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Incident
Witnessed (and intervened in) a near miss at a climbing wall today. A climber reported to me that another climber was using auto belays and had been clipping to the gear loop at the rear of her harness.
She had climbed a few routes like this apparently and had (luckily) down climbed 😳
When approached she had no idea of her mistake and was a bit shaken when I told her about the extreme danger of her error. I corrected and clipped her to her belay loop before reporting her to the walls staff who then took her aside to re-run through basic safety with her. Scary stuff!
Lessons
The wall should not have issued her a harness. She clearly had no idea of how to use it. Serious lapse in basic safety protocols.
Activity
Indoor climbing
When
Injury
No injury
Causes
Harness misuse
Anonymous?
Yes
Reported By
Observer
Wearing Helmets?
Rescue Services Involved?
None
Author
18 August 2021 at 06:30:11
For more advice and guidance on good practices visit BMC skills
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.