I wanted to share with you a number of things which have occurred to me over the last week. The first is a reminder really that climbing is dangerous. I think often we as climbers pretend to ourselves that it is safe, and although in this case the protection was marginal on the route, even when protection is plentiful, unforeseen things can happen. This is both a positive and a negative - in one sense, focusing on whether protection is good or not is only part of the picture, so undue worry about this area is not necessary!
The second is that without having friends in the rescue team, I would not have known when to call mountain rescue (as opposed to ambulance, which is what my friend was asking for) and how to do it. Ambulance workers typically have push stretchers, and so if you are more than a stone's throw from a path or road, then call MR! The way to do this is to call 999 and ask for "police mountain rescue". In our case we were not far from a road but far enough away to need a stretcher carrying team, and in the end the helicopter. You will get through to the police control room who will want your name and DoB and some details. It then seems to take ages before MR call you back, but in reality it isnt that long, and when they do arrive their professional-ness is very reassuring.
The third thing is not to underestimate how shocking it is to witness an accident. In the days that followed I found myself in shock and running through the event in my mind, questioning every action. This is normal and its important to talk things through with someone you trust. Expect to feel teary, angry, guilty and self doubting. Expect to feel anxious and hypervigilant for other potential accidents. And most importantly, get out climbing again as soon as possible. Don't delay or put it off, as this will reinforce your sense of anxiety about climbing. The first few times you climb again, try to make it a pleasant experience and be sure to stay in the situation until any anxiety decreases. This might mean up to 20 mins or so on a stance, hanging on the rope or wherever you need to be to get the anxiety to drop.
Accidents can and do happen. Its important to be prepared (mobile full of battery, first aid kits, knowing the location of the crag, who to call in an emergency, know what you are doing), but then to put that to one side and accept that risks can never be eliminated completely and to get on and enjoy the experience.
happy climbing!
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6 comments:
Sounds horrible - hope you're ok and your friend makes a speedy recovery. xxx
Sounds like a nightmare experience to be involved in. You make some good points here. Thank you for sharing them. Its good to see you take the opportunity to use the event positively by doing this.
I hope your friend has a speedy recovery as do you psychologically.
xx
You did everything right and great to see that you have put a message out to let other know how to do that too.
Climbers don't generally carry maps to those places so check the guidebook for grid references, or take a gps and leave it in the bag.
If ever doing first aid, just remember A-B-C, Airway, Breathing, Circulation. Keep them warm and reassure.
Well done :o)
thanks for your supportive messages guys. John is recovering and should be out of hospital soon. I am also recovering and chalking it up to experience.
Hi, I was the guy next to your friend on Seems when he fell. I'm glad to hear he's ok, he seemed in a poor way by the time they'd loaded him into the stretcher. You dealt with the whole thing remarkably calmly which I'm sure was a reassurance.
Have just found this page from my hospital bed! Post op complications to soft tissue after an operation to fix a couple of bones in my foot have meant 5 weeks in hospital, at least 2 to go! Good thing is the bones will be fixed once the soft tissue is good enough!!
Wanted to say thank you to jkarran- I didn't know how I would get in touch and say thanks for all your help that day- tidying up kit, fetching the MR team, restraining the dog (carrying the stretcher?). I wondered how you and your climbing partner were after wards- it is harrowing witnessing something like that. I tried that route in the safest way I could, the gear ripping was just unlucky. I'm learning a lot from it and extracting many positives; I hope that you are both ok and, this might sound morbid, have benefitted from the experience! I'd be interested to hear from you.
John
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