Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Leggs
Sport climber
Downtown, Tucson
|
|
Bump for a good cause!!
|
|
scuffy b
climber
dissected alluvial deposits, late Pleistocene
|
|
Thanks, Brad.
As far as concerns Josh, he's got a hard row to hoe.
Some of his analysis, debriefing, whatever, will be more productive a few
weeks or so down the line, than trying to get it all done right now.
It sounds like he and Lars both saved each other (Lars throwing Josh out of
the way), and we can all be grateful they're both still with us.
Yes, anybody would think nothing of just touching a boulder in passing.
What you say about your old mishap resonates with me.
I still occasionally wonder, what if I had simply not lost my balance, on a
mishap of 35 years ago.
Best wishes to you all
|
|
k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
|
|
Reminds me of a friend of mine who was hiking up the Ledge Trial in Yosemite when a table-sized boulder cut loose and folder her over backwards like a soft taco.
Circumstances were perfect for a quick rescue, and although she had a badly broken back, she recovered beautifully.
I wish the same to Lars--a swift and full recovery.
These aren't called freak accidents for nothing, so I hope Josh can quickly find comfort in that it's what he did to help the situation. Those are intentions, and that is character. There wasn't intention to trundle, so please, peace of mind.
Brad, thanks for the ongoing support, and bringing the community's good vibes into the fold.
|
|
yosemite 5.9
climber
santa cruz
|
|
I am relieved that he will keep his leg. I was very impressed with the Santa Clara Medical Center personnel when my wife was there for four months in 2004. I wish him a rapid recovery. If he goes into the rehab dept. his insurance company may not want him there very long on the theory that his condition is no longer "acute". If this happens, Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz can take him in their rehab unit at a sub-acute level. At least they did this for my wife. They are also very good at rehab. Send me an email if I can help.
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
|
Dec 10, 2011 - 02:38am PT
|
hey there all, will give this some more heavy duty prayer tonight...
still praying, regular, anyway...
for all concerned...
god bless..
thanks for the updates...
happy things are moving along, but hard to be happy when someones emotions are still hurt, too... :(
but, happy for LIFE...
:)
|
|
Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
|
|
|
Dec 10, 2011 - 11:00am PT
|
Thanks for the update on all of you. Positive vibes continue in your direction.
|
|
Mtnmun
Trad climber
Top of the Mountain Mun
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 10, 2011 - 05:39pm PT
|
Evo Jack and I visited Lars yesterday afternoon. He was joking and trading barbs with us which was a good sign. He is in and out of reality and was still a bit in a daze as to how it all went wrong so fast. We were encouraged when we left. As Brad was quoted as saying, He is one tough SOB.
He has a long way to go. He is being transfered to Kaiser in San Rafael today. Tomorrow he has shoulder surgery to repair his broken shoulder. The MRI revealed several minor strokes due to lack of blood flow.
When he was younger, he was working on a new route in a very remote part of Canada when a boulder took him out in an approach gully. That was an epic event as well.
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
|
Dec 10, 2011 - 09:50pm PT
|
hey there say, mtnmun... i am sending you a get well card for him, and a christmas card, if i can fit it INTO yours, i will...
if not, i will send it seperate...
thanks for the update...
i wish and hope and pray that so many folks can have success stories from these things...
am so very thankful to see some success in action here on the
supertopo! ...
god bless to you all...
*miss haning out here at night, but i got so much to do...
three cheers to all the trip reports, too...
:)
|
|
HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
|
|
|
Dec 10, 2011 - 09:55pm PT
|
Brad, Mtnmun
Thanks so much for the updates.
Brad, your message about Lars, Josh and yourself was very thoughtful and I don't think invasive. We're all pulling for the three of you.
|
|
Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
|
|
|
Dec 10, 2011 - 10:01pm PT
|
cheers to all you folks--lars to get better and josh for some real heroism.
i like lars's artwork--an interesting career of exploration. here's to healing and getting back to it.
|
|
mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
|
|
|
Dec 12, 2011 - 03:32am PT
|
Wow. I just looked at this thread for the first time in nearly a week. The tears I had been holding back just let loose. Brad has generously been taking reports and offering his take away from our daily conversations throughout the week. I would have had a hard time trying to type last week so now I offer a summary of the events on that monday afternoon.
