Nick Kaczorowski’s fatal climbing accident last Friday has raised many questions. Many climbers up here in the Blue Mountain’s and elsewhere have expressed to me trouble understanding what happened. The mainstream media’s reporting has been sensationalised and at times highly inaccurate. In an effort to clear up some of the confusion Lucas Trihey has spoken to some witness and written this report on the Australian Accident Register. This report has been helpful and has led to some more accurate reporting of the accident. However, as a climber I find the report still leaves several questioned unanswered and since more information has come to light I think it contains some inaccuracies.
A friend of mine witnessed the accident; he phoned in the accident to the police and continued up their climb, traversed across to the route on which the accident had occurred, and helped guide Nicks stranded partner and two other climbers off the cliff. This friend has provided me with detailed information about the accident. I’ve also spoken to some other witnesses, have received other information second hand, and I’ve spoken to a climber who had recently climbed the route in question (but had traversed off the route at the point where Nick’s accident occurred).
My discussions kept raising questions that could only be answered by examining the route in question. Also, already knowing that the bolts were bad, I decided a warning sign needed to be urgently attached to the start of this route. So on Wednesday I abseiled down the route to place the sign and examined the scene of the accident. What I found concerns me greatly and I think it’s important that climbers around here are quickly made aware of the state of the bolts that were used on this route. So what follows is my account of what I found when I abseiled down the route but I’ll start by giving a brief account of how I think the accident occurred.
Nick was climbing with Andrew, a visiting Canadian climber. Two friends of Nick’s from Canberra were also climbing the same route as a separate party, staying about a pitch below Nick and Andrew. They were all intending to climb Bunny Bucket Buttress (270 metres, grade 18, protected entirely by carrot bolts) and climbed the first five pitches of that route to a large terrace. They did not have a route description or topo with them and unknowingly climbed “off route” at this point. Instead of traversing out left under a large overhang, they moved right along the terrace then followed a line of newish expansion bolts with fixed hangers up a right leaning ramp for one pitch at about grade 15. Nick and Andrew then climbed most of the next pitch, with climbing at about grade 21, when they reached a ledge at about 30 meters up. They set a belay on this ledge using a single bolt runner about three meters above the ledge. The position of the belay that they set is indicated in red below.
Their belay bolt (the first bolt indicated below) is level with a second large ledge and above that ledge there was a six metre wall with two more bolts. Above this you can see that the climbing eases right off, the belay is not far above and then there is just one more pitch to the top of the cliff.
From this belay getting from the second bolt to the third bolt is problematic; the rock suddenly becomes very smooth and blank. IMO, assuming it can be free climbed at all, then for two meters it will be many many grades harder than anything previously encountered on the route. When the accident occurred Nick had clipped in directly to the second bolt and was, attempting to “stick clip” the third (and final) bolt on this section (you could easily walk along the second ledge to a small tree from which a “stick clip” could be fashioned). He was reaching up with the stick with a loop of rope when the bolt pulled out in its entirety. Nick fell past the lower belay ledge and his single rope was severed by the band of sharp ironstone rock that runs all the way across the bottom of the belay ledge.
I examined these ironstone edges for signs of where the rope may have cut. I could not find any rope fibres however there is this recent rock scar of the right end of the ledge:
My understanding is that the rope Nick was probably using was somewhat worn [Edit: see my following report for correct information about the rope]. In my opinion this ironstone band is so sharp that it would sever most climbing ropes under the high load of this fall.
Closer inspection of the bolts in this area explains why the bolt failed.
Firstly I noticed an awful lot of sand in the bolt hole from the bolt that failed. I scooped up some of this sand in the end of my biro lid and pushed into the hole so I could photograph it. The sandy nature of Blue Mountains rock is one of the reasons glue in bolts are the norm in this area. Some grit in the hole is not entirely unexpected but the amount here did make me wonder if the hole had ever been cleaned out after drilling. Also the diameter of these holes needs to be checked, I would not be surprised if they are over-sized for the bolts.
