> I still find it a miracle that i'm able put this article across to you folks but here it goes. Injuries are as follows; Torn tricep and ligament. Disjointed elbow. Fractured metacarpal/carpal (hand). The first injuries have been operated on using a metal plate and pins to connect everything back together. Specialists have said that the impact force on my hand has weakened the joint connecting both metacarpal and carpal resulting in a potential early onset of arthritis.



> All this originated from some uber poor belaying, which saw me hitting the deck from a height of 15m.



> So here's what happened. I was climbing my last route of the night at the ever polished and popular 'cuttings' venue on Portland, Dorset. I got to the top of the route where i clipped both staples with quickdraws. My belayer had intended to do the route 'top rope' style so i left the gear in to prevent any unnecessary wear & tear on those staples. Correct me if i'm wrong but i believe this is common practice on sport climbs.



> I shouted 'ok safe, coming down', to which my belayer replied, 'alright'. From then i leant back weighting the rope and that's when i thought my time was up. I started falling, wondering when the belay device would bite and stop me in my tracks. Nothing. The fall was a full on 15 metres from the top of the route to the stone hard ground. An impossible fall to survive from but my guardian angel was with me that day.



> Turns out that my belayer misheard me thinking that i shouted 'slack'....presumably, in his mind, to thread the staples at the top, thus creating a top rope with no gear left behind. So at the precise moment when i weighted the rope, my belayer paid it out, losing control of the rope. He claimed he couldn't regain control due to the rope going through the belay device (dmm bug) so fast. I don't think by any means that this was done on purpose but i do think there are some fundamental flaws to be highlighted here;



> Firstly, there were no 'eyes on the climber' during this stage. Something which needs to happen for both parties.



> Also, i believe that my belayer would have paid out slack in a nonchalant manner where there is no lock off on the belay device for every rope length paid out.



> This would happen if you were to use a grigri as the cam would try to engage, or if you were to use a reverso, the teeth would attempt to clamp down on the rope when given out. So why not make the adjustment of holding the rope in a 'lock off' position every time you pay out the rope when using a dmm bug. Don't just feed the rope through with the belay device constantly open.



> Although this may be seen by some as just an act of complacency, i assure you that complacency can creep into any partnership. Incidents like this never seem possible until they actually happen to you. Just like being in a car crash as a result of not checking mirrors.



> I'd like to hear from anyone that's had similar injuries whilst climbing as i don't really know what to do with myself at the moment.



> I hope this makes people out there think more whilst on the crag and that you become totally aware of everything you do. Remember when you first got lowered off a climb and how scary it was...how much communication was involved, how much trust there is between you and your partner.



> Thanks for reading my story.



> George

