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rendog
May 25, 2005, 6:23 AM
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story taken form the calgary sun webpage :
Dramatic helicopter rescue
Injured climber marooned on peak
By PAM DOYLE, CANMORE LEADER
CANMORE -- A climber fell nearly 50 feet while tackling a route on Mount Yamnuska, badly breaking both legs yesterday afternoon.
He was plucked from by a helicopter sling rescue performed by conservation officers with Alberta Community Development.
The man was with his climbing partner Nathan Brown, also of Edmonton, when a ledge broke beneath him and he fell. Brown called for help and waited in the meadow below.
George Field, public safety specialist with Community Development, organized a helicopter sling rescue from the Canmore heliport.
Although it was windy on the ground, conditions were better at altitude near the accident site.
"We were lucky we were in a bay and it was calmer in there," Field said.
"We got as close as we dared to the mountain to get the patient out."
The helicopter flew to an altitude of 6,600 feet, with a 100-foot rescue rope dangling underneath. After stabilizing the climber, rescuers put him into a screamer suit and hooked him up to the rope.
This was the second helicopter sling rescue of the weekend in the area, the first coming Saturday afternoon when a woman broke her leg in a hiking accident on Grotto Mountain.
Since 1978, conservation officers have been performing an average of 24 helicopter rescues a year, and half of those are sling rescues, performed to pluck injured climbers off of mountains in the Rockies.
http://
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john_doe
Jun 10, 2005, 3:11 PM
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That was me! I'm currently laid up at home. I broke my left ankle and my right tibia and fibia. The left one wasn't so bad, but the right one was a clean break in six places. It took 16 screws and two plates to put my right leg back together again.
Hopefully when this is all over and I'm healed up, I can get back on the sharp end of the rope.
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brianinslc
Jun 10, 2005, 3:21 PM
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Hey, how 'bout a report on what happened? Route you were on, what caused the plummet, any mitigating circumstances, etc.
Glad to hear you're healing and thinkin' about gettin' back on that horse...
Cheers,
Brian in SLC
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iceisnice
Jun 10, 2005, 5:56 PM
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those crazy cannucks and their sling rescues!! actually, i'm just jealous. i wish american SAR was as gun-ho about them as you guys. personally, i'm getting tired of hoofing patients out, hehehe. as was mentioned earlier, would like to hear details about the accident. not to critisize you or how it happened. its educational to here. just think, you will probably be in Accidents in North American Mountaineering next year!!! Glad you are healing and have a good attitude to return.
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kman
Jun 11, 2005, 12:47 AM
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In reply to: That was me! I'm currently laid up at home. I broke my left ankle and my right tibia and fibia. The left one wasn't so bad, but the right one was a clean break in six places. It took 16 screws and two plates to put my right leg back together again. Hopefully when this is all over and I'm healed up, I can get back on the sharp end of the rope.
I hope you have a quick and least amount of pain possible type recovery man.
So the ledge you were on collapsed eh...... ? That must have been quite freaky. What are the odds of posting a report on what happened?
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john_doe
Jun 11, 2005, 3:04 AM
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Me and my climbing partner Nathan Brown were climbing the first pitch of The Belfry on Yamnuska (5.8 Classic grade). I was leading the first pitch, which, as it happens to be, is about 1/2 up the mountain, because the first 1/2 of the climb is lower 5.4 or 5.5 scrambling.
The route starts out on a bit of the classic Canadian washed out limestone, so placements are sparse, but there are some fixed pins to clip. I clipped the first three pins, and then a decent sized crack came up, just before a leftward traverse, and I punched in a 3.5 BD Camelot.
Once on the traverse, there were two more fixed pins, and about 10-15 feet to the left of that was a ledge that was about 5 feet long, by 5 feet deep. It was well polished, so it was obvious that there had been lots of foot traffic, and the belay station (4 pins) was about 6 feet above the ledge on an easy slab climb.
I traversed over to the ledge, stood on it, and turned to yell down to Nathan that I could see the belay and that I was going to go and set up an anchor. About 25 seconds later, the whole ledge dropped off the face of the planet and me with it.
From what the Nathan could see, and the Rescue guys figured, I took between a 50-60 footer. All pro held, and I was climbing on double ropes. The reason for the rather large fall by my memory is accounted for by a few things:
1. lack of good placement opportunities and dependence on fixed pins.
2. I was on traverse and the next good placement was about two feet above where I could reach, and obviously I didn't have time to put anything in.
