DPS Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 (edited) I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all of those involved in this dangerous rescue. It is comforting to know that should any of us be in a similar situation, there are people who we may not even know that will lay it on the line for us. to all those involved. Edited May 18, 2004 by danielpatricksmith Quote
sk Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 I saw this on the news this morning Peace to this mans family and loved ones. to the rescures. bless them for the work they do. Quote
Lambone Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 Agreed, those guys are heros, and although the story ends tragically, their mission (to get Peter off the Mountain) was a sucsess. Quote
dkemp Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 A daring rescue for sure. Kudos to the pilot and crew of the chopper, and the MRNP climbing rangers too. Doxey Quote
JoshK Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all of those involved in this dangerous rescue. From what I heard Peter really had no chance of surviving, yet the rescuer's stuck their neck's way out. It is comforting to know that should any of us be in a similar situation, there are people who we may not even know that will lay it on the line for us. to all those involved. Is it true that getting him down earlier couldn't have saved his life? Obviously I am not saying they should have tried to get there sooner; they did everything they could and more. I am just more curious about the actual injuries he recieved. Was death inevitable, or could have something been done? Quote
fear Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all of those involved in this dangerous rescue. From what I heard Peter really had no chance of surviving, yet the rescuer's stuck their neck's way out. It is comforting to know that should any of us be in a similar situation, there are people who we may not even know that will lay it on the line for us. to all those involved. Is it true that getting him down earlier couldn't have saved his life? Obviously I am not saying they should have tried to get there sooner; they did everything they could and more. I am just more curious about the actual injuries he recieved. Was death inevitable, or could have something been done? Obviously having two days go by after receiving a massive head wound isn't good.... Two hours would still be too much. If he would have lived or not and what kind of shape he would have been in if he had is all really impossible to know... With any Head/brain trauma is very difficult to predict outcomes... Again, Cheers to those brave souls who tried their best! -Fear Quote
minx Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 to the rescue teams. it's amazing the effort they put into helping climbers regardless of the personal risks or possibility of failures. Quote
Lambone Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 Two hours would still be too much. If he would have lived or not and what kind of shape he would have been in if he had is all really impossible to know... With any Head/brain trauma is very difficult to predict outcomes... Again, Cheers to those brave souls who tried their best! -Fear This is so true. My good friend passed this last fall after sustaining a sever concusion while wakeboarding. He was on the life flight within 30 minutes of the accident. He spent a month and a half on life support waiting for his head to heal, yet ended up passing from lung failure. Head injuries just suck, no way around it, speedy rescue can help...but nothing is gauranteed. Nothing to do but hope for a quick mental recovery for family, friends, and climbing partners. Anybody know if he was wearing a helmet? I assume he was just cause it sounds like these guys were experienced and knowledgable climbers. Just wondering how the helmet failed to protect his head... Quote
ken4ord Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 Well some good news Scott is safely off the moutain along with 4 other climbing rangers. to everyone involved. Lambone yes, Peter was wearing a helmet. Quote
ivan Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 can still get your neck cranked real bad w/ a helmet...also most helmets don't have a lot of good protection on the sides...kinda like the lesson the germans learned in ww1 Quote
sobo Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 ...Anybody know if he was wearing a helmet? I assume he was just cause it sounds like these guys were experienced and knowledgable climbers. Just wondering how the helmet failed to protect his head... From what I've read, he was wearing a helmet. As ivan inferred, helmets, while being a valuable accoutrement, are not a cure-all for all accidents involving head injury. It's possible a side impact could have been the culprit. Also, heads in helmets subjected to vertical impacts, while protecting the head, can transmit large impact forces to the neck, causing serious injury, paralysis, or worse. In the recent Frenchman's Coulee accident, Robert Peruchini's head suffered a side impact (one of many head impacts) of such force that it shattered the helmet at the chinstrap anchorage and the helmet "blew apart" there. FWIW. Quote
chelle Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 To get this thread back on track... I agree with everyone else the rescuers and rangers did a great job with this and are heros regardless of the outcome. Thanks for putting it out there gang and coming through once again! Quote
