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WARNING: The below video is graphic.
It’s not often you see videos as gruesome as this. We hesitate to recirculate it at all. Ultimately, however, we feel it is a grave reminder of the cost of negligence. Climbing can be a deadly sport, but most accidents are preventable with experience and good judgment. Checking your systems is an easy and critical part of preventing the worst; the hard part is doing it each and every single time you approach the wall.
Climber forgets to fasten safety rope then jumps off rock climbing wall. pic.twitter.com/f3AmfRibx0
— TheBestJesusChrist (@BestJesus415) February 5, 2024
The accident occurred last Friday, February 2. According to a report from the Daily Mail, the 22-year-old Polish climber has been training for competitions for several years. Following the fall, he was airlifted to the local hospital and is currently receiving treatment. He is, miraculously, expected to make a full recovery.
The climber obviously remembered to set up his camera. He also paused at the start of the route, likely playing the speed competition cues (Ready, Beep, Beep, Beep) in his head. Perhaps if he’d been less concerned with getting footage of himself, or less preoccupied with visualizing his competition routine, then he very likely would have realized his mistake. You have to wonder if he was thinking things like, “I want to look good in the video so I can show it to my friends,” or “This is going to be my PR!” or “This is my year to podium.” Clearly, he was not thinking, “What am I doing right now?”
I fear that in this increasingly preoccupied world, where social media has infiltrated our lives, where climbing as a sport has more clout than ever and, where, consequently, results/grades/rankings matter all the more, that accidents of this sort will become increasingly common. What’s sad is how oppositional all of the aforementioned is with the act of climbing itself. Even as we strive forward, we must maintain our humility.
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