After I examined the area and finished taking some photos I decided to test one of the bolts (before re-belaying my abseil rope to it — so that I could abseil down further to place the warning sign). From the outside this bolt looked good:
I clipped this bolt directly to my harness (with a quick draw) and started to lean back. It popped out long before I put my full body weight against it. I felt sicked that it’d come out so easily. It’s an expansion bolt but not a “dyna” bolt.
(Later in the office I did some research and worked out they are 8×78mm Italian made Raumer brand bolts. On their website this bolt is recommended as suitable for caving and canyoning but, of note, climbing is not indicated as a suitable category.)
I decided to put the bolt back so pushed it back into the hole and started to tighten the nut with a spanner. I kept turning the nut around and around and around… The nut kept screwing down the shaft but it NEVER tightened. I gave up and took a photo.
It looked good from the outside before, but now there is all that thread sticking out and it still isn’t tightened. I don’t understand how this bolt could have EVER been tightened properly before.
So next I decided to test the first bolt, the one that they had belayed off. This time I clipped a quick draw to it, and with my hand, gave it two gentle tugs outwards before it popped out. Sickened, I put the bolt back in and attached a warning sign to this bolt (written on piece of wood) as a temporary measure until all the bolts on this route can be removed.
Later I was wondering: if this belay bolt was also so bad, then why are we not looking at a double fatality here — with the belay bolt failing and the belayer getting pulled off? It is likely that the bolt held long enough because, since the belay bolt was three meters above the belay ledge, the load on the bolt was mostly downwards, not outwards, so it held long enough that the rope was severed before it was fully loaded.
So who bolted this route? It would seem to be the work of some visiting European climbers who have since left the area. I’ve heard they are Polish climbers and another source said they are from the Czech Republic. If it is who we think they are a friend of mine clearly told them not to place that type of bolt around here. If anyone has any contact information for the guys please get in touch with me immediately.
In conclusion: in my opinion, as with many other accidents there were several factors that contributed. Bolts pulling and ropes getting cut are inherent dangers in rock climbing. Nick was an experienced climber. I think what he was doing was reasonable and understandable in the circumstances; many of us who might have tried this route could have easily found ourselves in the same situation. Certainly a newer thicker rope, or double ropes, would have improved the chances that the rope wouldn’t have cut, but wouldn’t have necessarily prevented it: the rock edge was very sharp. Had Nick’s rope not been cut, then it’s quite possible that the belay bolt would also have pulled out, but we don’t know, and will never know, the answer to that. Still, I’m having trouble getting past thinking that the bolting on this route was more than a little irresponsible. For a visiting European climber the lure of acres of unclimbed rock must be great, but I think it exceptionally poor form to visit an area, totally ignore the local ethic and what you are told by the locals, spend days placing bad bolts, and then bugger off again without providing a proper warning.
Oh, and a final note, my understanding is that it took nearly 24 hours from when the accident was phoned in until Nick’s body was recovered. I’ve spoken to several different parties of climbers in the area at the time, some several kilometres away, and some 150 meters away from the accident, who were buzzed by rescue helicopters for long periods of time while they were attempting to finish to the top of their routes. Clearly the rescue helicopters had no idea of where they should be looking. Perhaps there needs to be closer liaison between the rescue services and climbers; maybe they need to put some local climbers on speed-dial.
PS. If anyone finds any more of these bolts around here please at least put a warning notice on them and notify myself or post about it on Chockstone.org etc.
The bolts can be identified by the “22KN”, “Raumer” and “Italy” stamped on the bracket.
Hey Simon, I’m really sorry to hear about your friend. Thanks for posting a comprehensive account, and thank you for all your contributions to our sport.
Cheers,
Ken
— Ken Cangi · 11 January 2009, 14:39 · #
Thanks for this amazing report Simon! As you know Nick was a good friend of mine & this helps to clear up a lot of questions for me.
— Josh Caple · 15 January 2009, 03:09 · #
Again, thanks Simon for the report. I think we have all learnt from this tragedy, and will keep an eye out for other bad bolts & bolting, and make sure they are reported / replaced.
— Leigh Rankin · 15 January 2009, 07:24 · #
Seriously, those bolts are scary. That is so wrong.
— Rachel · 15 January 2009, 13:03 · #
Simon thankyou so much for inspecting this route and writing such a comprehensive report of the accident. It is just such a terrible, sad tragedy, and like you said, could easily have been worse. Scary stuff.
— Erika Heiden · 15 January 2009, 13:58 · #
Really well written Simon. It is so important for people to read this. Have you considered posting it on other country’s climbing webpages, e.g. rockfax.com (UK) and rockclimbing.com (USA)?
— Andy Sakko · 15 January 2009, 14:53 · #
Thanks for the info Simon
— Adski · 15 January 2009, 21:42 · #
Simon, an excellent report on the situation. Unfortunately, accidents do happen in climbing and it is the nature or the beast.
It may be a good idea for any persons climbing anywhere to test the bolts as you have done before they trust them. unless of course you know who bolted them and if they are trustworthy placement.
My condolences to the family and friends.
— SHANE SHAW · 15 January 2009, 23:19 · #
Thanks a lot Simon. I’m currently living in Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates and when I heard of the fatality I was shocked to find out it was Nick (didn’t know him well, but well enough to have exchanged a few emails and chatted a bunch of times). With the blatantly wrong stories in the press and the understandable quiet on the forums (bloody reporters!) it’s been hard to get information on what happened from over here. Can’t tell you how much I appreciate being able to read an accurate account of the accident. Hope you’ll keep us updated on the search for the negligent bolters. I also can’t get the thought of their lack of responsibility out of my head…it’s just shocking.
— Sarah-Jane Allen · 16 January 2009, 02:41 · #
I just got out from the hills and read this – totally sickened by the state of the bolts – cheers for the report and detailed info simon ..
— mal haskins · 16 January 2009, 06:07 · #
Simon, FYI your post/information regarding the helicopters & recovery operation is incorrect and based upon some pretty poor assumptions/guesses. I’m not sure what this comment was designed to achieve and is hardly helpful in respect of your theories. Try and keep to actual facts and, if you dont know, refrain from comment.
— Pinnacle · 16 January 2009, 20:31 · #
Hi Simon,
Your exploration and detailed report appears to be highly accurate and well presented as I also witnessed the tragedy of Nick’s death on that day whilst climbing with Evan only 2 pitches below on the correct route of BBB.
In my own opinion, I believe that the person/s who put up (bolted) this variant route from BBB should be held entirely accountable (the facts speak for themselves).
Take for example a motor mechanic who repairs a person’s car knowing full well that they have been blatantly neglectful in their work (cut corners, save money, whatever) and the driver of that vehicle dies in an accident due to that neglect. Surely, it would be (should be) the mechanic who gets the rap.
We can only ever try and do the best we can, after all we are only human, but when a matter of a persons serious safety is concerned then extra steps must be taken. I believe there’s a real difference between bad luck and poor practice. As you say, had the rope not broken then maybe two people would have died on that day.
