What will you do in an emergency? Who will you call?

by Rick Bost

11 October 2010

Drive By Emergency Tube

As climbers we put ourselves in a dangerous position. We rely on ourselves, our equipment, and our climbing partner each and every time we climb. We don't expect bad things to happen, however sometime accidents happen. A few months ago our community experienced a tragedy at the Darkside.

The night of the accident I had a chance to talk with climbers that were at the cliff that day. Through our discussions, I felt pain of my friends, as we searched for the why.

That night everyone was shaken, but I asked questions looking for ways that the RRGCC could help. There is little that the RRGCC can do to prevent accidents. When I asked what could have been better, here is what they said:

  1. “We did not know who to call or what the phone number was
  2. We did not know what county we were in
  3. Even though we sent a runner out to meet the ambulance, they missed each other
  4. We did not know how to explain to the Rescue Squad where we were in terms that they understood
  5. The Rescue Squad did not know where the Darkside was…”