none_dup1 Posted February 15, 2001 Share Posted February 15, 2001 My climbing buddy found an ice tool and some other gaer left at the scene of the accident in the basin on Tuesday. This victim may be in a coma, but if anyone can identify the gear and story, then return of this gear is desired. ------------------ KC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrosaurus Posted February 15, 2001 Share Posted February 15, 2001 Try Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee. I hear that the victim is there. If he is not in a coma, you can probably speak to him on the phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_Fisher Posted February 15, 2001 Share Posted February 15, 2001 What accident? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrosaurus Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 A Crystal Mountain man fell while attempting to rope-solo H202 at Banks Lake; crawled to his car; found by passing motorist; Central Washington Hospital, Wenatchee; critical condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvs Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 from the Wenatchee Daily World Wednesday, February 14, 2001: --------- Ice Climber in critical condition after fall A man who fell approximately 100 feet Tuesday while ice climbing north of Coulee City was in critical condition this morning at Central Washington Hospital. Douglas A. Deveny, 32, Crystal Mountain, suffered head and other injuries but his helmet saved him, said Grant County Undersheriff Mike Shay. “He had some pretty big gouges in his helmet. He’s lucky to be alive,” Shay said. Deveny was climbing alone on ice-covered basalt cliffs on the north side of the Million Dollar Mile cut along Highway 155, about 8.5 miles north of Coulee City. The area overlooks Banks Lake from the East. He slipped and fell but managed to crawl to his car, where a passing motorist found him and called deputies at 2:05 p.m., Shay said. He said deputies determined the height of his fall from his ice pick, which was stuck in the ice where her fell. They said a rope was suspended on the face of the ice but that it wasn’t tied to him. ------ Let's hope for a full recovery, --Michael S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayborbon Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 I just want to put in my 2 cents about solo devices... I have used them in the past but definitely don't rely on them. Once MikeAdam double checked my setup with a mere TR on Portland area crag a few years back and I climbed up 20 feet and decked out after a fall from the crux of the climb. It hurt my feet more than anything. I learned the easy way that they are not foolproof. It seems that the biner connecting from my harness somehow actually unlocked the device allowing me to fall. Be careful with these things and remember they may not be or are not foolproof. From the sound of things it may be that he may have not even had the device on yet.. But that does not mean that what happened to me could not happen to someone else. Please be careful about your systems. It is nothing but a tragedy when something like this happens. I hope this person recovers. -Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_Fisher Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 I've got my own vicarious horror story: way back when I first started climbing ('88 or so) a guy I'd climbed with a bit and was also pretty new to the sport started soloing stuff with a Soloist, which works by feeding rope if the pull is from below your waist but locks if the pull is from above your waist. He fell while in a wide crack: fist stacks popped, but foot jams held, so he toppled backwards. Since he fell upside down, the rope just fed through the device until he went off the end. He fell 100+ feet. Amazingly, he was found not long after he decked, by another party that included an EMT, of all things. Fortunately he survived, but was in ICU for eons; lots of broken bones, internal damage, head injury, the works. Never climbed again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenolith Posted February 17, 2001 Share Posted February 17, 2001 Going off the end could be avoided by tying in short yes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayborbon Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 It all depends on your system.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 rope soloing ice sounds fairly sketchy. i think rather than putting undo trust onto a mechanical system that allows for mistakes and faliure, i would have rather soloed the pitch and only had myself to blame for any mistakes made. i just have two questions. where did it say that he was rope soloing? and what device or system was he using. does anyone know the actual events of the accident. no heresay. plz. none the less an extemly unfortunate accident, and i hope that the neamed gentleman comes out okay. [This message has been edited by erik (edited 02-19-2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrosaurus Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Originally posted by rayborbon: It all depends on your system.... [/b I think you may need a new system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrosaurus Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Originally posted by rayborbon: It all depends on your system.... [/b I think you may need a new system. [This message has been edited by