Bear Creek (Ouray, CO) Accident Report 08/13/2016

Re-post from FB with permission from Jenna Roxbury in Las Vegas (whose broken finger is pictured). Thanks, Jenna, for the report. Here’s hoping for a swift and complete recovery.

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Bear Creek (Ouray, CO) Accident Report 08/13/2016

The waterfall that broke my finger! It looks innocent enough…but I was first down and the water pushed me over before I was ready and my finger was caught between my rope and the rock at the lip of the waterfall, which was an overhang. So I was stuck in the powerful spout of torrential water and was hanging by my finger and couldn’t rappel! I tried to find footing against the wall to push out and release pressure but it was a free -hang with no wall support and I didn’t have an air pocket. So I thought, “Ok, so I’m going to drown or I break my finger.” I yanked my finger out from under the rope and felt every bone break. Luckily the water was freezing so I felt NO pain! Yaay! Once I was free….I rappelled another few feet and my stupid hair extensions got caught in my belay device! I was in a pocket under the waterfall so I could breathe….but my finger was broken…..my head was cranked to the right so I couldn’t see my rescue devices on my left side….and I was freezing! I blew my “Emergency! Lower Me!” whistle 3 times and just hoped for the best. The Figure 8 was pinched and they couldn’t convert to lower above. So they lowered Ruth (Search and Rescue girl) on another rope to see what was going on. I saw her and said, “Where do I start?! I’m a hot freakin mess!” We were both being pelted by the waterfall. Eventually….they did a haul system above and converted to lower me. Thank God! I had to take off my Squirrel to get my hair out….and I freakin dropped it in the hydraulics!!! I just started bawling. I love my Squirrel! But…it was a gorgeous canyon!!

Update 1 (08/15/16):

Progress pic! It’s like Xmas every morning taking off my splint….what beautiful colors am I going to find?

Update 2 (08/15/16):

Second opinion time! Still broken in 3 places. “Crushing bone injury”. I will have to wait 6 weeks to assess for possible surgery. But I got a cool new bionic splint! Look….as I was hanging there pinned to the wall….I thought, “I didn’t survive breast cancer this year just to drown in a waterfall in Ouray!” The finger had to go.