Andreas, UK
— Andreas · 17 January 2009, 02:31 · #
Apologies to friends or family of Nick’s. I didn’t know him. I want to respond to Pinnacle’s comments. Pinnacle, you call Simon’s report “Incorrect and based upon some pretty poor assumptions/guesses.” How is it incorrect? I would guess that Simon knows the state of climber-rescue service communications as well as anyone. And his suggestions seem pretty spot on to me. Presumably it’s also a fact that rescue helicopters were buzzing climbers on other cliffs. Were they just sightseeing? Do you know? If it was close enough to cause downdraft to hit the cliff, that’s irresponsible and a breach of CASA regulations. You say “Try and keep to actual facts and, if you dont know, refrain from comment.” That’s not helpful. If you know that the rescue services had a good GPS fix on the accident site, then say so. Standing up for rescue services when they don’t perform well is counterproductive in terms of improving their performance. I don’t know if they stuffed up, but prima facie, they did, and your contribution does absolutely nothing to convince me otherwise. Without the benefit of a coronial inquiry, Simon’s obviously pretty well informed on what happened, and a bit of speculation and suggestions on how to improve performances in future is not out of place. Please contribute to the state of knowledge by posting some information, which you would swear to in court, rather than merely sounding like you have access to information that contradicts Simon, without saying what it is, and where it came from.
— andrew collins · 17 January 2009, 16:43 · #
Thanks a lot for the report Simon. There was mention of these guys bolting on Chockstone at the time and a lot of umming an ahhing. What can we do about these buggers? I guess it’s further argument for the ‘speak up if you see something stupid’ while climbing.
Nick’s death is extraordinarily distressing, and I hope we can all work towards making sure this doesn’t happen again.
— Evan · 20 January 2009, 09:39 · #
I’m a caver who regularly uses 8 mm expansion bolts very similar to the Raumer ones in question in this accident. I can certainly agree that they’re not suitable in softer rocks like sandstone. I think the key message from Nick’s unfortunate accident is that ultimate responsibility for the individual’s safety sits with the individual. It concerns me that anyone would place their life on a bolt without first giving it a twist, pull and push, particularly a bolt of unknown age and origin (to the user). While the installers could have done a better job, ultimately it is the end user who is responsible.
Hopefully with the great exposure given to the details of the accident on this blog site, more people will test the integrity of anchors in the future before hanging off them.
— Alan Jackson · 21 January 2009, 15:11 · #
http://www.adventure-sport.net/images/stories/free_climbing/australija_Prvenstveni-smje.jpg
— Mark · 21 January 2009, 22:47 · #
I have learned about the matter today. I have posted the info to Czech climbing site www.czechclimbing.com and done breif translation to its Czech version. May be somebody local would know.
— Standa · 22 January 2009, 05:31 · #
Hi Simon,
I was wondering why you just didn’t pull out the bolts?
cheers
Riz
— Riz · 25 January 2009, 10:48 · #
Hello people, here is the web of people who probably did the route. Ask them.
http://www.adventure-sport.net/index.php?option=com_sport&task=view&id=4252&catid=103&Itemid=276
— Ron · 28 January 2009, 05:43 · #
http://www.adventure-sport.net/index.php?option=com_sport&task=view&id=4252&catid=103&Itemid=276
— ik · 28 January 2009, 08:19 · #
A QUICK UPDATE:
We now know who the bolter’s are. Many thanks to all of the people who have come forward with information.
I have held off on making this information public for a few days whilst we finish following up finding out a bit more information about the whole thing. I expect to have finished writing an updated report and making it all public here in the next few days. I’ll also make the comments with the information visible at that time.
Please bear with me. It is a delicate situation.
Simon Carter
— Simon Carter · 28 January 2009, 11:06 · #
Hi Simon,
Thanks for the report. I’m a fairly new climber and climbed with Nick last year while he had an injured finger which brought him down to my level. I’m completely freaked out and looking for answers. So your report helps a lot. But I admit I’m still struggling to understand.
Do you know if the police are considering criminal charges against the bolters?
My understanding was that Nick fell at about 11am and the emergency services recovered the body at 4pm? Which doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.
Thanks again,
Lois.
— Lois · 28 January 2009, 12:08 · #
If it’s true that the bolters ignored local advice…it just staggers and angers me beyond belief.
Thank you for the report.
