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That's what 26-year-old Hector Diffut tells his young climbers at Vertical Rock, an indoor climbing facility with locations in Manassas and Tyson's Corner.
But earlier this week, Diffut was hyper-focused on starting his own climb, and didn't catch his mistake until it was too late.
Just as Diffut reached the top of a 30-foot climb, he realized he forgot to clip himself in. As he let go, he didn't feel the retraction.
"I literally forgot my rope," he told Daily Voice in a call on Friday, Sept. 1. "It was no one's fault, I just should've known better."
There was nothing he could do as he fell to the ground.
** WARNING: This story contains graphic imagery. **
"I made the landing but when I tried to get back up, I couldn't," he said. "When I looked down, my fibula and fibula were out of my skin. My foot was pretty much at my calf, behind my leg, and fragments of bone were on the floor."
Diffut broke his leg in several places, and was airlifted to Inova Fairfax where he had emergency surgery.
More than $8,600 had been raised for Diffut, of Manassas, on a GoFundMe of Sept. 1. The four-year climber will have to pay for the transport, medication, and treatment out of pocket, as he does not have insurance.
To make matters worse, he's out of work, and facing a long road to recovery.
"Not working is going to be rough," he said. "I have bills to pay and obviously, I can't do anything."
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