Climber let big rock hit her to save friend's life

Climber let big rock hit her to save friend's life

SINGAPORE - They were not aware that the cliff face they were about to climb had been deemed dangerous because of loose rocks.

After one of them had scaled up about 20m, his foot dislodged a huge rock and sent it plummeting towards his female friend who was below holding the rope.

Miss Alvina Lee, 23, could see the rock, which is estimated to weigh up to 200kg, plunging towards her. Yet, she opted not to evade it.

It grazed her helmet, fracturing her skull and causing the brain to bleed. It also fractured her right arm. The blow knocked her out and landed her in the intensive care unit of a hospital for five days. She also has nerve damage to her face and ears, which still affects her hearing in the right ear.

All because she would not release the safety rope attached to her friend as he climbed the rock wall.

Now out of hospital, Miss Lee told The New Paper on Monday: "I had two choices - release the rope and watch my friend fall, or hold on and let the rock hit me.

"I chose the latter."

Even as she faded out of consciousness, she had only one thought - don't let go of the rope.

By doing so, she believes she might have saved her friend's life, though she paid a huge price for her bravery.

'Super Crack'

Ironically, she and her friend would have avoided any risk to their lives had they checked the Dairy Farm Natural Rock Climbing group on Facebook before they attempted to climb the "Super Crack", a popular rock-climbing spot tucked away in the Dairy Farm Quarry at Bukit Timah on Aug 31.

Rock climbers on the Facebook group had warned that a large rock was loose on the cliff face and could seriously injure anyone who was at the bottom.

Miss Lee, a web developer, said: "I didn't do my research."

She was belaying for her friend as he scaled the 10-storey-high stone wall. This meant she had to hold on to the safety rope attached around her friend's harness.

As he reached the 20m mark - about the height of seven HDB storeys - of the wall, she saw his foot dislodge a large rock.

When The New Paper visited the site on Monday, we noticed that the person belaying could only stand on a narrow patch surrounded by rocks and trees. So Miss Lee would have had little space to try to avoid the rock hitting her.

Her male friend was uninjured and shouted for help. Other climbers nearby responded and one of them held on to his safety rope and he managed to climb down on his own.

Miss Lee is thankful that her friend escaped unscathed.

"The climber will have to trust the belayer with his life. His life is in the rope that I held on to," she said.

The other climbers then helped evacuate her from the base of the wall, which is about 30m above the ground.

She was taken unconscious to the National University Hospital, where she was sedated and placed in the intensive care unit for five days. She was discharged from the hospital after 13 days.

Her elder sister, Miss Alyssa Lee, 26, was the first family member to arrive at the hospital. She was shocked.

"When I reached the hospital, Alvina's friend wouldn't stop apologising. He kept saying sorry," she said.

In the days that followed, when Miss Alvina Lee was still unconscious, her rock-climbing friends visited her.

One left a card that read: "I knew I could count my life on you."

Miss Alyssa Lee said of her sister: "She is an adrenaline junkie and she loves nature. No one can stop her from doing what she loves, not even our parents."

But there was no hiding the feeling that the incident could have been avoided if they had seen the warnings on Facebook.

Miss Alyssa Lee said: "I showed my sister the Facebook post. I remember shouting at her: 'Why didn't you see this earlier?'"

A rock-climbing expert confirmed that the area is not safe for climbing.

Mr Clyde Pan, who works at Climb Asia and has climbed in the area several times, said: "The Dairy Farm area is considered a new spot for climbers from around the world, but its condition is very unstable."

He explained that it is a former quarry that has not been maintained for many years, so the rocks tend to come loose due to the weather.

Only frequent climbers, such as those belonging to the Facebook group, try to keep the quarry in good condition for climbing. The group has since put up signs to warn people about "falling rocks" where the accident occurred.

But even then, climbers must be aware of the quarry's perils, said Mr Pan, who got his climbing certification four years ago.

"It definitely isn't a friendly place for climbers, especially newcomers who are unfamiliar with the routes," he added.

Miss Lee is hardly a newcomer. She had been preparing to be part of a Mount Everest ascension team in 2015.

She starting climbing while in primary school and got her certificate three years ago.

But she will not be going back to the Dairy Farm Quarry for some time. She has been told by her doctor to avoid any high-impact sports, including rock climbing.

Her parents want her to stop rock climbing, but she is still undecided.

But she learnt her lesson. If she does return to the sport, "(I will) definitely double-check the route and double-check everything to make sure it is safe to climb", she said.

Despite her injuries, Miss Lee could consider herself fortunate that the rock did not kill her.

Miss Alyssa Lee told her: "It's a miracle you are alive."

Rock-climbing accidents

2000

Mr Stevie Chee Tee Hung, a climber of three years who had dreams of becoming a rock-climbing instructor, fell to his death at Bukit Timah Hill.

He was known to be fit and always climbed with at least a friend. But on that fateful day, Mr Chee did it alone and did not wear a harness.

2005

A British expatriate, Mr James Creffield, was killed in a rock-climbing accident at Dairy Farm Quarry.

Mr Creffield, the lead climber, was trying to secure a rope when he fell. He was about 5m from the ground when he slipped, fell backwards and hit the back of his head on a parapet jutting from the rock face, reported The Sunday Times.

He was not wearing a helmet, which could have saved his life.


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