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The primary purpose of these experience reports and the Annual Report of Accidents in North American Mountaineering is to aid in the prevention of accidents.
Narrative Description of Accident:
On Sunday morning, November 4, 2007, Jim Anglin, 55,
of White Salmon, Washington, was descending into the Gorge by a Fourth Class
climbers' way at the southeast end of Smith Rock State Park when he lost his
footing and fell about 100 feet to his death. No one saw him slip. Anglin and his climbing companions had been heading down into the Gorge to climb
traditional (unbolted) routes in that area of the Park.
Jim Anglin had been rock climbing at the highest level at Smith Rock since the 1980's, and is credited with many First Ascents. Recently, he had participated in replacing anchors on well known routes on Monkey Face.
Analysis of Accident: What knowledge and techniques will help prevent future accidents?
The Fourth Class climber's way they used on Sunday,
descends into the Gorge from a section of the volcanic Rim Rock located behind
the Park Offices. This hard Basaltic rock does not degrade into the
slippery-gravel over sloping-rock base that is typical of Welded Tuff rock
according to Smith climber Ian Caldwell. Hiking trails elsewhere in Smith Rock
State Park and climbs in other volcanic areas in
Central Oregon such as Three Fingered Jack have this dangerous slippery-gravel condition.
Reportedly, his companions (whose names have been withheld) did not see what caused him to fall. Climbers generally do not wear helmets on this hard rock descent route into the Gorge. The climber's way into the Lower Gorge is described as a Fourth Class descent slot by Alan Watts on page 234 of his "Climber's Guide to Smith Rock". Fourth Class climbing requires balance, care, and the use of hands and may involve serious injury or death if a fall should occur.
We are reminded again, that Risk is present in all aspects of rock climbing and mountaineering. Risk is an essential component of the sport.
Report filed by Robert Speik and published in the 60th edition of ANAM in 2008
Copyright© 2007-2008 by Robert Speik. All Rights Reserved.
Current News Reports
Longtime rock climber dies in
fall from trail at Smith Rock
The Bulletin
BY CINDY POWERS
Monday, November 5, 2007
A 55-year-old rock climber with decades of experience died at Smith Rock State
Park on Sunday after he lost his footing along a steep trail and fell 100 feet
into a gorge.
Crews endeavored for nearly six hours to get Jim Anglin's body out of the gorge,
said Sgt. Gary Cima of the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office.
"They had to use sophisticated equipment to get him out," Cima said.
Anglin, of White Salmon, Wash., was a retired paramedic with the Lebanon Fire
Department, where he last served as captain, according to a biography included
in the book "Oregon Rock Climbing - Willamette Edition," which he co-authored.
He was the first to ascend a route on Rooster Rock, a popular rock-climbing spot
in the Willamette National Forest's Menagerie Wilderness, in 1977, according to
the biography.
After his retirement, he and his wife, Cheryll, moved to Washington, where they
have been active windsurfers and skiers, the biography said.
A call about the accident at Smith Rock came in just before 10 a.m., according
to a news release from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office. A group of about
10 people, including Deschutes County Search and Rescue volunteers, Redmond Fire
and Rescue paramedics and sheriff's deputies, responded, Cima said.
Anglin and two friends had been descending the trail, used by rock climbers to
get to the start of climbing routes in the area, Cima said. The three were
experienced climbers and had brought along appropriate climbing gear, but Anglin
was not wearing a helmet when he fell, Cima said.
"As with most of these falls, it wouldn't have mattered if he was wearing a
helmet," Cima said. "The rock is unforgiving. It's terrible,"
The group was in a remote area when the accident happened, he said.
Cima said he heard radio chatter throughout the day from rescuers . calling in
additional equipment to help them get Anglin's body out.
Despite living in Washington, Anglin continued to climb in Oregon, said local
climber Rod Jacobson, who is the webmaster for the Cascade Mountaineers climbing
group.
Jacobson said he did not know Anglin personally but knew of his reputation.
The Menagerie Wilderness area was one of Anglin's favorite places to climb. "My
most enjoyable times have probably been solo cragging and new route development
in the Menagerie and other areas," Anglin wrote in his biography.
Postings on cascadeclimbers .com say that Anglin climbed Monkey Face at Smith
Rock earlier this year, replacing anchor bolts along the route. Climbers clip
their ropes to the bolts as they ascend a rock face, said local mountaineer Bob
Speik.
