The American Alpine Club produces two publications every year. One is the American Alpine Journal, which reports on significant climbing and mountaineering achievements from the past year. It’s very inspiring I’m sure, but I wouldn’t know because I spend all my time reading the other book, Accidents in North American Climbing, which is a record of the year’s achievements in alpine error, negligence, and failure, with consequences ranging from multiple fatalities to wounded pride. If you are involved in any kind of climbing, alpinism, or rescue medicine (and who isn’t, these days?) it is extremely worth your $15.

The case studies are usually pretty dry and technical, but once in a while there’s a real gem, and I’d like to share a couple of them today, along with a Twitter thread that could be titled “Accidents in North American Living, 2021.”