Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 4, 2012 - 10:55am PT
|
While we were descending from our little adventure we witnessed a helicopter buzzing around the Third Pillar area off the Dana Plateau...
...numerous rescue trucks going up the pass...
...and reports of the campgrounds open for SAR members (including taking the guy partner up to the camp).
While I had word of who the injured was, apparently injured on the descent to the climb, I don't have any hard information.
Hopefully the injured party will recover soon and be back.
Any better information on what went down up there?
|
|
WBraun
climber
|
|
Libby dropped a huge boulder onto her leg.
She was short hauled out of there to ambulance.
Badly broken bones and was transferred to Mammoth hospital .....
|
|
survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
|
|
Heal well, take the rehab seriously and then come up swinging Libby!
|
|
ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Trad climber
San Francisco, Ca
|
|
What a drag. I met her a few years ago bouldering and she seems super nice. Here's to a speedy and full recovery!
|
|
HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
|
|
^^^^^^^^^^
Which one is Libby?
--
Hey Libby, I hope when you read my post it makes you chuckle a little.
So sorry to hear about your crash (not exactly a fall). We're all looking forward to hearing when you're back on The Stone.
|
|
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
|
|
Wish Libby quick and full recovery! That descent is loose!
|
|
jahil
Social climber
London, Paris, WV & CA
|
|
Heal up Libby! We saw the helicopter going in as we were going up Deimos and I was trying not to drop the rack on Adam's head.
I almost managed to kill Mittens on the same descent, that thing is scary !
take care
steve
|
|
SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
|
|
Oh my Libby, please do get on the mend quickly...yuck start to the summer...
Susan
|
|
Mtnmun
Trad climber
Top of the Mountain Mun
|
|
Heal Swiftly Libby!
|
|
phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
|
|
What a shame! I'm only glad it wasn't worse and hope that she will make a full and speedy recovery.
|
|
Dynamic
Trad climber
CA
|
|
Patrick and I were at the Tioga Cliff and I noticed a rescue happening up on the Dana Plateau. I figured it had to do with the descent. Sorry about the mishap Libby! That could happen to anybody..but knowing you, it will be a minor setback. Heal quickly!
|
|
aspendougy
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
|
|
Wishing you a speedy recovery with no permanent after affects. It seems like an awful lot of climbing injuries happen on the descent.......loose rock, etc.
|
|
Daphne
Trad climber
In transit...
|
|
Sending Libby lots of love and positive vibes for a smooth recovery.
|
|
Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
|
|
Best wishes Libby! No fun at all. Heal well and soon... You may learn quickly how many of us get hooked here - healing and the Taco go hand-in-hand. :)
|
|
labrat
Trad climber
Nevada City, CA
|
|
Get Well Soon!
Erik
|
|
SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
|
|
Heal up soon, Libby!!!
|
|
velvet!
Trad climber
La Cochitaville
|
|
Thanks for the kind words everyone! And a massive thanks to everyone that helped get me off that slope as quickly as possible!
Seeing as how I've got nothing but time these day, here's a verbose recount of how I ended up getting short hauled off the Third Pillar descent gully by my old SAR site boss, Ranger Matt Stark!
My fall on the Dana descent gully all started with a handsome British man I met briefly in the Valley last summer. He and his mates were staying with us on the SAR site in the back of Camp 4 and despite my attempts, I had no success at catching his eye. Lucky for me though and unbeknownst to each other, we both booked tickets for a sport climbing winter vacation to Thailand. Second time was the charm with this one and I finally nabbed myself that handsome Brit!
After three weeks together in Thailand, I convinced Tom to come to America to really see why the West is best. A 3 month spring road trip was in order!
We skied Tahoe Backcountry...
...and crushed the sandstone from Moab to Red Rock and Zion.
I even managed to get him to jump out of an airplane at my home DZ!