Brad, Lars and Myself were traversing into a narrow slot that lead to the base of a large flake that marked the start of a project of Lars from the late 80's. I entered the slot first followed by Lars, then Brad. This was a standard, off trail 2nd class approach. Loose scree and the standard bushwhacking was involved. I came to a very large headwall boulder, I stood up on a few holds at the base of the wall and reached out right to steady myself against the wall. I then grabbed the right edge of the headwall boulder with my left hand in an effort to step up onto a shelf.
The boulder cut loose. Falling backward, I was under the right portion of the rushing boulder, my left arm was caught between lars and the boulder. He Pushed my arm or shoulder with his right arm, exposing his entire right side to the boulder.
All I saw after that was a huge boulder rolling down the chute, Brad diving to the left into a tree at the base of a slab and a cloud of dust.
I looked at brads eyes and where they were focused, which lead me to believe that Lars was not fully entrapped. I moved down the hill and saw that he was pinned to the thigh of his right leg, and the left was trapped by its clothing under the boulder. Our first worry was the stability of the boulder, which we tied off to a shrub with Brad's rope. It was not confidence inspiring but the best we could do.
I immediately put my shoulder against the boulder, counted off to Brad and and moved it enough for Brad to get the left leg free. I think we moved it a total of 2 inches before we gave up after many tries. Lars leg was buried, knee to the ground, up to the thigh.
Lars was in a desperate position, head downhill, face down in the yolk of a tree. He had regained conciousness and was telling us that he had broke his shoulder, and to get his leg free. Brad looked at me and gave me that "Dude, I don't want to leave but Now is the time to go" look. Grabbed his pack, tossed me a water and took off down the trail, I yelled at him " Get a Helo Man!".
I used our bags to support his frame then I Started digging like a terrier. His trekking poles had stayed next to his leg and created a void under the boulder which I started enlarging.
I was shoulder deep pulling out pebbles. Eventually I had used the pole and broken out the back side of the boulder. I ran around and went to work there, found his shoe and had a moment of clarity override my desperation to rush the extraction. I removed his shoe carefully, and positioned his foot so that I could slide the leg out without any snags. As I moved around to lars, he was already moving his upper body, and his leg was out 6 inches. I made the decision to support his spine and head with my left arm, and use my right to pull the his legs around and get him into a sitting/reclining position. Painfully, he shouted which was the last time I heard lars speak until the CHP chopper showed up when he said "Get me outta here".
His BP was rising and shock was setting in. I could not move him into a position for shock treatment so I did the best I could with our jackets and the hat I had. I splinted his right compound fracture with the rope and my hammer leash. This allowed me to adjust the height when he moved.
I monitored his vitals, palpated him head to toe, revealing his broken ribs, shoulder and legs. Brad had managed to direct 3 or 4 teams of rescue personel to our location, which was way off the grid, and hopelessly loose. I began to think about how we were going to manage a litter in our tight notch. I started to trundle all of the boulders near us I could down the chute. Breaking branches off and smashing the sharp points near the trunks. I was trying to prep the area not knowing how large the effort was below me on the approach.
Mark, Head Ranger and EMT, and Tim were the first responders, The Litter was 30 min behind them, the CALTECH chopper was already deployed. A Flight nurse and Paramedic were dropped in the summit saddle, and had traversed to our position. I supported lars while they tried to run a line on him, which was not possible. Lars was Critical and It was made know to CHP we needed to short haul. A trail was cut to allow the 20 personel from all local agencies who were present to lower the litter to a hillside for extraction. Chp performed the short haul and lars was off into the sunset.
The portion of time when rescue personel started showing up is clear as day. But trying to write more than i did above is impossible. The gaps between radio communication, trail orders, vitals, rigging, rotorwash, etc were filled with blank stares. At lars, at the boulder, at the faces of the people present. My time with lars, in the beginning, is what replays over and over, then we are all looking up at him and the Helo.
I don't know the timing of everything, It did seem very fast from start to finish. So much so that I found myself walking back to the parking lot at dusk, just like every other time I had climbed on the west side. The parking lot was empty as usual and I could not take it anymore. I fell down and start crying. Brad was there with a rescuer. They got me back on track and I shook it off, knowing the uncertainty of rescue was abolished, now focusing on Lars survival while transport took him to the Trauma center.