— Nooj · 28 January 2009, 20:17 · #
http://www.adventure-sport.net/index.php?option=com_sport&task=view&id=4252&catid=103&Itemid=276
— what we found · 29 January 2009, 22:31 · #
Hi,
I’ve just heard about the accident tonight. I used to train with Nik at the St Peters from time to time until I sustained a minor injury. I was all set to return to climbing tomorrow and was wondering if he’d be there. I made a phone call to a mate and heard this is terrible news. Nik really was a great lad. He always seemed to be in a good mood it was infectious.
I don’t know what will happen to the people who set that route. I at least hope they know what’s happened. This also brings into question which other climbs have they bolted.
Thanks for the report.
— C · 29 January 2009, 22:35 · #
Hello Simon
We are all really sorry about Nick’s passing and saddened. Thank you for the comprehensive report and safety advice.
Welvin
— Welvin · 31 January 2009, 20:15 · #
thanks for posting the info on the failed bolt! that was a wake up call!
— Arthur Cammers · 3 February 2009, 10:29 · #
Thanks for the in-depth report on Nicks accident. After all the speculation from the papers it’s good to know exactly what happened that day.
Many people now understand what went wrong that day thanks to your investigation
Chris
— Chris Fox · 3 February 2009, 19:35 · #
Hi Climbing community and particular thanks to Simon Carter for efforts to clarify and inform us of this potential danger.
Over the years dating from trad climbing to this relatively new phenomenon of sport climbing we have all witnessed an almost blind faith in the infalibility of bolts of all kinds. As an old fart introduced to climbing in the days of trad I have always had a fear of falling and this even rings (pardon pun) true on modern sport routes. I feel truly sick to comtemplate the impact on Nick’s family and friends of this tradgedy. Too often I have this sense of dread when I witness climbers who will get to a bolt/ring and, unable to do a move, will often aid off the bolt to either sus out the next move or aid clip the next ring. This more often than not involves the direct outward pull on a bolt as opposed to a shearing force. Maybe we can do each other a favour and encourage more scrutiny of all bolts when they used in this manner. Just recently I witnessed a friend (who will only go by the initials of JP) pull directly out on an expansion bolt whilst trying to bolt a roof. The bolt popped and he took a wild unexpected swing. Luck prevailed and he was unscathed. Call me an old fart if you like but I have recently taken to wearing a helmet after 25 years without one. I figure when it comes to my turn I do not want the regret that I did not take such a simply safety measure.
Sincere condolences to Nick’s friends and family.
Paul Riviere
— paul riviere · 4 February 2009, 10:46 · #
In the situation of “stick clip”, there are two measures which might have helped avoid the accident:
1. When clipping the harness directly to a bolt, it is reccommended to put also a sling on the bolt so that you can step with the foot on it (and therefore the force is apllied downwards and not outwards).
2. When taking a loop of rope to “stick clip”, it is reccommended to knot yourself again with the remaining rope (simply with a quickdraw directly to the harness central point). By doing so, in case the bolt you are standing fails for any reason, the fall will be shorter.
— John · 5 February 2009, 01:32 · #
Hello all,
This is unbelievable to bolt a route this way..
John, I personnaly never use “stick clip”, but the advice you give below are really good and important.
Apologies to family and friends of Nick’s.
— Franck · 5 February 2009, 20:14 · #
Just wanted to pass on collectively all of our deepest condolences and sympathies to all of Nick’s friends and family. This story has made the news within the climbing community up here in Korea too and many Korean and expat climbers here are deeply saddened by the tragedy.
Thanks also to Simon and others for the beta on what probably went wrong, and how we ret and avoid a repeat.
— Jake Preston · 6 February 2009, 21:40 · #
I hope the guilty party that bolted that route are located, and disciplined in some shape or form, to ensure they and others avoid doing anything like this again. Clearly they are responsible for the accident too for being so irresponsible and bolting such bolts in the first instance.
Sincere condolences to Nicks family and friends, I did not know him personally. I just read about this and was not impressed as to what had occurred, such a shame and a big loss obviously.
— Suzanne · 8 March 2009, 11:15 · #