Rock climbing

Is rock climbing safe?

It depends on where. Bolted sport routes and indoor walls are relatively safe; long routes in the mountains are not. The best per-hour figure comes from a 2020 study of mountain rescue records in the Austrian Alps by Rugg and colleagues. They estimated 0.003 to 0.007 deaths per 1,000 hours of rock climbing, or 3 to 7 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per hour. A five-hour day on alpine rock therefore carries 15 to 35 micromorts, about four to eight skydives.

That figure covers climbing in the mountains, with rockfall, long approaches and abseil descents. Most climbers spend most of their time indoors or at roadside crags, where the risk is much lower.

What happens in the mountains

Over 13 years, from 2005 to 2018, Austrian rescuers recorded 2,992 rock climbing emergencies. The mechanisms tell the story:

Mechanism	Incidents
Falls	894
Rockfall	229
Stumbles (often on approach or descent)	146
Broken holds	143
Belay errors	138

Of the 2,992, 1,217 climbers were injured (709 severely), and 140 died, a case fatality rate of 4.7%. Of the deaths, 105 involved injuries to several parts of the body and 56 head injuries. Almost half the call-outs, 1,469, were for climbers who were not injured but could not get down, because they were stuck, lost, exhausted or caught out by weather or darkness.

Errors with the rope

The rope system is very reliable when it is used correctly. Many serious accidents happen during the routine moments when it is not:

• Lowering off. A climber is lowered from the top anchor on a rope too short for the route, and the end slips through the belay device.
• Abseiling. A climber abseils off the end of an uneven or unknotted rope, or sets up the descent wrongly.
• Belaying. The belayer is distracted, uses the device incorrectly or lets go of the brake strand.
• Tying in. An unfinished knot or a harness buckle left undone.

The American Alpine Club has published Accidents in North American Climbing every year since 1948, and these lowering and abseiling errors recur in it year after year. Tiredness and routine make them easy to miss.

Objective hazards

Some risks have nothing to do with technique. Rockfall caused 229 of the Austrian incidents and broken holds 143. Warmer summers are making some alpine faces less stable as permafrost thaws. Weather adds another layer: thunderstorms on exposed ridges and sudden cold on long routes can turn a straightforward day into a rescue.

Injuries

Schöffl and colleagues, reviewing the evidence in 2010, found that climbing as a whole has lower injury rates and severity than many mainstream sports, while alpine and ice climbing carry higher injury and fatality risk. Indoor climbing injuries commonly affect fingers, shoulders and ankles, from overuse or bad landings in bouldering.

Indoor walls and sport crags

The Austrian figure does not apply to a session at the climbing wall. Indoors there is no rockfall, the anchors are fixed and inspected, and help is a few metres away. The risk that remains is almost entirely human: a belayer who is not paying attention, a knot left unfinished, or a bad landing from a boulder problem. Partner checks matter there as much as on a mountain.

How to climb more safely

1. Close the system. Tie a stopper knot in the end of the rope when lowering or abseiling, every time.
2. Do partner checks before every climb: knot, harness buckles, belay device and carabiner, rope length.
3. Wear a helmet on multi-pitch, alpine and any route with loose rock or climbers above.
4. Learn to belay properly and use an assisted-braking device if you are newer or climbing with a beginner.
5. Start early and set a turnaround time on long routes. Many rescues are for climbers caught by darkness or weather.
6. Check conditions for rockfall and thunderstorms, and avoid gullies under warming faces in the afternoon.
7. Carry a phone or satellite communicator and know the local rescue number (112 in Europe).

How we scored it

Fatality risk (58) reflects 3 to 7 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per hour in the mountains, lower at crags and indoors. Injury risk (62), controllability (62) and the rescue environment (58) are middling: many errors are preventable but rockfall and remoteness are not. Compare paragliding, which scores similarly, and an expedition to Mount Everest.