Lars is one tough cookie. This past september, 5 months after cancer surgery, he joined his longtime friend Steve and me on a New big wall route in Yosemite. We spent 7 days up there and it was our greatest adventure together. It was hard for him, I could see it in his eyes throughout the climb. Yet he never complained, never sniveled, never let a negative emotion or word escape him. We were all pushing it to the max. At 62 years of age, he is still gettin it done! That was to be his coup de gras, the big finish to a great climbing career that took him all over the world.
Our trip that weekend was a chance for lars to hand over his old projects to me. He knows how much I care about the history of adventure at pinnacles and that I have the highest respect for his boldness on pinnacles First ascents, in areas that are as wild as the day he first found them. For that he entrusted Brad and I with areas that only he has ever ventured.
Lars is alive, and due to every single person involved in his rescue. We needed everyone that day. I don't remember names, just the faces of so many who were there. I see that line of people, with outreached arms waiting for the litter every night. They are like you and me. Good people who did everything they could to save a life.
It all boiled down to 15 minutes, Darkness would have negated a short haul had anything delayed us 15 min. All efforts, on all fronts meant nothing in the wake of time. Time is your enemy during a critical rescue. That day time slowed down just enough to let the bird pluck my friend from harm.
I would like to personally thank, Brad for his amazing effort and olympic speed in getting a swift turnaround for the teams on the approach. His direction and orientation were key to lars survival.
I wish I knew all of the crew, a few are familiar faces, a few are friends, but most were strangers helping some strangers. I give thanks for them every night.
My friend lars is going to heal, he is the most resilient person I know.
Josh Mucci
I know I have missed some things, but the rest will come out with time.
|
|
mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
|
|
|
Dec 12, 2011 - 03:41am PT
|
Here is to a speedy recovery lars!
|
|
Tony Bird
climber
Northridge, CA
|
|
|
Dec 12, 2011 - 09:12am PT
|
wonderful, mucci--thanks so much for the account. lars couldn't have been in better hands. all the best for his recovery.
|
|
Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
|
|
|
Dec 12, 2011 - 09:21am PT
|
Thank you Mucci. Really, thank you.
|
|
mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
|
|
|
Dec 12, 2011 - 09:43am PT
|
Thanks Josh. You know, someday we'll have to go in and finish that project out of respect for Lars. But maybe we should consider NOT asking him to come to the base?
We can name the route Moving Day, or Short Haul, or maybe call it Mister Johnson. And we can make it a really, really safe lead.
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
|
Dec 12, 2011 - 09:45am PT
|
hey there, say, mucci...
oh my... you all were in sync far beyond anyone's dreams...
you know, it was like you were running on the inner-spirit man, for sure,
as to this part of your quote:
I don't know the timing of everything, It did seem very fast from start to finish
that inner spirit, carried you through what the outter man, can barely comprehend fully...
god bless to you all, as you all heal through this...
*am sending something to mtnmun for you both...
praying as you all recover...
sit and take a few 'breathers' out in the fresh air, there as the sunrises... the more new days you all conquer through this, the roots of being well will set in... new joy will be there then, later, when the shocks fall off...
thanks for helping us all understand what you all went through...
|
|
Mtnmun
Trad climber
Top of the Mountain Mun
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 12, 2011 - 11:27am PT
|
Thanks again Josh and Brad for all of your efforts and the detailed report. You guys made the difference. Jude
|
|
BMcC
Trad climber
Livermore
|
|
|
Dec 12, 2011 - 12:31pm PT
|
Hoping your recovery goes smoothly, Lars.
Mucci and Brad - great that Lars had such solid partners who acted so quickly to do so much to help him! Wow.
Best wishes for all three of you.
|
|
mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
|
|
|
Dec 18, 2011 - 11:35pm PT
|
Saw Lars today, he was doing great! Got a chance to talk and laugh. The road to recovery is Long, but he is has a strong will and the determination to get back to 100%
Thanks to all of the kind wishes, I have not told him about this thread yet, but when he is ready I will let the floodgates of support here open wide.
Best,
Josh
|
|
Captain...or Skully
climber
Asgard or bust
|
|
|
Dec 18, 2011 - 11:39pm PT
|
Thanks for the update, Mucci.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!