Mt Stuart Rescue - 7/11 ??

[bonehead]

Is anyone aware of a rescue that might have occurred on Mt Stuart Sunday 7/11? My partner and I had just finished descending the Long John Tower col and saw a large Huey-type helicopter repeatedly circling the summit. It would back off awhile, only to return again a few mins later. Some hikers later told us they'd seen someone airlifted. Don't know how accurate they were, though...

 

When we got home didn't find anything on the news about it.

 

Puzzled!!

 

Jim

[jbclimber]

Yes, there was. All that I know is that a party had climbed the West Ridge the previous day, and were descending

via Cascadian, when one climber slipped on hard and steep snow. The injuries were apparently severe enough

to require a chopper rescue.

[catbirdseat]

That was my climbing partner, LW. I wasn't going to post about it, but I see it is unavoidable now. We summitted late on Sat. via the W. Ridge and bivied below the summit. We were decending steep snow at the head of Cascadian Couloir when LW slipped on the hard surface and couldn't arrest. He hit the rocks below and suffered serious injuries, including a broken pelvis. This occurred at about 7 am.

 

Glacier was there with us. He and his partner, Carter, along with CJ and partner, Suzie, and three climbers from Oregon (Craig, Greg and Richard), aided us throughout the rescue. LW kept his head throughout and was able to tell us how to prepare for the arrival of the helicopter, which arrived at 12:30 pm. The hike out was uneventful, except that I had to carry out a huge GI Joe artic sleeping back that the paramedic forgot to take with him.

 

LW was taken by Salem, OR, Air National Guard Blackhawk to Wenatchee where we was transferred by air ambulance to Harborview Hospital in Seattle. He had surgery on Thursday and is doing okay. He is expected to make a full recovery. It will be a long road, however.

 

I need to get the sleeping bag back to Oregon ANG. I need to take it to Chelan County Sherrif's office in Wenatchee. They'll handle it from there. Anyone going that way soon?

[Dru]

how did you set up the rescue? cell phone or did someone run to a trailhead?

[catbirdseat]

One of the Oregon guys had a cell phone with a head set. He was quite the techie as he also had a GPS and was able to give exact coordinates. He proped the phone in some rocks so it wouldn't move and this ensured that the connection was not lost. Other cell phones did not work. This is a good thing to know. The helicopter made a beeline right to us.

 

Apparently, the only two outfits that were willing to offer assistance were Fairchild AFB in Spokane and Oregon ANG in Salem. The others, including MAST at Ft. Lewis have a 7,000ft ceiling. We were at about 8,300 ft. The OR ANG Blackhawk stopped in Yakima for refueling we were told.

[icegirl]

Best wishes to your friend... Can we sign a card for him or anything at Pub Club tonight? If he's at harborview, he's got the best taking care of him..

[glacier]

Good to here that LW is getting bolted back together fine. For a bad situation, everything came together all right - Always good to meet the other lurkers, but it could have been better circumstances.

[sobo]

Glad to hear that everything came together well for you guys, and LW is getting patched up.

 

CBS, et al: Ever think of joining a MR unit...?

[Stefan]

One of the Oregon guys had a cell phone with a head set. He was quite the techie as he also had a GPS and was able to give exact coordinates. He proped the phone in some rocks so it wouldn't move and this ensured that the connection was not lost. Other cell phones did not work. This is a good thing to know. The helicopter made a beeline right to us.

 

Apparently, the only two outfits that were willing to offer assistance were Fairchild AFB in Spokane and Oregon ANG in Salem. The others, including MAST at Ft. Lewis have a 7,000ft ceiling. We were at about 8,300 ft. The OR ANG Blackhawk stopped in Yakima for refueling we were told.

 

That's interesting the blackhawk came out of Oregon. When I was rescued on The Temple (8000ft), the blackhawk came out of the Yakima training area. The blackhawks in Yakima must be in Iraq?