3. The force of my fall dislodged the refrigerator sized rock that Nathan had slung as an upward pull anchor. (The ledge that the first pitch starts on is really large and very flat, and once again, placement opportunities were pretty much limited to that large rock.) The result of the slung rock moving, allowed my climbing partner to move an estimated 4 feet in the air and 10 feet forward. (I weigh 185 and he weighs 145 so there is a significant weight difference).
Reasons that I am still alive:
1. double ropes. The fall resulted in one of the double ropes getting cut more than 1/2 way through.
2. backpack, I hit my back multiple times because of the pendulum of the fall, but the backpack contents absorbed all the impact.
3. helmet and sunglasses. My helmet took a few large impacts, and my sunglasses are nicely scratched all down one side.
Overall damage to myself:
1. Broken Left ankle (two screws to fix)
2.Broken right tibia and fibula (16 screws and 2 plates to fix)
3. scrapes on my left palm
4. no other damage to any other part of my body. I had sore hips for a few days as a result of the impact moving through my legs up. But no spinal or head injuries and no other scratch.
I don't remember how I broke my legs, more than likely it was on the way down because the ropes caught me and I didn't hit any ledges.
And the Canadian Alpine Rescue team that pulled me off the mountain were top notch. Those guys were great, and they did everything they could to minimize the pain that I was in.
I was on the mountain for about 3 hours with no pain killers, had my right leg partially set (because it was broken through and just flopping about), and choppered off all without painkillers. I never passed out, but the pain was very serious.
The climbing gear saved my life, in conjunction with a great climbing partner and a great rescue team. Everyone did everything they could to make sure that I was in as little pain as possible. And I thank everyone involved for that.
I'll do my best to answer anymore questions.
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redrocker
Jun 11, 2005, 3:48 AM
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Whoa Nelly! What a freakin' story! Sorry to hear about your injuries, they sound pretty serious. I'm going to raise a glass of fine Scotch and toast your speedy and complete recovery. Would also be interested to hear from your partner Nathan Brown. I would imagine he has a pretty dramatic story to tell from his perspective on belay.
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skinner
Jun 11, 2005, 5:12 AM
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Hearing from Nathan would be interesting.
I too once had a stove-sized piece of the mountain spontaneously detach on me, resulting in a horrendous zipper.
I am not sure if Nathan was able to see you, but in my case.. what my partner saw, filled in the pieces of the story that I didn't remember while falling.
Years later I was surprised to discover that the whole ordeal was actually more traumatic for him then it was for me.
Always interesting to hear to from others involved.
All that aside, I am glad to hear you are on the mend and wish you a full and speedy recovery.
Climb On Bro :wink:
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jumpingrock
Jun 14, 2005, 3:48 PM
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Just wondering if there was anyway that this accident might have been avoided? I have been thinking about it and I can see myself easily getting into this very same situation. Not sure if there is any way to avoid it.
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killclimbz
Jun 14, 2005, 4:03 PM
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If a ledge gives way on you, there isn't much you can do about it, unless of course it was giving you some obvious signs it was loose.
That is one hell of a story, glad to hear you are alright and planning on getting back on the sharp end. Sending positive healing vibes your way.
I also got to say this about your injuries, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW :!:
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john_doe
Jun 16, 2005, 3:02 AM
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The ledge looked solid. It was also well polished, and by the looks of it had seen many ascents. Also, it held my weight for a good couple of minutes before it gave way. My bet is that it was the freeze thaw cycle that had eventually loosened it.
The good news is that I now have a walking cast on my left leg, so no more wheel chair. It's crutches all the way for me. I'm even thinking about re-soling them with 5.10 rubber.
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static_endurance
Jun 16, 2005, 4:57 AM
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While you're at it, put some rubber on the top of your walking cast. I'm sure you could nail some pretty wicked toehooks with it! Minus the pain, of course :wink: .
All hopes for a speedy recovery, then you can hop back on and nail the sucker without any ledges breaking below you.
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john_doe
Jul 29, 2005, 11:40 PM
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I figured that I would post an update.
I am now walking with a cane. Cast is off my left ankle, and the right leg is healing up nicely. I am still limping and in a bit of pain when walking, but it has only been two weeks since I could put any weight on my right leg.
I have two more weeks until my checkup with the ortho. again, and then I should be free to do anything I want. I will also start physio too.
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kasharp
Jul 30, 2005, 12:03 AM
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glad to hear your healing nicely :)
that's a crazy fall
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hardcore
Aug 5, 2005, 6:17 PM
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Now that's fucking hardcore......Shiazma that was a great story, hope you heal well and are back on the sharp end soon. Hardcore gives you 4 fingers-up out of 4. You are definitely in Hardcores wicked book.
