Bergretter Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 Injured climber hoisted by USCG Port Angeles Dolphin helicopter off of The Brother's summit Sunday evening, weather was a bit marginal but the rescue was completed successfully. I don't have the climber's name yet, but I do know he injured his achilles tendon making self-rescue very difficult if not impossible. Olympic Mountain Rescue crews had hauled rescue gear up to Lena Lake and beyond to the climber's camp at the base of route 1 to facilitate a lower from the summit if a helicopter evacuation was not possible. OMR personnel remained in the area overnight and ensured the two remaining climbers from the party made if off-route and down to the trailhead alright. Good job to all involved!! Check out the hoist-cam video: http://coastguardnews.com/video-coast-guard-hoists-injured-man-off-mountain/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catbirdseat Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 That was really cool video footage. Thanks. According to the PI, the man's name was John Williams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevino Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 Ruptured achilles tendon! Ouch Cool footage, glad to see everything came out alright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJRiha Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I was in the group of climbers with the injured person. Surprisingly the news didnt botch the hell out of the story (except for the few maps they showed which put the brothers right next to Port Angeles). One thing to note: John is an extremely strong climber. If I could climb like him when Im in my 60's, I would be extremely proud. He keeps up with people 1/3rd of his age with no problems. Heres some more of the story. We reached the summit of the south brother around noon. I topped out about 5 minutes after John did. He was taking his last few steps, seemingly safe on the summit block when his Achilles ruptured. He tried repeatedly to get up on his leg, but it was obvious he wasnt going anywhere. We tried repeatedly to get calls out, with a few very short, interrupted calls to Olympic Mountain Rescue, and 911 (reception was poor even though we were on the summit). A game plan was made to get most of the party off of the summit, leaving 2 other climbers with the injured person (we gave them all of our extra clothes, water, food, pads and bivys expecting a rescue to take place in the morning). After reaching camp, I quickly loaded my pack with gear and started speed hiking to the trailhead to assist with getting the rescue started. I ran into OMR less than a mile from the trailhead, meaning they organized a pretty decent rescue party within 4 hours!!! They had no idea that the injured climber was still on the summit pinacle, so they called out to the coast guard to attempt a chopper evacuation. The chopper was heard in the air less than an hour after the call went out. The cloud ceiling was not very conducive to a rescue, but luckily they pulled it off anyway. If anyone from OMR or the Coast Guard reads this, I want them to know exactly how much respect I have for those folks. Every single one of those involved was truly dedicated and should be extremely proud of themselves. Every single person who climbs in the Olympics should feel blessed to have organizations around who will selflessly save someone in trouble. This also shows what can happen in the mountains. John was fully prepared and an experienced climber. He just had some bad luck as to when disaster decided to strike. This just goes to show how important it actually is to be prepared when you decide to leave the comforts of home to enjoy a day in the mountains. If you know John, you know that he will be trying as hard as he can to get back up to the mountains. If you do know him, wish him luck in a speedy recovery! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremerton_john Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I've climbed with John on several occassions and consider him one of the old goats of the Olympics. Malcolm is right, John is a very strong climber, and not many know the range better than him. Hard luck there John! Rest up and I'm sure we'll be seeing you back up there soon. Thanks for the video link guys, and the rescue info Malcolm. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everyfrog Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Here's a full interview of John by KING 5 from Tuesday's news: http://www.king5.com/video/featured-index.html?nvid=147775 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everyfrog Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 Local paper finally gets it: http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070531/NEWS/70531001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGo Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Wowzer, really cool video!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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