You’re out sport climbing at Shelf Road’s Cactus Cliff with a bunch of your buddies. Everyone sprawls at the cliff base, soaking up the warm November sunshine. It feels pretty idyllic, that is until the guy on the route to the right pulls a fist-sized chunk of limestone off just below his anchors. “Rock!” he screams and everyone scatters. Thump! The rock glances off a boulder at the base and ricochets toward you. You jump to avoid it but too late. It swats the side of your leg, leaving a bloody scrape.
They Were Lucky
This is not a made-up scenario. I saw it happen last winter. Brian and I were climbing 100 feet down the cliff from the large group when the rock fell. They were lucky that only one person came away with a minor but painful injury. They made the cardinal mistake of sitting directly in the path of rockfall at the base of the cliff.
Get Out of the Line of Fire
When you go to loose cliffs, like the limestone rampart at Shelf Road, you have to expect that rocks are going to come off. And when they do come off, you don’t want to be in the line of fire. Unless you’re the belayer, don’t sit or stand directly below a climber.
Rocks Fall Fast
When gravity decides to liberate a loose rock, you might not have time to react if you’re below the cliff since rockfall happens fast and rocks fall faster. Also be aware that falling rocks take erratic bounces and can nail you before you see them. Even a small pebble can cause serious and potentially fatal damage if it strikes your head. If you do have to sit at the base, try to find a place where you’ll be less likely to be hit by falling rocks and, of course, wear a helmet.
Don’t Get Distracted
Another lesson to learn from the group at Shelf Road is that your attention to danger is lessened with the distraction of nearby friends socializing. If you’re in a large group, especially with inexperienced climbers, take charge and move them away from the danger of rockfall before you start climbing a route.
Keep Kids and Dogs Safe
The last lesson is to keep pets and children away from the base of cliffs. Every year, sleeping dogs get thwacked by falling rocks at the base of cliffs and die from the trauma. Likewise small children are easy targets for rockfall. Keep them well back and out of danger. One time, I kid you not, I was at The Wasteland at Rifle Mountain Park and a couple had a baby in a playpen directly below the overhanging cliff. I did tell them that they should move the baby away from the cliff, but they didn’t listen. The kid was lucky that day, but tomorrow he might not be. Play it safe and don’t sit or stand below a cliff.