Speik said the Smith Rock area is rife with "pea gravel" on sloped rock that can
be very treacherous.
The investigation into Anglin's death was ongoing as of Sunday evening, Cima
said.
The last deaths at Smith Rock reported in The Bulletin were in the mid-1990s.
John R. Elgin, 24, of Lacey, Wash., died 411995 after falling 60 feet and
suffering massive internal injuries.
Less than a year later, Terry A. Mitchell, 22, of Stayton, fell 100 feet and
died after trying to climb a sheer wall at Smith Rock without using safety ropes.
Rock climbers 'still baffled that he fell'
BY CINDY POWERS
The Bulletin
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Locals who knew Jim Anglin well can't figure out how he fell to his death Sunday
morning from an established climber's trail at Smith Rock State Park.
.
Avid climbers don't consider the outcropping of craggy rocks he was descending
to be an overly dangerous area, but say it does have its challenges.
"Some of the best climbers In Bend have been taught by Jim," Terrebonne rock
climber John McDaniel said of his friend, Jim Anglin, above. Anglin fell to his
death Sunday from a trail climbers use to access their routes. The site is east
of the paved turnaround at the end of the park road.
Anglin, 55, had been a climber for nearly 40 years, and friends say the accident
was one they never would have expected.
"This is one of those things, this is like stepping off a curb in front of a
car," said Mike Volk, a climber who has lived at Smith Rock since 1983. "It
could happen to anybody, but you would never expect it to happen to him."
Volk, 54, and other climbers who. spent time on rock walls with Anglin, describe
him as a "phenomenal" climber who took every precaution and inspired others to
get into. the sport.
"Some of the best climbers in Bend have been taught by Jim," said friend and
fellow rock climber John McDaniel, 52, of Terrebonne.
McDaniel and his wife, Cyndee, looked down the climber's trail Monday, marked
with yellow caution tape, where their friend spent his last moments. Both
swallowed back tears as they talked about what might have happened to a man who
was "larger than life."
Anglin, of White Salmon, Wash., is survived by his wife, two. children and four
grandchildren, according to. a biography he wrote in 2005 for the book "Oregon
Rock Climbing - Willamette Edition," which he co.-authored.
The biography says he was a retired paramedic with the Lebanon Fire Department,
where he last served as captain.
Before he fell at least 60 feet to a bank of the Crooked River lined with
boulders Sunday, Anglin was "fourth-classing," a term climbers use to describe
scrambling over rock with their hands and feet.
He was in an area well known to intrepid climbers but hidden from the view of
mast visitors to the park.
''It was a freak thing, we need to let people know that". - Carol Simpson, owner
of First Ascent Climbing Services In Redmond and Red Point Climbers Supply In
Redmond.
"It does take a lot, you really have to want to get back here," John McDaniel
said.
The McDaniels also have been climbing far decades and said all who. participate
in the sport know its risks. "But the likelihood of someone falling here who is
a skilled climber is low," Cyndee McDaniel, 48, said. "Climbers are very aware
of the risk, and we take steps to manage the risk."
Anglin and two friends hiked to the trail, which leads to a more remote climbing
area, mid-morning Sunday. The three had just started dawn the rocks when Anglin
fell.
Exactly what happened remains unclear, but officials say they do not consider
the fall suspicious.
"The initial investigation reveals that he passed away from the injuries he
sustained in the fall," said Lt. Shane Nelson of the Deschutes County Sheriff's
Office. And Deschutes County District Attorney Mike Dugan said he will not be
asking the medical examiner to perform an autopsy.
Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue volunteers got to the site
of Anglin's fall just before 10 a.m. and spent much of the day trying to get his
body out of the gorge. A large tripod with ropes and pulleys attached to a
stretcher was enlisted to lift him out, Nelson said.
Now the local climbing community is left to wonder what happened an the
climber's trail Sunday morning.
Anglin's group members had all of the safety equipment they would need when they
arrived at their intended climbing route, according to earlier reports. But
climbers who regularly go there say they don't generally use safety equipment
an the scramble dawn the trail to the climbing route.
.
Carol Simpson, owner of First Ascent Climbing Services in Redmond and Red Paint
Climbers Supply in Redmond, said the trail is one where many seasoned climbers,
like the McDaniels, take their kids and dogs.
"I'm still baffled that he fell," she said. "Something just happened, and we
don't know what it was."
