In reply to Mick Ward:
I remember going to the rescue of a young guy who had fallen off the top pitch of Equus on Gimmer. We were on Eastern Hammer when we heard this scream followed by the sound of ripping gear, followed by a sickening bone crunching thud of a body hitting rock very hard.
His second managed to lower him back to the belay, and I down climbed and traversed over to him. His head was split open, his face was battered, there was blood everywhere, plus he had a bone sticking through the sleeve of his fleece.
My second joined us, and I dispatched his second to abb off and get down to the ODG to get the MR. We tended his wounds as best we could, but realised he was going into shock and in a bad way. To try and get him to medical attention asap, I abbed off with him strapped to my back, and when we got him back to the ground, we were able to wrap him up warm, and also tend to some of his wounds better - first aid and clothing from our sacs.
The MR arrived about 10 minutes later and took over.
Later that evening we met his second in the ODG and asked how his mate was? He was in hospital and a bit bashed up, but he was going to be OK. We then found out, that prior to getting on Equus, his hardest route was Kipling Groove the previous day, but he wanted to get up to E grades really badly.
And the moral of this story?
Be realistic with your climbing dreams, and take your time, because you're a long time dead, and the routes you want to do aren't going anywhere in the meantime.
Post edited at 15:34