Retrosaurus (edited 02-19-2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeadam Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 My day off here. Arms can't move....but typing fingers work. Retro, Why the condescending tone bro? It was a simple setup using a Petzl device so I could solo the choss crags at Rocky Butt (mispelled intentionally). I was too lazy to belay Borbon that day and simply set the rig up for him. I knew there were dangers and if I flipped over I would have decked. Borbon's locking biner somehow threw open the ratchet when he leaned on the rope and I watched him deck. The thing has never been used since then and I've never bothered soloing with a rope again. Soloing ice is a personal choice and I would think it would be easier to just climb well below your level and use your tools as belays. Cripes, if someone needs a partner around the area it's not that hard to hook up. If you're shaky at the grade don't slap the roof dude... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrosaurus Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 I guess I need to apologise for the tone of my comment. Just a sarcastic sense of humor that I can't seem to overcome. But there is more than a grain of truth there. I own a soloist device and have used it. I have friends that use them a lot. It now sits in my closet, still in factory condition. (Ridiculously cheap offers will be seriously considered.)It has serious limitations; but decking out can be eliminated simply by tying a back up knot, which is equivalent to tying off short. Also anyone 100' off the deck on a rope without being tied directly to it, has the survival instincts of a lemming. Sorry, there I go again. But it is true. Rope soloing takes a lot fussing with the system for it to be effective as a self belay. For me it took the fun out of climbing. It is difficult enough to place screws on vertical ice that I would not consider, fussing with a rope solo system. I have nothing against soloing, I do it way too much. But if you are going to solo, you have a responsibility to do it properly. If you are free climbing you need to be very good at down climbing. If you are using a rope solo system, you need to use it properly. With a soloist, this means back up knots, among other things depending on the situation. Most of the procedures are in the manufacturer's literature provided with the device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayborbon Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 My comments were not there to say I had a foolproof system by any means... I just wanted to let others think about what they are doing... It is easy to criticize my situation and all so go ahead if you feel compelled to. It was not intended for every person on the web to sit and criticize (especially when they don't know *&*& about what I setup etc.) It was there to raise a flag and say check yourself out and think. I have made many errors in climbing and still do. The key is to learn without getting whacked! Or to possibly learn from others. If you can't take my advice as it is and instead read into it as some joke or mishap you would never make then too bad I guess. I don't think I need a new system anymore. I just solo without a rope instead and stay on easy ground. BTW I never soloed ice either. If you feel the need to fuss take it offline with me I'm sure we would get along since I am capable of being one of the best smart asses around.. If not we could slam some beer together and duke it out. Or perhaps a good ole beer drinking contest too. -Ray [This message has been edited by rayborbon (edited 02-20-2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrosaurus Posted February 22, 2001 Share Posted February 22, 2001 I stopped by the hospital today. Mr. Deveney is still in a coma and still on a ventilator. This is not good. The longer he is in this state, the worse the prognosis is. It could have been me any number of times. I lived through a couple myself just this summer. It's a dangerous game that we play. It is easy to forget and it takes an event like this to remind us that we could lose it all at any time. I re-evaluated climbing each time something like this hits close to home. The first time for me was a double body recovery from Dragontail Peak. Two women, both experienced, died on Triple Couloirs. One was found at the top of the couloir, sitting on a coiled up rope anchored to two ice axes, a shard of granite stuck through her helmet and into her head. The other woman had probably anchored her partner and gone for help. She was found on the snow, well below the couloir. She had been crawling with badly broken legs for a long way and died of trauma and hypothermia. I was grateful that they were wrapped up by the time I got there and I didn't have to gaze upon the bodies. I had only to help drag them the four or so miles to the trail head where snowmobiles could sled them out to meet their waiting loved ones. I thought long and hard after that experience; especially about alpine climbing. I still climb. I've since climbed Triple Couloirs. And the routes seem to get more serious with each season. I just wouldn't know who I was if I didn't climb. Lets pray, to whoever or whatever it is we each pray, for this man; he is one of us, in spirit if not experience. It could have been me at any time in the past, or future. Ret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.