The climbers involved have requested we use pseudonyms to protect their privacy.
Scenario
On June 19th, 2021, Yosemite Search and Rescue responded to a call for a leader who had fallen and injured an ankle while climbing the Southwest Buttress of Cathedral Peak (5.6), in Tuolumne Meadows. The reporting party was a separate team that had cell service and the necessary skills to assist the injured climber. Cathedral Peak is approximately 3 miles from the Cathedral Lakes Trailhead.
Background
Two climbers, Sandra and Mason, were a on a weekend climbing trip from the San Fransisco Bay Area. They were very excited to get out into the mountains and were looking forward to climbing Cathedral Peak. Although Sandra had climbed Cathedral Peak twice previously and had have experience leading trad routes, this would be her first time leading Cathedral Peak. Due to a work emergency, Sandra and Mason didn’t leave as early as planned and arrived in Yosemite with minimal sleep. Nonetheless, they were still excited to climb their planned objective.
Sandra and Mason were the first party to arrive at the base of the route, at approximately 6:30am. As they were racking up to start climbing, a second party arrived at the base, a team of two women, Lily and Mackenzie. Lily and Mackenzie work as a mountain guide and a ski patroller, respectively. At around 7:15am, Mason led the first pitch and after following the pitch, Sandra set off leading the second pitch.
The Accident
As Sandra was nearing the end of the second pitch, she could see the anchor tree approximately 10-15 feet above her. To her right, there was an obvious 5.4 crack she could climb to the anchor, or she could stay in the crack system she was in and climb straight up to the anchor via a more direct path. She opted to stay in the direct crack which was slightly vegetated and damp from the rain the day before but it didn’t seem too difficult. Feeling confident, she placed a piece of gear and began climbing the last 15 feet to the anchor.
Shortly after placing a piece of protection, her foot slipped in the polished crack and she fell approximately 6-8 feet, hitting a small ledge on the way down and breaking her right ankle and bruising her right hip.
The upper x marks the approximate location of the leader fall, and the lower x marks the approximate location of the injury. Photo courtesy of summitpost.org
The Rescue
At this point, Sandra was able to build an anchor from where she was and belayed Mason up to her. Mason then lowered Sandra down the second pitch to the belay at the top of the first pitch, where Lily and Mackenzie now were. Luckily, Lily and Mackenzie had a first aid kit, first aid training, rescue training, and cell phone service. They helped assess Sandra’s broken ankle, and started getting set up to lower down with Sandra. In the meantime, they also called Yosemite Search and Rescue to receive addtional resources. Mason made a new anchor ~25ft down, then cleaned the original anchor and rappelled with their 60m rope to the top of the pitch 1 anchor to meet Sandra, Lily and Mackenzie
Mackenzie then set up Sandra on a counterbalance tandem-lower, with Mackenzie controlling the descent of both climbers to the ground. Mackenzie’s party and Sandra’s party then combined ropes to get to the ground with one rappel. At around 9:30am, once everyone was successfully on the ground, Sandra took pain medication, drank water and sat in the shade while they waited for the Search and Rescue (SAR) team to arrive.
At approximately 10:30 am, after waiting for one hour, the SAR arrived. They first assessed Sandra’s ankle injury and a decision was made to extricate using the park helicopter. Sandra was able to use crutches and then was piggy-back carried by a SAR team member the short remainder of the way to the helicopter Landing Zone (approximately 1000 feet from the base of Cathedral Peak). The park helicopter then loaded up Sandra and flew her to the Crane Flat Helibase and drove her back to her car at the Cathedral Lakes trailhead.
Take Aways
Risk Assessment and Route Finding – If you are unsure of where the route goes, take a moment to look at the topo before committing to a section of a climb. You could be exposing yourself to more risk with either a more difficult variation, poor gear, or a combination of the two. In addition, being extra cautious in ledgy terrain is prudent, as often even small falls such as Sandra’s can result in an injury requiring rescue.
Have Basic Medical Knowledge – When venturing out to multi-pitch rock climbs, especially in the backcountry, basic medical knowledge can be extremely helpful (not just to your party, but to other parties around as well!) In this case, Sandra and Mason were lucky that both Lily and Mackenzie had a medical background, a first-aid kit, and the skills to help. A basic course such as Wilderness First Responder or Wilderness First Aid is a great skillset for any climber.
Know how to Self-Rescue – Having basic self rescue skills such as lowering or descending with an injured partner are must-have skills for any multi-pitch rock climber. Again, in this case it was extremely lucky that Lily and Mackenzie happened to be there with self-rescue knowledge to help out. It could have been much slower and potentially much more dangerous for Sandra and Mason to descend by themselves without proper knowledge. Take a self-rescue clinic, learn the skills, and practice them often before needing them.
Maintain Communication – In this case, Mason couldn’t see Sandra while she was climbing and was unable to see her fall. Being able to see your partner will allow you to provide a more attentive belay, potentially reducing the impacts during a fall. It is sometimes better to build a belay earlier on so that there is better visual and auditory communication between partners.
Beware of Rushed Time – One small contributing factor could have been that Sandra and Mason were feeling a bit rushed as they entered their weekend due to a late-start and minimal sleep. After minimal sleep and waking up early to avoid crowds, they could have been more mentally tired than usual. Be honest with yourself and your partners about your pacing and objectives for the day, taking into account your mental space.