Trouble on Mt Rubidoux

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Messages 1 - 13 of total 13 in this topic

Chaz

Trad climber

greater Boss Angeles area

Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 25, 2013 - 12:55pm PT

STRANDED UNDER ROCK - INADEQUATE EQUIPMENT - EXCEEDING ABILITIES - FAILURE TO HEED LOCAL ADVICE - NO HARD HAT
California, Mt Rubidoux

http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/riverside/riverside-headlines-index/20130325-riverside-man-trapped-on-mount-rubidoux-for-days.ece

( from the Riverside Tattler )

"RIVERSIDE: Man trapped on Mount Rubidoux for days"

"A man who appeared to have been trapped under some rocks on Mount Rubidoux for several days is being rescued Monday morning, March 25.

Emergency crews have extricated the man from under the rocks, but are still trying to get him up to a road so he can be taken to the hospital, said Mitch Wesche, with the Riverside Fire Departemnt, about 9:20 a.m.

It was unclear how long the man had been there, how he’d gone unnoticed, or what the extent of his injuries were. He was receiving medical care at the scene Wesche said.

This story is developing. Check back for updates."

Typical no-information story the Press-Enterprise seems to specialize in. I feel as if I know less after reading the story than I did before I read it.

mechrist

Gym climber

South of Heaven

Mar 25, 2013 - 01:00pm PT

There was a guy sleeping under the rocks on the backside one morning when I went climbing. Scared the sh#t out of me when he popped up.

neversummer

climber

30 mins. from suicide USA

Mar 25, 2013 - 01:04pm PT

what the f*#k ??

Roots

Mountain climber

SoCal

Mar 25, 2013 - 01:33pm PT

Oh snap! I almost went there yesterday..hope the dude is ok. That must have sucked as there's always people everywhere and no one noticed him.

Interesting that you mentioned someone popping up out of nowhere...on the backside there are plenty of homeless bivy sites. I hate walking around that side with a bouldering pad - figure eventually I'd get mugged (or at least hassled) by one of them wanting my 'mattress'!

Roots

Mountain climber

SoCal

Mar 26, 2013 - 02:05pm PT

He was trapped for up to 8 days...I find it so hard to beleive that no one came across him sooner.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/26/17467303-hiker-rescued-after-days-pinned-under-rocks?lite

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

the crowd MUST BE MOCKED...Mocked I tell you.

Mar 26, 2013 - 02:26pm PT

what was he doing in that hole in the first place? sit starts?

mechrist

Gym climber

South of Heaven

Mar 26, 2013 - 03:55pm PT

Funny, those are the exact boulders I saw that homeless dude! And yes, I did scope that sit start.

mouse from merced

Trad climber

The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.

Mar 26, 2013 - 04:02pm PT

He's lucky it just turned into Springtime. The only way he made it that long, IMO.

Are the boots bootiable or does he get'em back?

Ward Trotter

Trad climber

Mar 26, 2013 - 04:19pm PT

Could this homeless guy have staged the whole thing? I mean, I don't know if the firemen determined that he was legitimately stuck in there or not.?
Some of these homeless people will do anything to get into a hospital , get fussed over, and pumped full of meds. I had a GF who was a nurse at LA General and she use to have to practically fight her way through a crowd of homeless near one of the ER entrances .
Very sad.

Roots

Mountain climber

SoCal

Mar 26, 2013 - 05:10pm PT

Given more thought to this and it just seems so odd that someone would get stuck for so long in such a small, popular park.

Not sure if any of you have visited Rubidoux lately, but it's been pretty much void of climbers for a long time now (5-10 years). I still go and occassionally see another person or a small party but what Rubidoux is all about now is WALKERS. F'n hundreds of them walking on the road, up and down. They're freaking everywhere....even on the dirt trails. Roadies, Pagans, Mexican church groups use the park too. It's changed that much.

The other thing that is odd is this Sunday is Easter so typically Boy Scouts are repairing trails weeks in advance of the big day.

I'm really not trying to doubt the guy's story but I keep coming back to how difficult it would be to not get noticed.

Largo

Sport climber

The Big Wide Open Face

Mar 26, 2013 - 05:30pm PT

That grotto is down by the lower parking lot where a glass smooth face is chisseled with an old Bible quote. It's a crawl through little hole between some big boulders, only 20 feet off the road. I smell a rat on this one. Eight days with no water? Why, when he could just slither out the way he got in?

JL