October 10, 2021
We just had an amazing time climbing Sweet Thin and figured we'd do another route since the sun was shining and the day was still early. Laura and I discussed options and settled on Requiem for a Tadpole, a 5.10 route 50' to the right of what we had just climbed. The first pitch is about 5.7 but is slab climbing without a lot of opportunities to place cams for protection. Laura is an excellent slab climber and so she agreed to lead the first pitch of the climb. She climbed up 30' and placed her first cam, a very small #.2 and continued on. Another 20' and she placed a #1 cam in a good crack. She was confident in the placement of the cam and continued upward knowing there was not a lot of opportunity for protection above. She felt comfortable at the grade of climbing and ran it out some toward the anchor at the top of the first pitch, about 100' above the ground where I sat belaying her.
I remember watching her climb smoothly and looking around for gear placements, while at the same time communicating up to her - If the climbing is easy, "just run it out" to the anchor. I suppose that is what I would have done...
Standing about 20 feet above the #1 cam she had placed, right foot pasted on a seemingly solid foothold and fingers spread out on the wall since there were no handholds, Laura weighted the foothold to stand up and it broke. The rock disappeared from under her foot and without any handholds she began to fall away from the wall. I remember the rock breaking and showering down toward me while watching Laura reach out as if there was something in front of her to grab onto. I saw her begin to fall and knew she was far above gear. I took up a hand full of slack from the rope, hoping to shorten her fall. As she fell, I yelled, "oh fuck!" and as the rope caught her, the tension came to me and softly stood me up. Normally a long fall would pull the belayer up off the ground but in this instance, the wall had slowed Laura's fall to a point where I barely felt when I caught her.
Laura had fallen 50 feet or more. I am at the end of the rope, Laura 30 feet above me with her leg tangled in the rope, hanging upside down and face bloody. I reacted and chose to ascend the rope, trusting that the cam that had just held the fall would hold both of us. I ascended to her, yelling that I was coming to help. I untangled her leg and flipped her right side up and then, bearhugging her, lowered us both to the ground.
She lay there, beaten up and in and out of consciousness. Within a minute there was a group of people who where descending from above who yelled to ask if we needed help. I responded yes and to call 911. I knew we weren't walking out and that Laura would need rescue.
He ran up back up the hill and communicated with his friend who happened to have cell service. He called 911 and relayed the information and what the situation was. The person on the phone happened to be a helicopter pilot and in discussions with the rescue team, who he happened to know, he was able to send video and develop a plan for a highline rescue to be as efficient as possible before the rescue team ever even arrived.
As Laura lay there waiting, several other groups came by to check on us and make sure we had everything we needed. It was less than an hour when the helicopter arrived and lowered two resucers. The put Laura in a neck brace and loaded her on a board. We moved her over to where the helicopter could drop a line and they loaded her into a basket. The rescuers had Laura on board and to an ambulance within 2.5 hours or so from the time she fell which is extremely fast.
While the ambulance took Laura to the hospital, I made the hike out with several of the guys who had come over to help us out. I went to the hospital and joined Laura in the ER. Luckily, her injuries weren't severe. She had a concussion and needed some stitches near her eye and lip and also had a broken right ankle.
We went home to her sister's house in Las Vegas that night around midnight and got some rest. The next morning I texted a friend of mine for a surgeon referral in Colorado so Laura could get her ankle fixed. He replied "how fast can you get to Vail"? He had gotten Laura into the Steadman Clinic who are some of the worlds top surgeons. She had surgery the following Friday and was on her way to recovery.
It's now January 2022 and Laura is walking without support again. Still no impact but things are progressing great. She feels good and is working hard to get back to 100%. Without a doubt, there is nobody else who is as strong as her and this certainly will not hold her back from future endeavors.
Just ask her what her comeback mountain is...Denali.
