accident on Harvey?

[G-spotter]

I heard about this 3rd hand while skiing in Manning. Any info?

[Don_Serl]

I spoke to an MEC employee about the incident, and this is his reply to me:

 

"Regarding the climbing incident on Mt Harvey. I can confirm that an MEC store employee was involved in a climbing accident on Mt Harvey last week. He is currently in hospital.

His family has contacted MEC and asked for the utmost privacy regarding details of the accident and his condition at this time so we are respecting their request fully. They have also asked that no one makes any comments to the media.

Myself and members of Lions Bay SAR and North Shore Rescue were involved in the rescue."

 

I presume 'the story' will eventually come out, but for now, that's it...

 

best wishes to whoever it was who got pranged.

 

cheers,

[G-spotter]

Amen to that, & hope for a quick recovery.

[PaulB]

On a related note, has anyone heard/seen what condition the Ramp is in these days?

[jmace]

if its anything like the snow I was riding on on Sunday it ought to be perfect! Was frozen powder off the peak chair on Sunday..quite tough stuff!! No real penetration..if you go Saturday early I bet you beat the weather..

[peas]

I was up on the Lions on Saturday and there was a 1cm ice crust right at the surface. Perfect conditions for doing anything but skiing, so Harvey would have been great. By the time we came down a fair amount of snow had fallen or had at least been transported to certain areas. I dunno what things will be like now, but you can count on a hard, and maybe scary, layer down there somewhere.

 

p.s. Best wishes to the person recovering from Harvey.

Edited January 28, 2008 by peas

[G-spotter]

What route did you climb on the Lions - NE Buttress?

[peas]

No. Just the regular summer route. My partner and I don't have a lot of experience with winter alpine stuff, so we figured that the summer route would give us enough challenge, and it did! I'll try to post some pics and a short TR soon.

 

 

[Don_Serl]

Not the outcome we were hoping for, unfortunately - an email from my MEC employee friend:

 

"Brent Palmer from the Vancouver store advised me Saturday night that Paul Didi from the Vancouver store passed away from his injuries on Friday.

From my understanding he was unconscious in hospital and details from his fall are unknown."

 

Damn...

 

[hafilax]

Sad news.

[cheamclimber]

damn.. thats terrible. Was he solo? why are details unknown?

[giza]

Not the outcome we were hoping for, unfortunately - an email from my MEC employee friend:

 

"Brent Palmer from the Vancouver store advised me Saturday night that Paul Didi from the Vancouver store passed away from his injuries on Friday.

From my understanding he was unconscious in hospital and details from his fall are unknown."

 

Damn...

 

Paul Dedi

 

Terrible news.

Edited January 29, 2008 by giza

[G-spotter]

[Peter Dedi]

Don Serl, and others, I'm Paul Dedi's brother, Peter. Maybe some of you who have more experience in ice climbing and mountaineering can explain to me why my brother's “partner” would leave my brother up there in the cold and descended with all of my brother’s warm clothes, gear and mobile phone. I have asked that question, and so have Paul's family and friends. The only response we ever got was that his partner told the police that he didn't feel comfortable going to look for my brother after they separated and Paul became late and didn’t show up at their appointed rendezvous. If he decided to descend because he was afraid, not confident or was panicked, that's something he has to deal with -- we weren't there and don't presume to put ourselves in his place. But what none of us can figure out is why he didn't bother to use my brother's mobile phone to call for help once he decided to descend; my brother’s partner was in possession of my brother’s phone, he knew it was in his pack, and if was there for just this purpose, and I have been informed that mobile phones work well in this area of the mountains.

 

Isn't there a code that you look out for your partner? Or am being naive? One more thing - at my brother's celebration of life party people seemed to be under the impression that my brother died from head injuries. This is not true - he had a broken hip and might have taken a hit on his helmet, but as his doctors confirm there were no serious head injuries and he died from hypothermia. He might have been saved if the rescue team had got to him earlier, but as it was the accident probably occurred mid-afternoon and he was not reached by the rescue team until 1 AM the next morning. The rescue team seem to have only been contacted as the result of a chance meeting of my brother's climbing partner (after he had descended) with a safety or rescue official in a parking lot; it was the official who called the rescue team after hearing the story that my brother was up there alone, late and thinly dressed. How do you leave you partner up there and just walk down and do nothing, What did he think my brother was doing up there? Playing in the snow. Thank god, she (the S&R official) had the presence of mind to get things rolling and give him at least a chance. I - and my family and Paul's friends - would also like to deeply thank all of the search and rescue people who got so quickly mobilised and headed out on a Friday night on their own time to make an attempt at getting Paul down in time to try to save him. These are the type of people you should climb with.

 

Paul was a great guy to me and his friends, a funny guy, full of laughs, and someone who deeply loved the mountains and climbing.

 

[wayne]

Crap! Sorry, That just sucks

[Chad_A]

Peter-

 

Thanks for posting. I can understand why you'd ask such questions in this time.

 

I wish I had some answers for you, but nobody was there to see what happened. The "code" you speak of does (or should) exist, and I've learned a hard lesson or two in the past from my climbing partners, and the climbing community, what that means. I do not wish to speculate as to why this person did not take other action, or why he acted the way he did, but perhaps it was because he was simply stunned by the turn of events. Only his partner knows what truly happened up there.

