February 2003
An experienced climber managed to get quite high on a climbing wall before realising she hadn't tied on and the rope slipped from her harness to the ground. An attempted rescue was unsuccessful and she fell to the floor and was seriously injured.
Forgetting to tie in or absent-mindedly tying in to the wrong part of the harness etc does sometimes happen. The difficulty lies in having as fool proof a system as possible.
We suggest:
