Date of Event: 8/21/2017

Canyon Involved: Wallace Falls

Region: Washington

Country: United States

Submitted by: Nichole Doane

Source: Self

Injury: Fracture

Cause: Rappel error, Lack of experience

Description of Event: 5 in group, 2male, 3 female, 3 very experienced, 2 novice. 3 experienced had been down this canyon multiple times previous to the accident (2 within 1 week of the accident). 70 degree sunny day. One experienced and one novice went down the rappel prior to the accident. I went 3rd (novice). The two experienced people at the top with me checked all the equipment, knots, rope etc prior to the rappel. Heavy focus was on the rope because the week prior they had nearly core shot a rope on this same rappel. On every rappel we had done that day I had instruction on what to expect and a fireman belay. I think this was the 8th rappel of the day and everyone including myself was feeling confident with my abilities. On this free hanging rappel I received less information on what to expect because of the focus on potentially cutting the rope and I also did not have a fireman belay because the terrain at the bottom was slippery and less safe to stand. I had no experience with free hanging rappels. I had an understanding that I would be moving faster without my feet on a wall but misjudged how much faster. When I dropped over to the free hang I lost control of my brake hand because I was unprepared for this. I didn’t know how to add friction on my rappel device (ATC). Somehow in that uncontrolled moment my break hand ended up above my head and I didn’t know how to course correct. With the minimal experience I had with rappelling at this point, I really can’t say more about the situation because I didn’t have a clear understanding myself. I can say that while I was hanging with both hands above my head the only solution that made any sense to me was to pull myself up the rope and back into correct position but I wasn’t strong enough to do so. Once I realized this, the best option felt like a controlled fall so that’s the path I chose. Neither the group above or below could hear me yelling to them. I ended up intentionally letting go of the rope to try and control my fall trajectory resulting in injury.

Analysis: What went wrong- I went to fast on the rappel and didn’t have control when it really counted

What might prevent- Practice with rescue techniques ie. wrapping a leg etc, Attention and focus by all parties during the rappel, communication devices