[sobo]

That's interesting the blackhawk came out of Oregon. When I was rescued on The Temple (8000ft), the blackhawk came out of the Yakima training area. The blackhawks in Yakima must be in Iraq?

 

Yes. All we have here now is two Hueys. The crews take one-week cycles out of Ft. Lewis, which would explain why CBS couldn't get a bird out of Ft. Lewis with the appropriate operating ceiling.

[bonehead]

Thanks for the info - sorry if I opened a topic you'd have rather kept under the radar; I was mostly concerned that someone had been seriously hurt. I'm glad to hear that LW is recuperating.

 

I had wondered also about how the rescue was summoned, so thanks for the details. I personally don't take a cell phone in the backcountry, but situations such as this illustrate their value. Things could have been worse without one...

 

Jim

[Alpinfox]

I personally don't take a cell phone in the backcountry, but situations such as this illustrate their value.

 

Yeah, just leave it OFF unless there is an emergency. No ringing and certainly NO CHATTING in the backcountry.

[CJ]

Hey there CBS et al. I'm glad to hear LW is doing well. How's his head gashes?

 

I'm attaching a picture that one of the Oregon crowd sent me that details where the accident happend. I have others that they sent me of the rescue in progress if folks are interested.

 

One aspect that I wasn't completely clear about that day was what exactly LW did that caused him to slip out of control. I was just curious if we could learn anything from the accident. From what I understood, LW was front pointing down the couloir and he tried to turn around to face out (maybe to take a rest?), at which point his feet slipped out from under him, he began glissading, somehow lost his ice axe and then slid all the way down. Is that how it happened?

Suzie and I front pointed down the entire top portion of the couloir that day and felt pretty silly doing it seeing that glacier's glissade tracks were right next to us the entire time. However, when we got down to LW and gang, we were happpy we chose that method of descent.

Glacier, what influenced your opinion to glissade that day as opposed to trying to plunge step down or front point?

Edited July 20, 2004 by CJ

[catbirdseat]

I watched Glacier's partner, Carter, glissade in a rather unorthodox fashion in which he twisted around and used the pick of his axe and sort of slid on his hip. He said the snow was so hard and uncomfortable that it was hardly worth it. I decided not to risk a glissade.

 

I did not actually witness LW's slip. I only know what he told me. He said he slipped while turning around and that he couldn't get his weight over the head of the axe. He mentioned that the heavy pack he was wearing was a hindrance and that at some point he rolled, which is how he lost the axe.

 

The docs did a good job sewing up the head gashes. They don't look as bad as I had feared. There will be a scar over his right brow.

[sobo]

...There will be a scar over his right brow.

 

Battle damage! YEEEE-haaaaw!

[Lambone]

sorry to hear about that guys, bad way to end a trip. I've traveled through that spot 4 times, and each time has been nerve racking, it is a sketchy spot for sure.

 

Funny you say that the Ft. Lewis guys won't fly above 7K, because their Chinook picked us up on Glacier peak well above that, and they tried to pick us up on the summit.

[sobo]

Funny you say that the Ft. Lewis guys won't fly above 7K, because their Chinook picked us up on Glacier peak well above that, and they tried to pick us up on the summit.

 

It depends upon what copter they have available (and obviously that copter's operating ceiling). The crews that are based out of Ft. Lewis fly UH-60 Blackhawks and UH-1 Hueys out of Yakima Training Center. All the Blackhawks are gone right now (Iraq). The Huey's OC, on a good day, is at most about 6k or 7k, due to a phenomenon called density-altitide. This affects all aircraft, but has a lot more relevance to rotary wing aircraft. See link below.

 

Blackhawks, as we have recently seen, can land at 17k (Mt. Foraker, coupla months ago) given the right temperature, humidity, and pressure conditions.

 

Chinook CH-47s are the bird of choice for Rainier operations. If a Chinook and/or a Blackhawk are not available for any given mission for any given reason (insufficient coverage for the Army's primary mission, maintenance downtime, etc.), and all they have is a Huey and the mission is above 6k or 7k, they won't send it unless it can be guaranteed that the injured party can descend to an LZ within the OC of the aircraft.

