polarwid
May 29, 2002, 3:56 PM
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Registered: Nov 22, 2001
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This is yet another instance of High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) striking on a "tame" route...
ONLY LUCK SAVED THIS GUY!!!
Team effort saves Denali climber
LUCK: Solo mountaineer was near death when found by Europeans at 19,500 feet.
By Doug O'Harra
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: May 29, 2002)
A solo Mount McKinley climber was found lying unconscious below the summit on Monday afternoon, suffering from altitude sickness and exposure, and almost certainly near death.
But he was rescued by a remarkable team effort involving expert first-aid from European mountaineers at the 19,500-foot level followed by an emergency two-mile descent to the 7,200-foot base camp while suspended on a rope beneath a Lama mountain-rescue helicopter.
"He was a dead man without the helicopter and without the people who helped him," said climbing ranger Daryl Miller, of Denali National Park in Talkeetna. "He's just fortunate that one of the climbers who stopped by happened to be a doctor."
Joshua Wax, 26, of Sunderland, Mass., suffered from high altitude cerebral edema, hypothermia and frostbite, according to Denali park officials. He was listed in fair condition Tuesday at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage and didn't feel well enough yet to be interviewed, said hospital spokeswoman Karina Jennings.
An experienced climber with ascents of much lower Mount Rainier and Mount Blanc, Wax was attempting to climb the 20,320-foot mountain alone up the West Buttress route, Miller said. Solo climbs are not recommended.
"It's a big step from Rainier to Denali," Miller said. "When you're soloing Denali, you're really increasing your risk to the point where it's not a calculated risk, it's a gamble. It's a crap shoot."
On Monday, Wax had reached a relatively level area called the "Football Field" at about 19,500 feet when he apparently succumbed to altitude sickness and exhaustion, Miller said.
Sometime after midday, two German climbers emerged from the Messner Couloir -- a steep, expert route to the summit area -- and spied an ice ax on the snow, said Denali park spokeswoman Maureen McLaughlin.
"That alerted them that something was wrong," she said. "They looked around and saw fabric. . . . He was flat on his back in the snow with his arms outstretched."
The Germans found Wax unresponsive and began treating him for hypothermia and gave him medicine for altitude sickness, McLaughlin said. They were soon joined by three Austrian and one Spanish climber. One of the Austrians was a physician, who administered a dose of Dexamethasone, a drug used for treating dangerous cases of high altitude cerebral edema.
That condition occurs when the body reacts to the reduced oxygen level at elevation by accumulating fluid in the brain. Symptoms include severe headaches, apathy, loss of motor functions and unconsciousness. It is fatal unless the victim is moved to lower elevation.
Wax regained consciousness, but remained disoriented and could not walk, McLaughlin said. One of climbers descended to find rangers stationed at 17,200 feet, while the others stayed with Wax.
The park dispatched a ranger in a weather observation plane from Talkeetna Aero Services and its Lama helicopter piloted by Jim Hood. In case clouds blocked helicopter access, the park also launched a six-member team of rangers from the 17,200-foot camp.
But visibility was good enough for the Lama to rendezvous with the European climbers and Wax at about 19,400 feet, McLaughlin said.
The climbers placed Wax in a litter improvised from climbing harnesses, allowing the Lama to haul the injured man directly to the Denali base camp at the end of a 100-foot rope. Wax was then flown to Talkeetna on Talkeetna Air Taxi attended by a volunteer ranger, and then on to Providence hospital by a Lifeguard helicopter.
Luck, people and weather saved Wax's life, Miller said.
"When things go your way, timing is everything," he said. "If the weather had of turned around and went bad, then he wouldn't have been so fortunate."
Doug O'Harra can be reached at do'harra@adn.com and 907 257-4334.
[ This Message was edited by: polarwid on 2002-05-29 09:02 ]
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