Incident:Broken right arm (distal radius) in Monkeyface Creek 2018/06/05
| Incident:Broken right arm (distal radius) in Monkeyface Creek 2018/06/05 | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018/06/05 |
| Location | Monkeyface Creek |
| Severity | Injury |
| Canyoneering-related | Yes |
| SAR involvement | No |
| Navigation problem | No |
| Environmental problem | No |
| Communication problem | No |
| Planning problem | No |
| Skills problem | Yes |
| Body movement problem | Yes |
| Rigging problem | No |
| Rappel problem | No |
| Insufficient gear | No |
| Gear failure | No |
Summary
Broke arm sliding/falling on scree in R1B.
Accounts
I'm a noob and didn't appreciate how dangerous scree is (a.k.a. loose rock for any other noobs out there ;) ). I broke my arm sliding/falling down a portion of R1B. As written in the beta, "Doing R1A and R1B as one 200' rappel with two 200' ropes can be done, but be aware ropes may get caught pulling them". Accurate. The second rope got stuck at the top of the scree (half way down). "R1A can be down climbed without rope, but that's sketchy, and R1B is too loose." Accurate. I should have re-rigged when I retrieved the second rope. It wasn't far and I didn't think it was _that_ steep and I didn't appreciate the way scree moves under one's feet like water (but much harder). I tumbled and broke my right arm. My friend splinted it and we made it through the canyon, but it would have been much better day if I'd been more careful. I ended up needing surgery to fully repair my arm and then another surgery in December to remove a plate that had been inserted and was rubbing on tendons.
As a noob, I appreciated the dangers of rappelling waterfalls, but didn't give adequate thought to the other dangers. I hope this account will encourage other noobs to be extra careful.
