Like last week, I don’t really have the energy to write a formal essay. But a lot has happened this week, so I wanted to give a couple of updates before finishing with a few thoughts.
First, the climber in the second Shunt accident, Trevor Stuart, is alive and doing as well as someone could expect after a 60 foot fall. I’m very happy that I was able to speak with him via Zoom. He is in a lot of pain and has multiple breaks in his back and neck, but he was able to speak and carry on a short conversation. He did confirm that his top rope solo set-up was the same as mine and that he hadn’t gotten word about my accident before going out that day.
Lately, I’ve been thinking of climbers arriving at the decision to use a Petzl Shunt for top rope solo as a social trail in the forest. The trail was started by Petzl long ago when they authorized top rope solo as a use of their device. The trail was followed by many climbers, including influencers such as Dave MacLeod and Andy Kirkpatrick. Petzl then quietly removed top rope solo as an approved use of the device. But many climbers continued to use the Shunt for this reason — the trail remained.
My accident provided information about a very dangerous failure mode of the Shunt, and the climbing community is now doing its part to close the trail down. I felt like it was my responsibility to start to spread the word on Mountain Project and via podcast, as well as contact Petzl about my experience with the device. A climber and guide, Yann Camus, has posted a video demonstrating how a Shunt can detach from a rope (it is quite good and linked here if you’d like to watch). Dave MacLeod removed his video about using the Shunt for TR solo — a video that both Trevor and I (and nearly 300k others) watched. Andy Kirkpatrick has posted Yann’s video and redacted statements about the Shunt not being able to detach from a rope.
At this point, I feel like so many climbers have met and exceeded their responsibility to the community. Petzl, in my opinion, hasn’t. If you’re of the mindset that Petzl has already done their due diligence by saying that the device is not approved for top rope solo, then I’ll leave you with this op-ed of sorts that I wrote early this week. Please give it some thought:
So I had a climbing accident. I used a Petzl Shunt for top rope solo, and I fell. The device detached completely from the rope and I hit the ground 35 feet below. The problem is that Petzl doesn’t currently recommend the device for top rope solo.
At this point in the story, some people say, “You went rogue. You are responsible for your own safety. Deal with the consequences.”
But, as always, there is more to this story.
For the previous iteration of the Shunt, Petzl listed self-belays (aka top rope solo or self-lining) and ascending as approved uses of the device. This makes the Shunt very appealing. It is simple and has the ability to ascend and even easily descend short sections of a route.
The safety information included warnings about self-belay misuses. For example, Petzl said that the climber could accidentally grab their device and hold the cam down, letting it slide all the way down the rope. Petzl also said that if the climber was in a steeply overhanging situation, the camming device could hit the body of the climber, holding it open. The latter advice still lives on the Petzl website:
“No, the SHUNT is not recommended for self-belaying because of the risk of the cam jamming in an overhang situation.”
The newest iteration of the Shunt leaves back-up rappel as the only recommended use of the device. But there really aren’t many who need a back-up rappel device. I mean, a short loop of cord used as a prusik does the trick, right? So how can Petzl still be selling enough of this product to keep up with the cost of manufacturing?
Well, many in the climbing community still have knowledge of this device being used for top-rope solo. In fact, there are still pros, even Petzl sponsored athletes, who advertise the shunt as the most popular top rope solo device, or one of the best top rope solo devices on the market. One site from a Petzl sponsored athlete even states that the device can’t detach from a rope (this statement has since been redacted).
It turns out that the cam jamming is far from the worst outcome you could have with the Shunt. It can, in fact, completely detach from the rope. I never read this in any of Petzl’s information or from any websites discussing the device.
At this point, let’s consider an analogy:
Let’s say a trusted company releases a product. It’s a small box of chocolates. These were loved by consumers, but there were internal concerns with the chocolates. So the company decides some changes need to be made.
Instead of a recall or removal of the item, they quietly re-brand the item as a paperweight. It is pretty tempting to eat those chocolate balls inside the paperweight, but the package is labeled as a paperweight only. Upon reading the product info, the company does say that you shouldn’t use the item for anything other than a paperweight. The company website states:
“The chocolate balls in the paperweight are not recommended for consumption because of the risk of getting a stomachache”
Years pass, and the paperweight keeps getting sold. It turns out that several people are still eating the chocolate balls. But the consequences were much worse than a stomachache for at least two of those people. They have been hospitalized for severe illness, and one is in the ICU. They may never fully recover.
Maybe there would be some folks saying that the hospital patients are responsible for their own safety and shouldn’t have eaten the chocolate – just follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. But most would be outraged. It’s clear that the company is making money by selling a dangerous product.
This paperweight company wouldn’t be able to continue to sell this product. It’s misleading at best and killing people for profit at worst. The American consumer wouldn’t allow it.
This isn’t about me or my accident. This is about the people out there still eating the chocolate. And the next person who will end up in the hospital or worse. I think that we should spend some time considering Petzl’s responsibility to its customers.