But Greg Orton, who. edited "Oregon Rock Climbing - Willamette Edition," said
climbers can be more accident prone in places they may not consider precarious.
"Accidents happen more often when you are off the rope and you let your guard
down," Orton said. "I've done the same thing Jim did, but I was lucky and landed
in a tree."
Despite the loss of their friend, all of the climbers said they will not be
giving up the sport he so dearly loved.
"It was a freak thing, we need to let people know that, " Simpson said. "Just
because there are car accidents doesn't mean you don't want to drive or because
there are plane crashes you shouldn't fly.".
"Jim Anglin, from a climb last week", posted on CascadeClimbers.org by
Joseph H
http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/739937/fpart/1
The Rest of the Story
The literature of traditional mountaineering is filled with moments of great joy and great sorrow. We rejoice in sharing the summits and we share the sadness of injury, loss and death. We traditional mountaineers can learn from past events if we can know about them and can remember the details of what happened.
On Sunday morning, November 4, 2007, Jim Anglin, 55, of White Salmon, Washington, was descending into the Gorge by a Fourth Class climbers' way at the southeast end of Smith Rock State Park when he lost his footing and fell about 100 feet to his death. No one saw him slip. Anglin and his climbing companions had been heading down into the Gorge to climb traditional (unbolted) routes in that area of the Park.
Jim Anglin had been rock climbing at the highest level at Smith Rock since the 1980's, and is credited with many First Ascents. Recently, he had participated in replacing anchors on well known routes on Monkey Face.
Brittanie Shepherd, now 26 of Bend, tells us in an interview a few days ago, that she was thrown off balance and fell on this Fourth Class climbers way, just a few feet from where Jim fell to his death. She states that her day pack, filled with heavy trad climbing gear, shifted and pulled her off balance to a fall and then a 70 foot tumble on the hard Basaltic rock cliff, into the gorge.
Brittany suffered a fractured vertebrae, a badly fractured ankle and a serious concussion. Immediately, her climbing partners, Mike Rowley and Jordan Nelson, stabilized Brittanie. Immediately, a cell phone call was made to 911 and the Redmond Fire Department responded. Soon, Deschutes County Sheriff's SAR unit arrived, trained and equipped for high angle rescues. It took about four hours to raise Brittanie to the top of the cliff behind the Park office. Brittanie was loaded into a waiting ambulance and taken to Redmond Hospital. (An on-call helicopter was declined due to the high cost, lack of insurance and the proximity of Redmond Hospital to Terrabonne and Smith Rock State Park).
Brittany had medical expenses of about $50,000. Her brother created a web site and friends at Red Point Climbers Supply enabled donations to assist the fallen climber. About $5,000 was raised, for which she is grateful. She lost three months of work and is still faced with a very very large medical bill. She is enrolled at COCC and hopes to be accepted in their nursing program. She is rock climbing again and was able to climb the long trail to the summit of Mt Whitney recently, with her brother and friends. http://thebrittfund.com/
The climber's way into the Lower Gorge is described as a Fourth Class descent slot by Alan Watts on page 234 of his "Climber's Guide to Smith Rock". Fourth Class climbing requires balance, care, and the use of hands and may involve serious injury or death if a fall should occur.
We hope climbers learn from the death of Jim Anglin and the
serious injuries to Brittany Shepherd, to be highly respectful of this Fourth Class
climbers' way down into the Lower Gorge.
--Robert Speik, August 2, 2012
A QUOTE FROM 1871
See yonder height! 'Tis far
away -- unbidden comes the word "Impossible!"
"Not so," says the mountaineer. "The way is long, I know; its difficult -- it
may be dangerous."
"It's possible, I'm sure; I'll seek the way, take counsel of my brother
mountaineers,
and find out how they have reached similar heights and learned to avoid the
dangers."
He starts (all slumbering down below); the path is slippery - and may be
dangerous too.
Caution and perseverance gain the day
-- the height is reached! and those beneath cry, "Incredible! 'Tis superhuman!"
This is a passage we found on page 161 of "Scrambles Amongst the
Alps" by Edward Wymper,
first published in 1871 and reprinted 1981 by Ten Speed Press, Berkley, CA.
WARNING - *DISCLAIMER!*
Mountain climbing has inherent dangers that can, only in part, be mitigated
Read more . . .
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Oregon Section of the AAC
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