Climber Forgets to Attach His Rope, Pays the Price

Warning: The following video is graphic.

Recently, a 21-year-old Polish climber was treated for severe injuries after falling 15 meters — or about 50 feet — from a climbing wall.

According to local reports, the man was practicing for a competition when he appeared to have forgotten to attach a safety rope that allows climbers a safe, slow descent. As a result, when his climb finished, he went tumbling to the ground.

The fall is pretty intense. He lands with a hard “thud,” lying limp after making impact. Yes, I know those climbing gyms often have soft mats at the bottom of those walls, but no matter how soft a mat is, a 50-foot fall has gotta hurt.

Thankfully, it seems that the climber is likely to make a full recovery, even if we don’t know exactly how the mistake happened. Soon afterward, he was taken via helicopter to a hospital where he underwent several procedures to remedy his fractures. He’s fully conscious, his condition is stable and a spokesperson for the hospital said that there is no threat to his life and that they hope to bring him back to full mobility.

There are many lessons here, but maybe the most important one: Next time you go climbing, remember to check the rope!