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micronut
Trad climber
fresno, ca
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Topic Author's Original Post - Apr 14, 2008 - 05:59pm PT
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Yeah, no lie. We freakin blew the takeoff out of Bridgeport yesterday after a three day rockstar trip. What's the last thing you want to hear your pilot say as you approach the end of the runway, trying desperately to gain speed in a small cessna loaded with forur guys, four sets of tele skis and four big packs say? "Come on Baby....come on Baby....hold on!"
So yup, we blew the runway and ended up in the weeds.........then something in the right landing gear caught fire. Good to have two firefighters on board. Jeff grabbed the Red Bull sized extinguisher and doused the faring covering the landing gear as black smoke and legitimate flame shot up under the wing. disaster thus averted, we set about finding a way home. A nightmare ride North with a local ex-meth addict brought us to Reno. And oh yeah, we live in Fresno, so we rented a Ford Tempo and shot the horn, arriving at 3:30 am after a "14.99 Prime Rib Dinner" and a few hands of Blackjack at the Silver Palace downtown.
I'm not much of a gamblin man, but I figured a hand or two was in order after surviving my first plane crash. Oh yeah, Matterhorn Peak rocked. Great camp, fun climbing in the East Coulior, though she was a bit skinny, perfect bluebird summy, and fresh corn all the way home.
So here I sit with a bit of rental car lag, a sunburn and a story of the time we almost didn't walk away.
Good day to be alive if you ask me.
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TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
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Apr 14, 2008 - 06:08pm PT
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Dude, were you drinking?
'Cause I think you were in the wrong plane.
Looks like a Piper Warrior to me.
Definitely not a Cessna.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Apr 14, 2008 - 06:09pm PT
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Now there's a trip. Good photos too.
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Karen
Trad climber
So Cal Hell
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Apr 14, 2008 - 06:15pm PT
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That ain't no Cessna, Cessna's are high winged!!!!
Awesome ski trip however, nice!
Are those Hammerhead bindings? if so, love em, gotta a pair on my K2's
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Ricky D
Trad climber
Sierra Westside
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Apr 14, 2008 - 06:18pm PT
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No sh!t - there I was - thought I was going to die!
Looks like a great trip - was in Mammoth this past week myself - got the sunburn to prove it too!
Ditto on not looking like a Cessna - looks like a Piper to me. I've got many skydives out of Cessnas and all were high wing designs.
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rhyang
Ice climber
SJC
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Apr 14, 2008 - 06:19pm PT
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Nice work ! Another one I should think about this season ..
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micronut
Trad climber
fresno, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 14, 2008 - 06:19pm PT
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oh man, sorry about the plane type. Yeah, it might be a Warrior. They all look the same when the ground is flying by really, really fast. My hands are still shaking today. Kinda wacky.
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TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
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Apr 14, 2008 - 06:31pm PT
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No problem. Next time you fly, ask the pilot to show you his weight and balance calculation. Ask him if the tanks are full and how much the fuel weighed.
Seriously that first picture looks like too much weight unless you are flying with fairly minimum fuel for small single prop airplanes.
Then check performance section in the aircraft flight manual (which is supposed to be in the plane). It should have a chart or other means for calculating runway length as function of temperature and barometric pressure.
If he won't do that, don't get in with 3 other guys.
:-)
Glad you walked away from it.
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SteveW
Trad climber
State of confusion
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Apr 14, 2008 - 06:40pm PT
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Micronut
Wow! I'm glad you guys came out alive.
I'm sure I'd have needed a new change of pants after that.
Great trip, except for that!
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spyork
Social climber
A prison of my own creation
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Apr 14, 2008 - 06:47pm PT
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For most people the first crash is the last crash.
Grats on surviving to write the TR!
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micronut
Trad climber
fresno, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 14, 2008 - 07:00pm PT
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Yeah Trad, our guy was a great pilot and had his act together. We owe him our skins for making the call to put her down when he did. We were not going to clear the power lines at the end of the runway! He had concerns about the temps in Bridgeport rising so quickly and let us know it might be a bit sloppy getting out of Dodge. We were smooth as silk from Fresno to Bridgeport a couple days before, and from Bridgeport out later, but we had nice cool temps. He was really bugged by the way the whole thing went down, cause he's not a cowboy of a pilot and flys high strips in the mountains a good bit. We had some kooky winds and he said he probably could have given it a couple more flaps, but didn't want to risk loading us up and giving it another go. I was freaked anyway, and was willing to walk to Fresno by that time. Seriously spooky, and I'm thankful to be here sussing the whole thing out at sea level.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Apr 14, 2008 - 07:06pm PT
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I'm very impressed that you took a photo in the aircraft, while this was all going on. Or was that on the flight to Bridgeport?
Anyway, glad it worked out - small planes, and helicopters, don't mix well with mountains. As the solo thread said, some of the most dangerous approaches are in vehicles.
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Apr 14, 2008 - 07:06pm PT
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Woah Micronut,
Thanks for the TR, Nice that you could.
The Materhorn looks stunning.
Zander
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sneville
climber
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Apr 14, 2008 - 07:17pm PT
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The plane looks like a cherokee 6, did it have four normal seats and two little seats? If it was a warrior or even an archer you better go buy a lotto ticket b/c you just escaped death. There is no way that either one of those planes would be able to take all four of you with gear unless each guy weight 120lbs. My guess is that the brake was so hot from the pilot trying to stop it caught the grass on fire. Check the performance charts next time. Mountains look nice though. Good to hear you walked away.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Apr 14, 2008 - 07:39pm PT
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TIG wrote
"No problem. Next time you fly, ask the pilot to show you his weight and balance calculation. Ask him if the tanks are full and how much the fuel weighed.
Seriously that first picture looks like too much weight unless you are flying with fairly minimum fuel for small single prop airplanes.
Then check performance section in the aircraft flight manual (which is supposed to be in the plane). It should have a chart or other means for calculating runway length as function of temperature and barometric pressure. "
I tried to follow your advice but the American Eagle Stewardess wouldn't let me talk to the pilot until I insisted and then he called homeland security and they took me and felt me up! I gave him your name as the ringleader of the plot.
That pile of meat above looked like Jeff Dalmer's fridge!
;_0
Karl
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sempervirens
Trad climber
Trinity County
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Apr 14, 2008 - 07:41pm PT
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Good story! this is dumb... but, where do you go to see the photos? I can't find 'em.
Thanks.
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland: what's not to love?
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Apr 14, 2008 - 08:03pm PT
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Micronut - great pics and nice send!
While I hear you about your pilot not being the irresponsible type, he did put you and your boys into a life-threatening situation. And as in most general aviation accidents, avoidably so, by the sound of it.
Weight and balance, density altitude, takeoff and landing performance - all of this is 101 stuff, and can let you know whether you're going to get off the ground and climb safely or not, given your runway length and any obstacles (like power lines). Sounds like he might have had some doubts before making the go decision.
With three other souls on board, going for it w/o being sure of your numbers is beyond irresponsible. Many situations similar to yours have ended fatally - just peruse the NTSB aviation accident database for a macabre substantiation of this fact.
Not saying this to be down on your friend (or was this a paid service?). I just hope that the pilot is being harder on himself than you're being on him!
Any case, glad no one got hurt (except the plane).
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Willoughby
Social climber
Truckee, CA
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Apr 14, 2008 - 09:05pm PT
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Glad you boys came out unscathed. What's more scary, at least to me, is how devoid of snow that E. Coulior is. This should be prime season for skiing that thing. I'd heard that winds fouled-up/stripped-out a lot of the higher shots, but that's just friggin' ridiculous. I've also heard that V-Notch and U-Notch are already ice climbs. Tragic...
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Apr 14, 2008 - 11:55pm PT
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Jeepers!
There's a thread title that begs a look.
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TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
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Apr 15, 2008 - 10:42am PT
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LOL.
Karl, I hope for your sake the feeler was the stewardess and not the pilot (or the pilot was female - there are a few of them around).
micronut,
Do you have any pictures of the plane with the N-number on the side?
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micronut
Trad climber
fresno, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 15, 2008 - 11:20am PT
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Thanks for all the corncern. Yeah, it was definitely a Cherokee 6. I don't have any idea what the tail insignia was. I'm just trying to chalk it up to a close call much like our climbing tales of death and daring that we love to tell round the campfire. This one's a bit different though. I'm not in the mood to make light of it yet.
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L
climber
If only I could remember....
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Apr 15, 2008 - 11:33am PT
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Micro,
Nice story! I love happy endings.
Great photos of the skiing, too.
Nothing like a near miss with meeting your maker to allow you to truly appreciate everything about life, huh? Thanks for sharing that.
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BrassNuts
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
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Apr 15, 2008 - 12:16pm PT
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Scott,
Glad you guys are ok! Sounds dicey... those little planes are scary, stick with safer stuff, like trad climbing :-) Great pics of your Sawtooth adventure! Lots of snow up there eh?
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Crimpergirl
Social climber
On my way to Boulder
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Apr 15, 2008 - 01:06pm PT
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Ew. Glad you had a happy ending. Very scary indeed.
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TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
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Apr 15, 2008 - 01:10pm PT
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N-number was just a way to identify the aircraft.
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micronut
Trad climber
fresno, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 15, 2008 - 01:13pm PT
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Yeah guys, total gripper. I still think it was dicier riding in the recovering meth addict's Hyundai with no shocks or power steering fluid than the botched take-off. The Eastside is definitely the wild west. Dave, there is still lots of snow, but man the coulior was bony and should have more white stuff in it than it did. great trip though. I'll post a couple more photos soon. How are things in Boulder, you two?
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micronut
Trad climber
fresno, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 15, 2008 - 01:39pm PT
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here's a couple more shots....
Top of the class III/IV ridge after the coulior
Suckin wind on the approach to the glacier
Chillin in the coulee
Summit view
Heading down the ridge
Reno Buffet! You been here FOUR HOUR! You go NOW!
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climbera5
Trad climber
Sacramento
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Apr 15, 2008 - 02:16pm PT
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Nice pics, sure looks fine up there. Not to belabor the point and as a pilot myself, I agree with the previous posts that you were fortunate to survive takeoff. Weight, balance, altitude, temperature, runway length, etc. all are important factors that MUST be respected, checked and double checked. Glad you made it.
Cheers!
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