28 March-2013: 1 hour
video presentation based on the published paper.
2 July-2012: Eldorado Canyon State Park (ECSP) is one of
North Americas top climbing destinations. In an effort to share the lessons
learned from the climbing accidents within ECSP, we have extracted statistics
on climbing rescues. The paper
"Rock Climbing Rescues in Boulder County, Colorado
and Eldorado Canyon State Park, Colorado, 1998 - 2011" (PDF, 10 pages, 600 KB) is a companion
paper to one published by the
Wilderness and Environmental Medicine Journal,
and provides a more visual account of the statistics of interest for Boulder
County and ECSP.
Take away points for ECSP climbers:
- Belay accidents, such as losing control of the belay, lowering and rappelling off the end of the
rope comprise 20% of all climbing accidents and are similar rates between Boulder County and ECSP.
- ECSP has a higher instance of lost climbers, who request assistance in the later hours of the day
(8pm - 1am), than other areas of Boulder County. Lack of knowledge of rappel anchors or downclimbs,
and lack of preparation for nightfall are common reasons for this.
- ECSP has a higher instance of climbers stuck on rappel, often due to ropes being caught in the
structured terrain.
- ECSP has a higher instance of lead climbing accidents and a much lower incidence of un-roped
climbing accidents that the rest of Boulder County.
- Climbing fatalities in ECSP result primarily from lead falls, lowering off ropes and rock fall.
No fatalities from un-roped climbing were recorded during the study period.
