SKILLS Hill walking incidents
If you’ve a passion for walking in the hills, moors or mountains, please have a read of the reports submitted by fellow walkers and scramblers:
www.thebmc.co.uk/incident-ravine
“Collecting firewood at 11pm at night ... I fell head first down a 15ft ravine...”
www.thebmc.co.uk/slip-helm-crag
ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?
“Knowledge speaks, wisdom listens,” Jimi Hendrix. Have you ever been experienced? Help others learn from your mistakes with the BMC Incident and Near-Miss reporting system.
The story starts in the January of 2018. Five members of a BMC climbing club were avalanched when a cornice collapsed into a gully on the flanks of Helvellyn. The group was lucky to walk away with only sprains, bruises and damaged equipment, but the close call led to deep discussions in the hut that night. Why did the incident happen? What mistakes had been made? Could the injuries have been prevented? Pete Callaghan, a BMC volunteer who suffered a badly sprained wrist in the slide, began planning a way to share similar incidents with the wider outdoor community. He teamed up with the BMC Training, Youth, and Walls Committee to create a UK and Ireland reporting system. This was launched in early 2019 when the discussions from the
night of the avalanche resulted in the creation of the BMC Incident and Near-Miss reporting system, for walkers, climbers and mountaineers in partnership with Mountaineering Scotland and Mountaineering Ireland. Every year, hill walkers, climbers and mountaineers are involved in incidents and near-misses on the crags, hills and mountains of the UK and Ireland. Some result in no harm, others in injury and, in the worst case scenario, death. Seemingly trivial decisions can have serious consequences and it’s easy to see how having the opportunity to learn from others’ experiences is incredibly valuable. Sharing real-life accounts of these events on the BMC Incident and Near-Miss service can help us all manage risk more effectively. Anyone can submit a report, including a participant, rescuer or observer, and can choose to report anonymously or named. Volunteer moderators review each report for publication online, carefully avoiding misleading, dangerous or judgemental language, and have seen over 150 hillwalking, mountaineering and climbing reports published since the service launched. We publish the original reports unedited, so people submitting can trust that their stories are told without alteration. Although each report is unique, and some provide striking examples of lessons that can help make our community safer, some common themes are starting to emerge.
44 | CLIMB. WALK. JOIN.
“I was wearing a helmet otherwise I would not be typing this...”
www.thebmc.co.uk/incident-great-gable
“One of us accidentally dislodged a large boulder on the scree slope off Great Gable just by stepping on it. The boulder accelerated at a shocking speed and narrowly missed one of the same party. I am convinced if it had hit the participant they would have been killed...”
www.thebmc.co.uk/incident-wasdale-pillar
“A ferocious hailstorm began and rocks in a nearby gully began to spark and explode...”
Alpine and mountaineering incidents
When things go wrong in the mountains, the results can be harrowing:
www.thebmc.co.uk/incident-bevedere
“I cartwheeled down over all the rocks, spinning like a ragdoll. I carried on down the snow slope and ended up sitting upright, about 60 m further down the slope, covered in blood and cuts.”
www.thebmc.co.uk/incident-chardonnet
“
...they hid in a shelf within the cravasse [sic] so to avoid the coffin sized lump of granite crash by them...”
Climbing incidents
Sport routes, trad routes and indoor climbing or bouldering have all provided thought-provoking examples:
www.thebmc.co.uk/incident-vicarage-cliff
“I sustained serious head injuries, as such cannot remember the incident but this is the story as I have been told...”
www.thebmc.co.uk/incident-el-chorro
“
...the novice climber fell from the climb, coming to rest more than halfway to the ground, hitting her head, arms and shoulders in the process. She was extremely distressed and was visibly in a state of shock”
www.thebmc.co.uk/incident-belay-el-chorro “The leader fell past a small ledge which caught her feet, flipping her, and when the belayer finally managed to stop the rope from running through the device, the leader was slammed head-first into the rock face...”
www.thebmc.co.uk/incident-trevor-quarry
“
...no knot tied in the end of the rope therefore rope slipped through belayer and belay plate. Climber fell four meters and is now paralysed...”
Some of these reports describe accidents that arise from the intrinsic risks of our activities, but many describe lessons that could avoid or mitigate some of the accidents reported.
Visit
www.incidents.thebmc.co.uk to further explore the many stories told in by reports submitted by other walkers, climbers and mountaineers in the community.
Share your experiences and the lessons you have learned:
www.thebmc.co.uk/report-incident
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