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overlord
Aug 5, 2005, 6:44 PM
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man, thats one crazy story.
hope you heal soon.
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oldrnotboldr
Aug 5, 2005, 7:29 PM
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WOW, what a story! Glad to hear you were not worse off. Hope you continue your speedy recovery.
That story goes to show that we can account for so many factors, but ultimately there are some we cannot. All we can do is be ready and do as much right as possible, thus minimizing the impact, as your story demonstrates so well. Well done.
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crotch
Aug 5, 2005, 7:33 PM
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Amazing story!!! Had you clipped the belay pins yet?
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gblauer
Moderator
Aug 5, 2005, 8:27 PM
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Crazy story. I am glad that you are healing.
Do you plan on climbing again?
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rickrock77
Aug 6, 2005, 10:37 AM
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man thats amazing...
You suffered a fair amount of injury, is that possible to forget?
Do you have flashbacks to what happened and feel it over?
Do you have any fear of it happening again? And will you ever mantle a ledge again without finding an anchor straight away in case it also gives way?
Please keep us update with progress of healing..
Hope your going well.. You dont need any advice, but I would like to suggest a LOT of water exercises in warm water.. If no one has mentioned it look into it.
Hope you have faith, and have said thankyou to whatever god you may believe in...if not I will pass it on for you :wink:
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majid_sabet
Aug 8, 2005, 5:06 AM
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iceisnice
Post Posted: 10 Jun 2005 17:56
those crazy cannucks and their sling rescues!! actually, i'm just jealous. i wish american SAR was as gun-ho about them as you guys.
.......................................
You have not seen any thing in America yet, try to throw a sang bag with 75 feet cord attached to it out of the helicopter on El Cap to the climber, then send a rope and haul bag to him. :idea:
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clymberdad
Jun 19, 2006, 12:25 PM
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Just happened to run across this thread. It's kind of an old thread, so maybe nobody will see this posting, but anyway...
Sorry to hear about your injuries and hope you're all healed up by now.
I've wanted to do Belfry for some time. Went up there once to climb it but my partner got lost on the way (or so he says) and never showed up, so I didn't get to do it. But I hiked up to the base and soloed the scrambling up to the start of the first pitch. That's some of the scariest 4th class scrambling I've ever done due to all the loose scree on the ledges. I was terrified the whole time that a whole pile of loose stuff was going to go sliding off a ledge, taking me along with it. That got me wondering - was the thing that broke off, with you on it, a detached block, or did it appear to be actually part of the wall?
By the way, the reason I've wanted to do Belfry is that my Dad put it up with Brian Greenwood way back before I was born. I wonder if he was the one who hammered in those pitons you clipped? (No sticky rubber, no cams, not even hexentrics, back in that day!)
Duncan
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the_antoon
Jun 19, 2006, 1:05 PM
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hey buddy...that was a year ago...get back on the route yet?
hope all is well and you're back up to speed.
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skinner
Jun 19, 2006, 2:37 PM
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Yes that was a year ago.. I never looked at the date and was thinking.. WTF again??
Maybe you should PM the dude instead of bumping a year old thread just to say "How are you doing" :D
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rockguide
Jun 19, 2006, 2:39 PM
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In reply to: Just happened to run across this thread. It's kind of an old thread, so maybe nobody will see this posting, but anyway... Sorry to hear about your injuries and hope you're all healed up by now. I've wanted to do Belfry for some time. Went up there once to climb it but my partner got lost on the way (or so he says) and never showed up, so I didn't get to do it. But I hiked up to the base and soloed the scrambling up to the start of the first pitch. That's some of the scariest 4th class scrambling I've ever done due to all the loose scree on the ledges. I was terrified the whole time that a whole pile of loose stuff was going to go sliding off a ledge, taking me along with it. That got me wondering - was the thing that broke off, with you on it, a detached block, or did it appear to be actually part of the wall? By the way, the reason I've wanted to do Belfry is that my Dad put it up with Brian Greenwood way back before I was born. I wonder if he was the one who hammered in those pitons you clipped? (No sticky rubber, no cams, not even hexentrics, back in that day!) Duncan
Cool - When your father and Brian Greenwood put up that route back then it was one of the big steps forward in Canadian Rockies climbing. But he didn't pound in the pins. They climbed the route with machine nuts with the threads bored out - having just arrived from the UK (Brian at least).
The no piton idea didn't last long.
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