Warning ,LED headlamp harness (yoke) failure
Posted: Sep 15, 2008 2:32 am
I recently reviewed two climbing accident reports in Yosemite National Park in which an LED headlamp was separated from its harness during a fall.These were models in which the lamp snaps into a yoke attached to the strap system. Two different brands were involved. In the first incident (November 10, 2007), two climbers were rappelling at night on Cathedral Peak during a sudden snow storm. One climber accidentally swung a short distance and struck a corner. The low-speed impact did not hurt him but it popped his LED headlamp out of its yoke (on his helmet) and the lamp was lost. Later that evening one of the climbers died due to hypothermia. The loss of the headlamp had slowed them somewhat but it may not have been a major contributing factor in the climber's death, since they were already in serious trouble. In the second incident (May 15, 2008), a climber was seriously injured in a leader fall on the Nose route of El Capitan at night. His LED lamp separated from its yoke during the fall and was lost. The injury forced the climbers to wait until morning before moving, so the missing lamp played no role in the accident or its outcome, as far as we can tell. I had a short conversation about this with John Dill (YOSAR) and we looked at two of the latest model LED headlamps that come with yokes. This design enables you to interchange different lamp and harness models at will, but you run a significant risk of losing your light. Even without this particular risk, there are lots of other ways to lose or damage a light,and the loss can be serious, so YOSAR recommends carrying your spare batteries in a spare headlamp. The accidents mentioned above is published on the YOSAR website (http://www.friendsofyosar.org )and will be published in the American Alpine club annual Accidents in North American Mountaineering .
Note; There are too many ,model make LED lights that comes with snap(yoke) option and this is not an official recall of any kind but just to inform users. If you are concern about an specific model LED headlamp you use for caving then you should contact the LED headlamp manufactures .
Regards
Majid Sabetzadeh
Yosemite Search And Rescue
www.friendsofyosar.org
Note; There are too many ,model make LED lights that comes with snap(yoke) option and this is not an official recall of any kind but just to inform users. If you are concern about an specific model LED headlamp you use for caving then you should contact the LED headlamp manufactures .
Regards
Majid Sabetzadeh
Yosemite Search And Rescue
www.friendsofyosar.org