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Incident
I took a lead fall, my first cam placement blew and the spike I had a sling around and a cam behind snapped clean at the base. This resulted in a ground fall and a significant piece of rock detaching itself from the crag. The spike snapped off at its base, and luckily avoided hitting myself, my belayer and the crag dog.
Lessons
It had been a wet winter and although I waited for a couple of dry sunny days before climbing I suspect water had weakened the spike. The route and all nearby cracks were dry, if a little green. Placing a cam near the base and a sling over it must have exerted enough force to cause a break when shock loaded. Lesson to learn - be very wary of gritstone after an extended wet period. It takes longer than a couple of days to dry out.
Activity
Trad rock climbing
When
Ascending
Injury
Minor injury
Causes
Hold breaking
Anonymous?
Yes
Reported By
Participant
Wearing Helmets?
Yes
Rescue Services Involved?
None, walked off.
Author
29 June 2020 at 18:31:05
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All reports are self-submitted and have not been edited by the BMC in any way, so please keep an open mind regarding the lessons and causes of each incident or near-miss.