chelle Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 It's okay Sobo, it didn't drift too far thanfully. But I didn't want to see a cool kudos thread devolve into another one of our cyberanaylses. If someone wants to start a discussion on helmets and head injuries that's fine, but start a new thread please. Quote
Lambone Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 yeah totaly...sorry I can vouch from experience that people who risk their lives and voulonteer to help climbers in need are true heros, they totaly kick ass...although I hope all of us never need them, it sure is nice to know they are out there, waiting and exited to get that call. Quote
fenderfour Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 All of the rescuers with SMR, TMR, and the park service deserve our gratitude. They risk their lives to help people who were taking unnecessary risks. They respond from afar when called to do a difficult and dangerous job. The people with these organizations have a sense of duty and service that I will never have, but I truly appreciate what they do. Quote
foraker Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 While we're on this, maybe we can do something for the rescue team too. I know that YOSAR takes donations to cover expenses. Quote
sobo Posted May 18, 2004 Posted May 18, 2004 As a member of Central Washington Mountain Rescue (CWMR), I can tell you that any (cash) donation is greatly appreciated by a MR unit. CWMR is totally funded by donations and any fundraisers we put on, and all the unit members are unpaid volunteers. It's pretty much that way thoughout the MR community, for the most part. I'm sure that SMR and TMRU would be most thrilled if you guys made a donation (please don't donate gear, unless it's brand new - safety reasons and that "unknown history" thing, ya know). My personal kudos to the rescuers. Quote
mtn_mouse Posted May 20, 2004 Posted May 20, 2004 Isn't it time we took care of the rescuers for a change? Mt. Rainier has many permanant employees, but there is only one permanant climbing ranger, subject to furlough. The rest are seasonal. These climbing rangers are the best that the NPS has to offer, and they have skills that are difficult to perfect. You won't find a permanant LE ranger working there that could pull off a dangerous rescue on Liberty ridge. These climbing rangers have no benefits, no health care, never know for sure if they will be hired next year, and live off of ramen noodles for days, the NPS doesnt even buy their food on back country trips. Mt Rainier should have 6-10 full time climbing rangers on staff. The mountain is open year round, certainly they could be of great assistance year round. Instead, people keep voting down the budgets of agencies like Rainier, and these folks continue to be taken advantage of. Quote
iain Posted May 20, 2004 Posted May 20, 2004 I think you should budget more to climber awareness education and publicity than having billions of rangers running around picking people off the mountain. It is the climber's choice to go up Rainier and the risks are clear. Quote
ken4ord Posted May 20, 2004 Posted May 20, 2004 I am not sure if you saw this in the other thread, but this is from a letter I recieved from a friend: "Wednesday, May 19, 2004 IDEXX runners-5K SUNDAY to honor Peter Cooley A message from Betsy Perry, Manager, Business Communications The organizers of the Pond Cove 5K Challenge in Cape Elizabeth have notified us that this year's race will be in honor of Peter Cooley and they'll be using the proceeds as a donation for the Mt. Rainier rescue team that tried to help him. The race is set for Sunday, May 23rd, at 8:30AM, starting at the Cape Elizabeth Middle School on Scott Dyer Road. There will be ribbons available to show that you're running in memory of Peter. You can complete your registration at the school the day of the race. The cost is $20, payable with cash or a check made out to "National Park Service/Mt. Rainier National Park" with "Rescue donation account" in the memo line. (Please don't register online, as there's no way to signify that you're running for Peter.) Not a runner but interested in donating? Bring your donation to Business Communications (just up the stairs from Lobby A) and we'll take it to the race. Thanks, everybody. See you Sunday!" So there are people thinking about the rescue service that was involved. kudos to them. Quote
mtn_mouse Posted May 20, 2004 Posted May 20, 2004 I think you should budget more to climber awareness education and publicity than having billions of rangers running around picking people off the mountain. It is the climber's choice to go up Rainier and the risks are clear. Not asking for billions. Mt Rainier hire permanants anyway. Maybe they should scale down the ill percieved need for law enforcement and hire full time climbing rangers instead. They do more than just rescue folks, they work the high camps, maintenance, route condition reports, prevent resource damage. Do you support running this country with volunteers and minimum wage like your buddy gw? Quote
iain Posted May 20, 2004 Posted May 20, 2004 GW is hardly my buddy. I agree with you but I like funding to go to prevention rather than response. I could be wrong, but I don't think this rescue would have been carried out any better if there were more rangers. The conditions were simply unacceptable for an evac and the crew did what was humanly possible given the variables. I'm certainly not suggesting they are underpaid. There is also a large network of mra members backing them up. Some are more skillful/experienced than others, but all contribute. Quote
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