| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schallert, Ann | Not recorded | Female | Sprain | Ankle |
On 9 July, a group of twelve cavers rigged the entrance to Shower Pit with a rappel rope, belay rope and a cable ladder. Chuck Curran, Chuck Murray, and Chuck Blumentritt had rappelled in and Curran and Murray had climbed out, when Ann Shallert, belayed by Curran, commenced her rappel, and fell. Apparently. the cause of the fall was a small amount of slack in the rappel line at the start of the descent.
Schallert moved down about two feet on footholds with little weight supported by the rappel line. At the actual pit edge, she leaned backwards into rappel position but the slack, plus the stretch in the nylon rope, allowed her to swing too far backwards and down, necessitating her being caught by her belayer. As she fell, her last foothold caught her foot and held it, causing a badly sprained ankle.
Source: Robert Clark (SLUG Newsletter)
Analysis: (Clark) Had she not been belayed, she could easily have fallen the full fifty feet. The injury was rather fortuitous, but even a small amount of slack in a rappel line can be dangerous. Slack, rope elasticity and belayer resiliency make the "first step" a long one. In addition, too much reliance on "footholds" in a rappel can lead not only to such an accident as this, but also makes the descent uneven, and increases the likelihood of dislodging rocks upon those below.
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC.