sobo

You can try, but nobody's going to believe that one guy can have THAT much bad luck in a single day.... On the plus side, the second accident brought us together in real life, at last... Actually, Sherri, I met you after the third accident of the day. So now... the rest of the story... So I’m hanging out with Dane in the hospital ER and the staff is taking him hither and yon, poking and probing him incessantly. His wife Tracy has been alerted to the incident by a call from Dane on his cell phone (remember that part), so I figure I’ll wait until she gets there from Issaquah so that Dane’s not left alone with those medical types. Tracy arrives a few hours later and after a bit, we discuss Dane’s rig up at Castle Rock and how to retrieve it. You see, Dane was supposed to be driving his old beater truck which could survive a "night out" alone, but instead he decides at the last minute to pirate his wife’s fancy new Beemer for the drive across Stevens Pass. Well, clearly one can’t leave a Beemer at the Castle Rock parking lot overnight... So after some discussion about Tracy and me heading up to get it and leaving Dane solo, we hit upon the fact that Debbie, Tracy’s sister-in-law, lives in East Wenatchee. She and her husband Tim had been out of town for the day, and they were just getting back home when Tracy called her. "We’ll get Debbie to drive up with sobo, and that way Tracy can stay with Dane until they get back with the car, and then we can figure out what to do with it after that." It seemed like a cunning plan... So another hour or so later Debbie and I are driving up to Castle Rock, discussing Dane’s accident. I offer the obvious: "So do you want to see the rock where he fell? And where he bounced and landed?" Debbie readily agrees, saying it would be cool to get an appreciation of it from a first-hand perspective. So we get there, and hike up the short trail to the base of The Fault. We check out the scene, and then head back down. Debbie did fine on the way up the trail, not so much on the way down. At the last switchback, just below the tree roots that grow across the trail, she slipped on the loose dirt and gravel. She tries to catch herself – SNAP! She rolls off the trail and starts sliding down the hillside, screaming about her ankle. I grab her before she gets too far, and stabilize her in the dirt. She’s an RN, and she assures me that she’s broken her ankle in the slip and fall, so I don’t even try to get her to stand on it. It’s early evening now, and the parking lot crowd has thinned significantly. I decide that the best thing to do is to get her down to the road first, then flag down a passing motorist second. I hold her ankle aloft and drag her by the pants legs while she skids her butt down the last 50 feet of trail to the parking lot. I deposit her at the base of the trail, and go looking for help. I spy this wood nymph milling about a vehicle on the far side of the lot, stashing climbing gear into the back. I approach this mesmerizing siren and inquire if she would be willing to help me load an incapacitated person into the rig. She indicates in the affirmative, and suggests that her friend Dan, who was watering the dog in the river, could also join in the operation. So the three of us load Debbie into her truck, I get her all buckled in with her leg elevated on the dash, and I prepare to leave. Dan had gone back to tend to the pooch, so I exchange introductions and thanks with the enchanting rock creature. She introduces herself as “Sherri”, and my mind instantly flashes to a stored image of the photograph submissions for the Girls of CC.Com Calendar contest of last year. I steal a glance at her biceps and make a quick mental comparison: "Yup, gurl's got guns - must be 'that' Sherri." And that’s how I finally met The Mountain Goddess That Is Sherri. So that was the third accident that day. Now, let's go back... remember Dane’s cell phone? As soon as we got Dane loaded into the ambulance, he wanted his cell phone so he could call Tracy to have her come and get him. I jumped out of the back of the van, but I didn't duck my head far enough. The top of my head crashed full-speed into the top of the back door of the ambulance and I split my scalp open (that’s what I get for taking off my helmet too soon ). And this was a padded door jamb! WTF?? It dazed me for a second, but not to the point of seeing stars (been there, done that, in my sailboat racing days). I bled all over the floor of their van, and the paramedics got all amped up about my state. I convinced them that all I really needed was a towel. I got Dane his phone and they took off, and I went back up and cleaned up our gear from the scene and then headed into Wenatchee to meet up at the hospital. The faces of the hospital staff when I walked in the doors and up to the front desk were absolutely priceless!!!1 Dried blood all over one arm, more blood from my hairline down to my eye, and holding a white towel covered in fresh blood to my head. You should have seen them jump into action. It was hilarious! They took a look, and said I could benefit from a stitch or two, or I could opt not. I opted for not. So they say bad things happen in threes. After I tallied up the day's travails and tribulations, I thought I'd be OK for the long drive home. Thankfully, it was uneventful. PS: Debbie ended up with 2 pins, 6 screws, and a plate for her troubles.

Yeah, I caught that, too. :neck hair bristling:

I'm sure that's true, Dane. Mike and ivan, if you thought that first Petzoldt quote was ghey, then mebbe you'd like some of his other ones better: "Sit down and have a cigarette after you do first aid, then plan your evacuation." or "Rules are for fools."

you young kids these dayz... let us relics have our moment, plz.

Wow, that is sad indeed, given how close they were to their stuff and what surely could have meant survival for Peter.

"There are old climbers, and there are bold climbers, but there are no old, bold climbers." ...Paul Petzoldt Gave up soloing regularly about 15 years ago or so, shortly after entering my 30s. Now, if I do it, it's for a short pitch or just to get to a tougher spot where a rope is required. I do still enjoy solo backpacking trips and solo alpine "excursions" at the low end of the technical range (5.4-ish), but I wouldn't call that real soloing at all.

I don't see any pics...

I'll get to it later this week. I'm pretty busy at and after work this week, so I ask for patience. You won't believe... "the rest of the story..."

Sorta like this, marc?

fuggin' A!!!1 and we can't even say, "That was aid."

Ya think? that was good comeback, cman.

Good an ya, OMR! Kids succomb to peer pressure, but are especially susceptible to pressure from "adults" such as this scoutmaster. I'm sure not a one of them was willing to take issue with his original choice of the lunch venue. I would posit that you certainly saved at least one person's bacon that day.

Uh, Einstein, you'll need that many people with over $500. Or an additional 9,000 people with $50.

The listing sure matches the specs Linda spelled out. And taking ILD's link and clicking on the "more photos" toggle shows that there does appear to be a wall there. see the pics in the bottom row...

THAT'S THE ONE!!!1 Thank you, molluskinahat

OMFG!!!1 How did you find that? I'd lay dollars to donuts that that's really him. Last summer, in the Selway/Bitteroots, ice axe on the back deck, etc.

I'm very glad to see that your perverse sense of humor was not damaged in the fall. I should probably mention that there is a Paul Harvey-esque twist to this whole event. Dane, Sherri, and Dan: now that this event is out in the open, should I tell them "the rest of the story..."??

I come from that same skewl, Off, until about 15 years ago or so, when I witnessed a Brit dude auger in at Smith. Rapped off the end of the line onto the head of his partner. I mentioned to the first guy on the ground that their rope didn't make it the whole way down. He said, "I know, I just rapped it, mate. It's just a short downclimb." I suggested he remind his partner of that fact, since it didn't appear to me that either one of them was paying much attention to what they were doing/what was going on. But he gave me some lip in something British, so I utterred that oft-quoted phrase to my partner: "C'mon, let's get out of here before we have to rescue somebody." (see Dru's post in the concurrent To Help Or Not to Help? thread in the Climbers Board) We weren't quick enough in our departure... The second guy down lived, but he was a blathering idiot on the carry up and out to the parking lot. The guy who lipped me was in no fair shape either.

you're at the end of a very long line, scott.

You misunderstand me, Linda. I was to Bug's comment about Jamin. You are, by admission, new here, and you don't know who Jamin is. If you come across him, steer clear. You could get hurt or killed by him and his "antics". All the best from me here, and I hope you close the deal to your advantage. PS: Still would like to see pics. Just paste the URL for the flyer from your website to this thread. Use the far left toggle right above the text window you're in when you're crafting a reply.

Hi Dane! RuMR just turned me on to this thread. I would have missed it otherwise. I know it sounds lame, but I was thinking about you this past week at the 6-week mark. I was going to call you. Still will. BTW, I thought we were going to keep this "event" anonymous? Dane pretty much said it all. There are a couple small deets that really won't make a difference to the discussion, so I won't mention those. Dane fell every bit of 20 feet, if not a bit more, without any pro in, as he said. He bounced on that big bulge that's about 10 feet up from the belay spot (it sounded sickening), and then spinning like a horizontal drill shaft, he crashed into me. I saw him coming, and Dane's a big boy if you know him. I couldn't think of anything else to do except try to catch him, since I knew the rope was useless. He landed on top of me and on the ground, face down (not on his side) in the dirt with his head facing me and away from the wall, not towards it as he said (sorry Dane, one of those deets that makes sense to mention - you'll see why in a minute). I checked airway/breathing and signs of hemmoraging. He was clean, so I went for the spine check and stabilization. This is why it was so easy for me to check him out, him being face down. Kind of a wierd experience doing a spinal clearing when your patient is on top of you. When I determined that there was nothing out of place in his spine, I wiggled out from underneath him. I thought he was conscious at first, because he was groaning and his eyes were wide open. But then it became obvious that he wasn't screaming/yelping about the pain, so I started yelling at him and shaking him to try to wake him up. It worked. Dane was out for about 30 seconds, not more than a minute. The next problem was trying to get him to stay still. I was not as successful in that regard. Dane told you the rest. I would also like to thank Tom Michael, DDS, of East Wenatchee for running into town to alert the emergency crews, and his partner that day (Matt??), the former military medic, for staying with Dane and I while we waited for help to arrive. Also like to thank the Leavenworth FD guys who helped me cart Dane down the trail to the road and the Ballard (not from westside, just their name) Ambulance folks who carried him into Wenatchee. Fine work, everyone. Dr. Tom, if you're reading this, and you or Matt are missing any gear, please write/call back. I think I got all your stuff back to you, but I never got a call back from you to confirm. I don't have anything that isn't mine, but I don't know/remember what I stuffed into Dane's pack before I headed down. Thanks again to both of you for being there.

I really enjoyed his book Wisdom of our Fathers. Ya'll should read it.

pics? upload the flyer here. Or not - it's not like I have a cool half mil sitting around looking to get spent...