Auto belay accident. This accident has a happy ending and a powerful lesson.


Auto belay accident even if the cause of the accident was failure to use the auto-belay altogether. Your two eyes are your only double-checking mechanism. Feb 20, 2021 · The auto belay accident A perfect storm of conditions. On December 14, 2022, Adam Herzog (43) miraculously survived a fall in which he suffered severe injuries after failing to clip into an auto belay in a climbing gym. com, a multi-year (and multi-million dollar) lawsuit related to an auto belay accident at Vertical World in Seattle, Washington, was recently settled. For media inquiries, please contact: Josh Kerns for PCVA 206-920-1482 (voice or text) [email protected] Oct 25, 2021 · The gym closed following the accident last week, just two days after it had reopened following the lifting of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Peters location when an accident on Jan 25, 2023 · This month we have an indoor gym accident of a type that sadly occurs with some frequency. Jun 21, 2021 · A woman has died following an auto-belay accident at Ascent Studio Climbing & Fitness, in Fort Collins, Colorado, on Saturday, June 12. This accident had a happy ending and contained a powerful lesson. Mar 3, 2025 · A few weeks ago, a climber in the Netherlands was pretty badly injured when the webbing (!) of an auto belay apparently snapped, causing them to fall from approximately 8 meters. Most of these auto-belay accidents have been people who don't tie in or don't tie in correctly. Aug 31, 2023 · More information about the C3 Perfect Descent Auto Belay Recall is available here. Authorities have not yet released the woman’s name. Jul 11, 2023 · In January 2023, we reported an auto belay accident that sadly occurs with some frequency. Sydney Indoor Climbing Gym has since reopened, albeit now without any autobelays. Specifically, and as a result of the settlement, Vertical World and C3 Manufacturing (makers of the Perfect Descent auto belay) collectively An informal post on a climbing forum titled "Auto-belay Accident" is the most perfect, concise way to tell a reader, they are going to read about a climbing accident that occurred on an auto-belay. Sep 21, 2023 · In 1994, he also served as one of the original board members for the Climbing Wall Association. . In September of 2023, a three-year lawsuit over an auto-belay accident ended in a $6M settlement. Sep 23, 2016 · One of the main elements in the auto belay set-up that is different from regular top rope climbing, is the absence of a partner. e. A man, reported to be in his 30s, was climbing at Sydney Indoor Climbing Gym’s St. Sources These are the prime sources for the part about it being a problem with the webbing (it was also covered in national media, though pretty briefly): Feb 23, 2024 · BYTOM, Poland – A 22-year-old climber fell 50 feet after forgetting to clip into the belay device at the bottom of the climb in a Polish gym earlier this month. The climber, presumably attempting to capture a successful climb on camera, filmed the entire thing, with the video circulating around the internet following the incident. It was a very busy day, she had a lot on her mind, but didn’t think that would impact on her climbing. forgetting to clip-in. Most of the accidents have happened when climbers were well into their climbing session. Sep 27, 2023 · As reported last week by Delaney Miller at Climbing. Ironically, Johnston has been pushing for better auto belay practices for years. Sam, who started climbing 15 years ago with her daughter, had been climbing constantly on auto belay for around an hour, on the day of her accident. Jan 15, 2024 · It is important to note that the majority of auto-belay-related incidents and deaths are not a result of the malfunction of the auto-belay itself. Last month, the Climbing Wall Association (CWA) released updated Auto Belay Guidance in hope of reducing auto belay incidents and improve the culture of responsibility in the sport of climbing. Based on both rumor and inference from the messaging, this looks like a fixed-gear failure, and no part of that system should fail catastrophically if maintained correctly. Good job OP and thank you for sharing. “[The accident] involved an autobelay failure,” the gym wrote on Facebook and Instagram prior to reopening on October May 31, 2025 · September 21, 2023 – Perfect Descent Auto Belay and a climbing gym have reached a $6 million settlement following an accident that led to severe injuries, raising concerns about safety and liability in the industry. In the auto belay scenario you lack an extra set of eyes. Oct 22, 2021 · Today, the gym confirmed that the incident involved an auto-belay system. Fort Collins Police Services spokesperson Brandon Barnes told The Coloradoan that the climber fell from about 40 feet up in the auto-belay area. At first reluctant to host auto belays in his gyms, he compromised with a stringent and required belay check that all members who wish to use the auto belays must undergo. Most auto-belay accidents happen because of human error–i. Yeah, my current (mostly bouldering) gym did 3 things after an autobelay scare: Put all the autobelays in one section and all the topropes in the other (it's a very small roped section to begin with) See my comment below, TL;DR- the recalls were because the original devices were built for safety backups to be used in construction and industrial venues, where they might catch a fall every year or two, and were built for a max of a few hundred falls a year, but were repurposed for gym use, where there thousands of falls per month. Because if this was a maintenance failure they're liable. This accident has a happy ending and a powerful lesson. Apr 29, 2021 · Seattle’s Vertical World climbing gym is, according to the Climbing Wall Association, fighting a $1,000,000 lawsuit brought by an injured gym member, who allegedly fell off an auto-belay route after failing to fully clip the auto belay’s carabiner into his harness. Media coverage about the settlement: Gym and Auto Belay Manufacturer to Pay $6M in Settlement for Auto Belay Accident, Outside, 9/21/23. hkpds lyweml tatxfdb kycf ifgdpr uhivec cyv sjsgqdvg uqkm hrzog