But no trip to the west would be complete without some time in Yosemite! Unfortunately we both got a cold and spent a fair bit of time enjoying the El Cap layback and general Merced laziness. After we'd recouped and crushed a lap up the Reg Route of Half Dome, the heat in the Valley was starting to kick in. To the Meadows! My time on Valley SAR the last three summers had limited my climbing time up there and I was psyched for some serious Sierra time. We took an always glorious lap up Cathedral on our first day there,
and with my good buddy Althea (mountain beast if there ever was one!) headed up from the Bay for some weekend fun, we decided on the Third Pillar of Dana in a party of three the next day.
With an alpine start of about 11AM, the three of us happily hit the trail chatting, giggling and excited for the route!
We had lunch on the plateau and then dropped over the edge. I popped out in front and instead of heading towards the ridge the way Althea wanted, I tried to navigate the little snow field by going a bit to the left. Whoops! About 20 feet or so over the edge and the large block (7'x4'?) I'm on begins to slide. As me and the boulder take an eight foot drop, I very fortunately fall away from the moving mass of granite but unfortunately, my right foot finds a nice little hole while my body continues its forward momentum. The result? A 90 degree angulated right tib/fib fracture. Tom and Althea are immediately asking if I'm ok to which I'm able to respond that, "I've broken my leg, it's severly angulated, it might be open (it wasn't)..." and then I'm pretty sure that's when the calm left me and the crying set in.
Tom and Althea as quickly as possible get down to me and assess the scene. With no more rock fall danger noted, Althea takes the phone to go look for service and Tom, without telling me, quickly realigns and splints my foot using my new trekking poles while my adrenalin is still pumping and surprise is overriding pain. (Nice to have a doctor with some orthopedic experience with you when something like this happens!)
Now it's the hurry up and wait part. I fell at 2PM and I've told myself not to expect anyone till 7PM. I know I am technically not in Yosemite anymore but I'm holding out hope that when help does arrive, it'll be my friends and family from YOSAR. In between freakouts of pain, spasms and fear, I look up at the ridge a mere 20 feet away. I think of the stories of climbers with way more mangled bodies than mine heroically dragging themselves out of crevasses and down glaciers for their own rescue. I desperately want to be brave enough to at least get back up to the ridge. Tom helps reposition me and the 10 minutes of racking sobs that follows the slightest readjustment tell me that I am no match for those true mountain hardmen and women. I'm just not as strong as I want to be, or as I should be for the type of fun I like to have in the mountains. I'm staying put right here on this damn rock.
And then we hear it...the sweetest sound I could imagine, rotor blades! It's only 5PM though. That seems too fast for 551 (YOSAR's helo) to have come. What if it's not for me? What if it's not 551? Tom see's it first. "It's red and white!" I'm overjoyed. It is 551! That mean's YOSAR is responding! We watch for what seems like an agonizing half hour as they scour the slopes looking for us. Tom scrambles back up to the ridge and finally flags them down. In no time, I hear the helo set down and then Tom yells, "YOSAR's here!" Rangers Dave Pope and Matt Stark pop over the lip and tell me the fentanyl is on the way! Oh that sweet sweet fentanyl!
They quickly get me in the litter and me and Matt are rigged for short haul!
With the new 250' line to help combat the massive plateau winds, Matt and I are off!
We land on the plateau and I am greeted by my friends and Tuolumne Meadow SAR siters! Hi guys!
I'm put into 551 for ride down to the heli pad where I hop an ambulance ride down to Mammoth Hospital (where my best friend is a nurse!) and get this lovely picture taken...
I now have a sweet piece of titainium running down my leg. Airports are gonna be fun! I'm at my mothers in Vegas now and am already beginning to get bored with my immobility. 3 more months...! Now where is that hang board?
|
|
michaeld
Sport climber
Sacramento
|
|
Wicked....
|
|
Skeptimistic
Mountain climber
La Mancha
|
|
Sounds like it couldn't have happened to a nicer person. So sorry to hear about your calamity. I'm sure that with your obvious sense of humor and strength of mind you will heal faster than expected. Thanks for the TR!
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!