Accident on Liberty Bell - FYI

[maryk]

Howdy all ~~ I haven't been on in quite a while...came looking for more info on what I posted below from the Omak Chronicle only to see the horrible news about Kurt. Very, very sad to hear about that accident. My thoughts are with him. So, while I'm on the topic of bad accidents, here's what I've been able to find on something that happened in my neck of the woods this weekend.

 

 

Seattle woman rescued from Liberty Bell Mountain

A 30-year-old Seattle woman survived a fall of about 500 feet and an all-night rescue on the slopes of Liberty Bell Mountain Saturday, June 24.

Shannon Droham was climbing on the northwest side of the mountain off Washington Pass when she slipped and fell into a gorge, said Okanogan County sheriff Frank Rogers.

The sheriff's office was notified of the accident at 10:53 p.m.

Okanogan County Search and Rescue and Aero Methow Resche responded to the scene, described as being two miles past the Blue Lake Trailhead.

"It was extremely steep but not a vertical drop into the gorge," said the sheriff. "Droham received injuries to the left of side of her body, possible fractures on her arm, shoulder, leg and knee."

Droham was with other climbers when she fell. One stayed with her while the other one went for help, said Rogers.

Two other hikers in the area also arrived to assist, bringing additional clothing and gear to keep Droham warm.

Droham could not walk because of her injuries and was down in the gorge awaiting the rescue teams, Rogers aaid. There was about two to three feet of snow in the area where Droham was climbing.

Eight high-angle rescuers from the search and rescue team and Aero Methow hiked to Droham's location that night. The morning of June 25 they were able to climb down to Droham and then had to rope her out of the gorge, Rogers said.

Droham was then carried to a small area that had been cleared by the rescue team. A helicopter from Seattle-area Airlift Northwest was able to land on the small heli-spot.

At around 11:30 a.m. Droham was placed into the helicopter and flown out to Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Rogers said.

"It was a long night for everyone involved," he said. "It was an incredible job by all of the climbers from Aero Methow and search and rescue."

[DirtyHarry]

Aero Methow is very competent. I'm sure they did a great job.

[Billygoat]

Wow, 500'!

 

I hope she is doing ok.

[JoshK]

Great to here she lived. Best of luck with recovery.