Loose Approach

Milan Smiljanic, Kamnik Alps, Slovenia

In 2012, I was climbing in the Kamnik Alps. On the approach, while scrambling UIAA II or III terrain (low fifth-class), I was the last person in two teams totaling five men. As they all climbed a short crux, I stopped for a moment to take my helmet out of my pack and put it on. At that moment an avalanche of rock broke away under the first climber’s hands. Unroped, he only just caught himself and avoided falling off the cliff. If I had been directly behind the others, as I should have been by the “rules” of approach, I probably would have been swept away by the rockfall.

I heard a scream, looked up, and saw a pile of watermelon-size stones coming down at me, with no possibility of evading them. I leaned in to the rock, put my elbows beside my head to support my helmet and neck, and waited for the impact, which came very fast and hard. The first hit broke the helmet’s harness, and I felt it go loose on my head. Then came the second hit. I realized I had to move, even if it meant risking a fall. I jumped aside and the rest of the stones missed me. So, yes, helmets do matter, even on the approach.