swaterfall Posted August 17, 2004 Posted August 17, 2004 Just saw a report on the Edmonton news. Climber killed by rockfall on the North Face of Athabasca. Another climber seriously injured and flown to Edmonton. Quote
Dru Posted August 17, 2004 Posted August 17, 2004 Here is a news story describing the accident. http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=ab_home&articleID=1688877 Quote
layton Posted August 17, 2004 Posted August 17, 2004 shit is fallin' apart. like I said, be careful out there. Quote
fern Posted August 17, 2004 Posted August 17, 2004 from cbc.ca: Climber dies in shower of rock Last Updated Tue, 17 Aug 2004 07:54:29 EDT JASPER, ALTA. - A University of Calgary medical student fell and bled to death on Sunday in Jasper National Park after he was caught in a shower of falling rock as he climbed Mount Athabasca. Jeffrey Robert Martin, a second-year student, died from blood loss due to a broken femur, despite the best efforts of his three climbing companions, all of them medical students. A rescue team, on duty as an essential service despite a Parks Canada strike, was on the scene in under two hours, but could do little to help Martin. The 24-year-old woman climbing next to him was also injured in the unexpected shower of large rocks from overhead but managed to give first aid to Martin. She is in a serious but stable condition in the University of Alberta Hospital. The other two climbers were not injured. The four climbers, working two to a rope, were ascending a moderately difficult ice face near the Columbia Icefields when boulders began tumbling from an overhead band of rock. Martin, 26, fell 45 metres before his safety equipment caught him. Steve Blake, a Parks Canada safety specialist, said on Monday that no amount of safety equipment could have helped Martin. "With rocks the size of soccer balls falling on you like some of these were, no helmet is going to help you," he said. Rock falls of the kind that killed Martin are a naturally occurring event in ice- or snow-covered alpine terrain. Meltwater seeps into cracks and widens them when it freezes and expands, according to Blake. "Over time, when the ice melts these rocks have been loosened enough to fall spontaneously," he explained. I have fond memories of climbing with Jeff. I'll miss him. Quote
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