 

A good discussion (in downloadable pdf format) of the density-altitude limitations of helicopters, and why certain copters are/are not suited to high-altitude rescues, can be found on the MRA's website at:

 

Intermediate Helo training

[Ireneo_Funes]

CBS, glad to hear your partner's doing OK. Sounds like the rescue went well all things considered.

 

I'm thinking about doing the West ridge in August, descending via Cascadian Couloir. Is there usually snow in the upper couloir that late? I was hoping to leave the axe and crampons behind, but it sounds like maybe I should bring them along.

 

Sorry for the thread drift - if anyone has any advice on this, PM me.

[catbirdseat]

You can leave the crampons at home, but bring a light axe just in case. CJ was able to decend without crampons by picking the shortest path down the snow and kicking steps will facing in. If you are able to decend the snow in the afternoon, step kicking will be a breeze.

 

Sobo, I have considered joining Search and Rescue. I have many friends who are members. Right now I am concerned with the time committment that would be entailed, but I think, eventually I will join.

[chucK]

In August, what is left of that snowfield may be rockhard all day long.

 

You can avoid the snow completely by crossing over the ridge below the false summit at a level below the snow field. You may need to rap into the Cascadian Couloir, or you might be able to downclimb. Depends on your comfort level. There is a big slab with a rock horn in the middle with a bunch of rap slings on it there.

[Dustin_B]

CBS, glad to hear your partner's doing OK. Sounds like the rescue went well all things considered.

 

I'm thinking about doing the West ridge in August, descending via Cascadian Couloir. Is there usually snow in the upper couloir that late? I was hoping to leave the axe and crampons behind, but it sounds like maybe I should bring them along.

 

Sorry for the thread drift - if anyone has any advice on this, PM me.

 

I did the WR last august and descended the CC. There was no snow except a small patch near the top of the CC. Any snow left then will be easily avoidable I would think. We didn't take either crampons or axes. You may very well wish there was snow there though for melting. We had to carry 4+ liters a piece from Lake Ingalls.

[glacier]

Glacier, what influenced your opinion to glissade that day as opposed to trying to plunge step down or front point?

 

Stupidity, primarily. I started front-pointing, but since Carter made it down without incident, I glissaded down on one hip in short slides, and carried the bruises for it.

 

glad to hear that LW's lacerations weren't too bad after all, but it probably will hurt his modelling career.

[Off_White]

I'm confused, did this happen on the snow slope that heads down from where you round the false summit, or in the couloir proper after you turn right from the broader descent area?

[JoshK]

I think I know exactly where you described the accident happening. Descending after climbing the NR a couple of years ago I did almost the exact same thing. Luckily I was able to arrest enough to slow me down somewhat but I still hit the rocks. I was feet first and it didn't do any damage, and I certainly felt very lucky for that. It's a good lesson: it isn't always the technical bits that are dangerous, it can just as well be the parts that seem routine.

 

I'm glad to here your friend is doing ok. Rescues always suck, but it's much better when you find out that people come out alive.

 

Alpinfox, I generally agree, but some of us suffer from very worrisome girlfriends! Being able to call from a summit or a high col and let them know of a late arrival is often worth it to avoid the headache after arriving home!

[Alpinfox]

Alpinfox, I generally agree, but some of us suffer from very worrisome girlfriends! Being able to call from a summit or a high col and let them know of a late arrival is often worth it to avoid the headache after arriving home!

 

Well, if you MUST inform the missus, be considerate and try to get out of hearing range of the silence lovers and luddites such as myself. And keep your conversation BRIEF!

 

I fuckin' hate hearing/seeing people chat on phones in the wilderness.

 

However, I did call my girlfriend from 14K on Denali once (borrowed cell phone) and I got major brownie points for that! Not exactly "wilderness" there and I made a special exception for myself.

 

Hypocritically yours,

-Alpinfox