in our system, and if we take it to heart, we become better climbers for it.

    I hope you can feel better about what happened, in time.
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