How To Mentally Recover From An Accident
Last October I was in a horrible climbing accident where my climber decked (meaning hit the ground). There was fault on both sides of the partnership. She was indirect at the anchors, but had threaded the system incorrectly (accidentally taking herself off belay) and forgot to ensure her system was working correctly before coming off of the indirect position. I should have talked to her more to ensure everything was correct, especially since we were using a funky system. I did a complete write-up on the event, but am not going to link to it as I don’t feel the need to drive traffic to that link (as it is an emotional topic for me). If you want to read the writeup, you can find it under the Destination: Red River Gorge, KY category label.
I wanted to write up a follow up post, though, as it has been hard to recover from such a traumatic accident and thought I would share some insights in case any of you readers catch yourself in a similar situation.
A fun pic, to lighten up a serious topic. This is an old pic of me climbing in Indian Creek while donning a wrap-around dress, in celebration of Zac’s annual Indian Creek birthday costume celebration.
First of all, a question that all climbers should consider is the following…
- Climbing is hobby where things can go horribly wrong, very quickly. Mistakes can happen, even to the extremely experienced climber (think Lynn Hill and Todd Skinner). Know that participating in this sport puts you at risk for serious injury (and potentially death) if a simple mistake occurs. Are you ok with that?
After my accident, I was going to quit climbing all together but was persuaded by a friend to try bouldering instead of going home from my road trip. I ended up enjoying bouldering, especially the fact that I wasn’t nearly as scared on a boulder problem as I was on a rope. However, upon getting home to Utah I decided to return to the rope, but only with my small handful of trusted climbing partners.
If an accident (of any magnitude) does happen, and they DO happen, here are some helpful tips to return to climbing mental homeostasis.
- Take some time off – There is nothing wrong with a sabbatical. Climbing, as many of us must remember, is a hobby! It can be mentally taxing and there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a break for awhile. The rock isn’t going anywhere, so wait until you feel completely ready to go back.
- Climb Only With People You COMPLETELY Trust – I am a social butterfly by nature and love to include people in my hobbies. However, I am now picky with whom I will rope climb as not everyone understands the dynamic belay and some people are a little too lax on safety for my liking. Climb only with people you feel completely comfortable having in charge of your life and vice-a-versa.
- Triple Check – I have always been the queen of double check, but now I am the queen of triple check. I now check everything 3 times before hoping on a route, and even make my partner audibly confirm everything looks good (even though we have gone through 3 checks). I also like to have my climber validate that everything looks correct at the chains if I am planning on a top roping, ensuring they have placed two opposing draws at the anchors. And will even question if everything is ok before they come off from the indirect position at the chains, even though this is their responsibility. I figure the couple spare seconds of safety questioning could potentially catch a mistake.
- Become a Gym Rat for Awhile – I first went to the gym when getting back on the rope because the bolts are close together and easy routes abound. I felt like this was extremely helpful.
- Trust the System – One of the best pieces of advice I received from a fellow climber (who had personally decked in an accident), was to remember that the system truly does work when done properly. My friend reminded me to triple check everything, then simply climb without worrying about the system. Check it .. and go.
- Fall – After getting back on the rope with someone you trust, start taking falls again. Falls, for the majority of us, are scary; yet controlled falls can quickly clear out the lead head while being a reminder that the system truly does work.
- Go to Familiar Crags – This was one of the breakthrough points for me! I caught myself still being scared outside, so one day went to a crag where I knew every single climb and had in years past taken numerous falls on these particular routes, knowing fully what to expect. By the end of the session, I finally felt back to my old route climbing self.
- If Still Not Enjoying Yourself, Take a Break Again – If still not thoroughly enjoying yourself, stop, wait it out, and start the list over again.
Have you recovered from an accident? What helped you get back on the sharp end?