The Death of Climber Dennis Murphy
by Phil Brown
In my last post, I wrote about the risks and rewards of solo climbing. I didn’t expect to write about rock climbing again this week, but I can’t help it.
The death of Dennis Murphy at Upper Washbowl Cliff in Keene Valley deeply affected his friends and colleagues and gives pause to all climbers to reflect on the nature of their chosen sport.
I didn’t know Dennis well, but I often chatted with him at Eastern Mountain Sports in Lake Placid, where he had worked for the past four years. Last Friday, we talked at length about climbing gear and about soloing Chapel Pond Slab, something we both loved doing.
As always, I came away from the conversation thinking this guy is passionate—and knowledgeable—about climbing.
The details of Monday's accident remain a bit fuzzy as I write this. State Police say Dennis and a friend had climbed Hesitation, a classic 5.8 route on Upper Washbowl, and were preparing to rappel when Dennis slipped. When descending, climbers rappel to a ledge halfway down the cliff and then rappel again to the base. What’s not clear is whether Dennis fell from the top of the cliff (more than two hundred feet) or from the ledge (more than one hundred feet).
Perhaps we’ll learn more today. In any case, the fall was great enough that Dennis probably died instantly. He was thirty-five years old.
Whenever a rock climber dies, questions arise about the safety of the sport. Some people even wonder if climbers have a death wish. It does seem like a dangerous pastime, but most climbers are cautious, and they spend a small fortune on gear meant to protect them in case of a fall.
Before this week, the most recent climbing death in the Adirondacks had occurred in 2007, when Dennis Luther fell on Poke-O-Moonshine in a rappelling accident. At the time, Don Mellor, the veteran climber from Lake Placid, pointed out that Luther’s was only the fifth rock-climbing fatality in the region. And technical climbing in the Adirondacks began way back in 1916, when John Case ascended the cliffs on Indian Head overlooking Lower Ausable Lake.
So now we have six climbing fatalities. That’s too many, but six deaths over the span of nearly a century does not suggest that rock climbing is a reckless sport. Far more people are killed in hunting accidents, snowmobile accidents, and ATV accidents.
Did Dennis Murphy make a mistake on Upper Washbowl? Or was he just unlucky?
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. His friends will miss him just the same.
Photo by Phil Brown: Upper Washbowl Cliff.
Phil Brown is the editor of the Adirondack Explorer newsmagazine.
9 Comments:
A couple of years ago I went on a whitewater paddling trip in northern Quebec that was way out of my league. Bluntly, it scared me and it caused me to reassess the risks I was willing to take in the backcountry. I'm 45, I have a family and a brilliant blessed life, and as I was paddling (through amazing country) I just kept thinking: No, this isn't worth it. It was kind of a weird epiphany, the opposite of the one you read about in most outdoor adventure magazines. But we all constantly assesss and re-assess the risks we're willing to take in pursuit of our outdoor passions. This sad event is another moment to do that...
Brian, NCPR
My risk threshold changed the day my son was born.
Very sad event. Unfortunately, rappelling has always remained one of the most dangerous aspects of climbing and one that requires absolute attention at all times. In fact, I can think of a few minor mistakes during my own climbing career that could have easily turned into disasters. Sometimes luck also plays a part ...
Just to clarify one point: both DEC and State Police are now saying that Dennis fell from the top of the cliff, i.e., more than 200 feet.
Risk is a matter of perception and personal definition. What seems risky to one person might be considered perfectly "safe" by another. We should take care not to impose our own feelings about risk onto the activities, and accidents, of others.
I have a cousin who was never allowed to DH ski because her father was afraid she might break her leg - she was denied an opportunity to experience the joys of skiing - because of perceived risk.
The CDC reports that Drowning is the second leading cause of injury death among children ages 1 to 14 and kills more than 4,000 Americans annually. And yet the vast majority of us still consider swimming to be a relatively safe and benign activity, and millions of children continue to swim every day.
A recent study, "Evaluation of Injury and Fatality Risk in Rock and Ice Climbing," made the following conclusion:
"Overall, climbing sports had a lower injury incidence and severity score than many popular sports, including basketball, sailing or soccer; indoor climbing ranked the lowest in terms of injuries of all sports assessed. Nevertheless, a fatality risk remains, especially in alpine and ice climbing. In the absence of a standard definition for a ‘high-risk’ sport, categorizing climbing as a high-risk sport was found to be either subjective or dependent on the definition used."
I fall into the camp with those of you who have children....a baby changes everything as they say.
but also, let us not forget that climbers usually know and fully understand the risks they are taking, and that when accidents happen, while extraordinarily sad and unfortunate, even the climber his/herself would tell you that it was a possibility they understood everytime they went out.
i think it is one thing to make the decision for yourself as an adult to take risks and another thing to allow your children to take risks that you percieve for them.
i know people who won't take their kids camping because they feel it is to risky.
but yet we put our kids in automobiles everyday! risk is an inherent part of life.
It sounds like this climber just slipped and fell. He happened to be in a dangerous (and beautiful) place. Considering the low level of injuries in this sport it sounds like we just perceive the risks to be much greater than they are. I know hundreds of places in the mountains where the same slip and you are gone. My young kids could slip on the top of Mt. Baker in Saranac Lake and succumb to the same fate. To not take them up there would be a big mistake in my book. I am with Alan, luck is a big component. Sometimes it just doesn't go your way.
For other sports I think it is different. High altitude mountaineering is inherently much more dangerous. I think there if you stick at it long enough you might eventually end up dead. There are just so many dangers involved that it is only a matter of time before you have some of that bad luck hit you.
You might have some bad luck, but also these type of sports may also put you in a lifestyle that will keep you much more happy and healthy, and around longer to see your kids grow up. Life is full of trade offs.
I feel very bad for Dennis and his family.
My son and Dennis worked together at EMS and climbed together as well. I had met him a couple of times when Matt lived in Saranac Lake. I didnt really know Dennis but knew enough about him to know he soved to climb. Dennis was hurt 2 years ago in another accident, hurt badly. Back to the sport he went. Matt speaks very highly of his friend Dennisand I feel for his loss. I also fell for his EMS family as I know Matt still keeps intouch with a few at the store. I send regrets and good thoughts remembering the stories Matt told me of his adventures with Dennis. I am glad Matt had the pleasure to know Dennis.
Tammy V
As a local climber and professional in the climbing industry, I am very familiar with the inherent risk involved with technical climbing. I, and most climbers I know, do everything possible to minimize that risk. Unfortunately, in Dennis Murphy's situation, I believe many bad decisions were made, starting with the decision to rappel rather than walk off (yes, there is a trail back to the base of the cliff). Another poor choice was to approach a cliff edge (one with severe consequences)without being roped and/or on belay.
In terms of safety, I am a conservative climber and encourage those I climb with to do the same; it is easy to become complacent the more comfortable climbers become in their vertical surroundings. Murphy's death is a reminder to all that climbing, even on the relatively small crags of the Adirondacks, is dangerous. Yet, proper judgment and decision making can go a very long way in preventing accidents.
That said, I feel terrible for Dennis's climbing partner, family, and friends. My condolences to them all.
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