 

I suppose it is a possiblity that this "partner" may see this thread and respond- or, have you already spoken to this person, yourself?

 

My condolences to you and your family for your loss- I can't imagine what it feels like.

[sampdx]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I know it may be difficult right now, but it may be a good idea to let some time pass, then talk to your brother's partner. Try to keep an open mind. Cold mountain conditions can create very difficult and even surreal conditions; especially when things go awry. You never know what you'll do in difficult situations, and sometimes you're forced to do things you don't want to do - either because of lack of experience in handling an unplanned event, or because you have no other choice. I'm sure his partner is suffering over the loss of your brother, too. I can't imagine how hard it must be for him as well as you and your family. Again, I'm sorry for your loss.

[ivan]

condolences - and yes, it seems as if you'd need a good deal more info, hopefully directly from the horse's mouth to have a valid opinion. it will take a long, long time before you can probably think clearly about what happened, and it is of course natural as a human to want to have someone or somethign to blame. try not to rush to judgement.

 

i don't know anything about this mountain or route, perhaps you guys who have done it can explain the climb/area? i'm very confused as to their itinerary - is this essentially a mellow solo, and they split up and did it each at their own speeds? or did they just split up for different objectives? what exactly happened?

[G-spotter]

It would, of course, be equally valid to ask why Paul went up the mountain by himself when his partner was unwilling to continue. I have also wondered why he left his pack behind. Was he just going for a quick recce or did he seriously try to solo the route without most of the equipment he had brought?

 

I have only heard 3rd hand info on this and a lot of the info I have heard does not make sense or doesn't add up.

 

 

[G-spotter]

btw, for the cc.commers who are coming to this discussion late,

 

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08s/wfeature-paul-dedi-in-memoriam

[ivan]

good memorial - looked a powerful guy - so who here has also done harvey?

[G-spotter]

If you look in the trip reports you will find about a dozen or two from Harvey. I've done the north face ramp 4 times now myself.

[ivan]

just went and read them - still would be nice to know more of the details of what happened on that particuliar day - why didn't his partner go w/ him?

[Don_Serl]

Peter,

 

As always when there is an accident and someone loses their life, the natural human response is to a) wonder what happened and b) to wonder if something could have been done differently that might have changed the outcome. Those of us on this forum, whether we knew Paul or not, would like to understand the circumstances of this accident better, as would you. Our motivation is to learn, so as to be safer ourselves in similar circumstances - your motivation is to 'settle your mind' around

your brother's death.

 

Unfortunately, I doubt the events will ever be clear, much less that the "what ifs" will be resolved. Paul cannot inform us, and his partner knows only what HE did, which is only a small part of the story. Like G-Spotter, I have wondered why Paul left his pack, extra clothing, and gear when he went on alone. One can only presume that he felt very comfortable with the situation and the terrain, and that his 'goals' were modest. However, again as with most accidents, something unforeseen occurred, with drastic consequences. What triggered his fall? Was it a simple slip? A small snow-slide? A piece of falling ice? Nothing I've heard begins to answer this question, nor do I think the question CAN be answered. Paul is gone, and the S&R team were on-site much later, and in the dark.

 

As to what Paul's partner did or did not do, only he can answer those questions. What is plain is that he was scared, uncomfortable, and in doubt. To investigate would have required him to go onward into a situation which he had already decided he was uncomfortable with; to leave would undoubtedly have seemed like an abandonment - so he waited until he could wait no longer. Pretty natural...

 

For your peace of mind, I'm sure the Lions Bay S&R guys who were involved would share their experiences and observations privately with you. It would also seem obvious that you should privately discuss the incident with the partner - but I need to utter a caution. When I read your posting, I sense a tone in it of "if X had just done Y, Paul might not have died". I have to say that, while this is understandable, if you hope to get more information and to better understand what happened to your brother, you need to overcome that mode of thinking, which will not be easy. The urge to understand, to analyze, and to 'do better' is deep in all of us, but in this case it's in conflict with your need to know. This is not an inquest. And it might even be that the best thing to do is simply to let the matter rest, and to get on with life. The past cannot be changed, only our reactions to it. Accept, try to become tranquil, and focus on the future.

 

The mountains are harsh masters. Little mistakes can combine in unforeseen ways which result in horrendous outcomes. Paul chose to go on beyond the point at which his partner became uncomfortable. Paul decided to leave his pack and extra clothing and some gear behind. Paul climbed into terrain on which a fall would have serious consequences. I'm sure these decisions seemed minor at the time, but once another factor was introduced (Paul's fall, whatever its cause), the outcome, unfortunately, was fatal.

 

Those of us who partake of the joys of climbing also learn to live with the traumas of death. It comes to all of us, you know, and while it might not be desirable, it IS unavoidable. One of the great "joys" of mountaineering, in fact, is that very factor: the self-control, focus, strength, skill, judgement, and responsibility that each of us takes unto ourselves in order to succeed, and even to survive. This is a rare and precious event, and to attain the outcome requires risk - and exposure to risk occasionally results in disaster.

 

I'm sorry for your loss, and I hope you find the means to come to terms with this blow. Paul was a 'bright light', and while that makes his death even more bitter in some ways, his legacy is positive and broad, and one could ask for little more.

 

Best Wishes,

[ivan]

well put don