HELP NEEDED!! Jason Schilling Emergency Contact

[JasonG]

I'm hoping someone can help here. There was an accident yesterday on Terror involving the party Jason Schilling was in (he was not injured). An injured climber was flown out to B'ham and is expected to make a full recovery.

 

Due to weather, the park service was unable to fly Jason out (but left him a radio). Since he will be delayed in coming out, the park service is asking for contact info so his friends and family aren't worried. If anyone knows who would be the best contact they can either PM me or call the Park Service directly at 360 854-7249. Thanks a bunch!!!

 

 

[JasonG]

Just bumping this back to the top . . ..Thanks for any info!

[Waydough]

Thanks, Heinrich/Jason. Your CascadeClimbers note worked and the NCNP was contacted and Jason's girlfriend has been updated. I was told that she has contacted Jason's family. Let's hope the weather improves now for safe return asap. Tonight is his second night out high on the route.

[wayne]

So everyone else on that trip is ok? Crap, I think a friend of mine was on that trip.

[Waydough]

wayne1112~

Yes, Steph and Don came out last night.

[ivan]

are they going to be okay, inshahallah?

[Waydough]

Steph and Don are uninjured and safely down and in contact with North Cascades NP regarding Jason. Steve ("Trent" on CascadeClimbers) is injured and recovering in the hopital and will be fine (no head or spinal injuries). Jason is still stuck in the same place high on Mt. Terror and let's hope for him.

[ivan]

wow - shitty weather for being stuck out!

[dberdinka]

So one guys heli'd off Terror and another is sitting up there now for 2 days presumably waiting to be rescued? I hope the weather clears soon. The hospital is rigged with Wifi, maybe Trent can get a laptop in the hospital and post a TR. Best wishes for healing up quick! To many people falling off mountains lately.

[TRbetaFlash]

Holy shit.

 

So my buddy and I ran into Steph and three other guys at camp in Terror Basin, all planning on going over to Terror. We saw them Friday night at camp and watched them tag Degenhardt Saturday while we were on Inspiration.

 

There was an older real nice guy smoking cigars and a younger guy at camp and then Steph and a friend rolled in a little later. I forgot everyone's names but they were all real nice. They mentioned they were planning on crossing the barrier and tagging terror later. They asked about the weather and I told them what I knew. All I knew at the time was that a low was coming in late Monday night and that it was probably going to bring wind/precip. They seemed pretty well equipped, but when I came home Monday and looked at the NOAA pinpoint for that area, I just about shit my pants. Chance of snow, 30 degrees at night, 40 something in the daytime. I feel like I gave them bad weather information or something.

 

I really hope all is OK. They are all really nice people.

[sweatinoutliquor]

Jason is a good friend of mine and the thought of him stuck on a ridge is leaving me a little sick... Apparently Steph and Donn had to leave to call for assistence, but Jason got to stay up there to help the injured fella out. From what I can gather he's got some supplies and a radio that they left with him, but I can't imagine he's very comfortable right now. The weather looks pretty crappy too. Please send him some good vibes. Additionally, if anyone knows where I can get some more info about the situation please let me know or call me at 541 974 2062. I know it's probably under control and not practical, but if additional mountain rescue resources are needed please let me know cause folks from my unit (Corvallis) are ready to roll up there to lend a hand in any way if needed.

[matopis]

Hang in there Jason! Hopefully Mt Rescue refilled your flask before leaving you up there.

[Tom_Sjolseth]

I'm hoping that the injured party makes a full and speedy recovery.

[Steph_Abegg]

Hi, Steph Abegg here......

 

Climbing Accident on Mt. Terror

July 5, 2009

 

SEE UPDATED POST ON PAGE 3 OF THIS THREAD AFTER JASON WAS RESCUED AFTER 4 NIGHTS ON MT. TERROR

A TR with plenty of photos posted on my website:

http://sabegg.googlepages.com/terror

 

On July 5, a climbing accident occurred on the Stoddard buttress of Mt. Terror in the Southern Pickets. There were four of us in the party: Donn Venema, Jason Schilling, Steve Trent, and me (Steph Abegg). We are all experienced climbers, and have made several previous excursions into the rugged Picket Range. We were on Day 4 of a 6-day trip. Over the previous few days, we had climbed the South Face of Inspiration, West McMillan Spire, Degenhardt, and The Pyramid. Terror was to be our last major climb of our trip. (We had planned on climbing Wild Hair Crack and Frenzelspitz on Day 5, but now we doubted this would happen given a forecast for a weather system moving in July 6.) We were excited to tackle the classic Stoddard Buttress on the last day of good weather on July 5.

 

We left our camp in Crescent Creek at dawn, traversed through the Ottohorn-Himmelhorn col, and reached the base of Mt. Terror at around 8am. It was not long before we began simulclimbing up the buttress, taking a relaxed pace to enjoy what promised to be a sunny and warm summer day in the Pickets. Donn and Jason formed one rope team, and Steve and I formed the other rope team. Steve and I were the leading team.

 

The accident occurred at 10:30am, shortly after we had traversed around a sharp prow about 1/3 of the way up the route. Steve and I had switched leads, and Steve was leading the way up low fifth class ledges back onto the buttress crest. I had just left the belay and begun simulclimbing when I heard a yell above me. I looked up. I think the first thing I saw was a climbing shoe flying through the air. Then, I saw the giant rock and Steve silhouetted against the sky. The next thing I knew I was jerked upwards as Steve hit the end of the rope. He had fallen about 60 feet. Unhurt and surprised, I immediately began calling out to Steve asking him if he was okay. He did not answer me. He was hanging head down at the end of the rope, and I was shocked to see quite a bit of blood running down the rock. I yelled to Donn and Jason below. They heard me and began to climb up towards us.

 

I was able to lower Steve to a ledge and climb up to him. I noticed that the rope attached to Steve was frayed to the core. I was afraid of the potential for the rope to break or slip loose at any time, so I set up additional anchors on some nearby horns. I then maneuvered over to Steve and somehow flipped him so that his head was up. He was still unresponsive, but moaning. His left leg was clearly fractured and he had lost quite a bit of blood from a head wound.

 

Donn and Jason reached our precarious perch about 15 minutes after the fall. They anchored in and helped to situate Steve to a better position on the small ledge. With his head now fully upright, Steve began to drift in and out of consciousness. Of the three of us, Jason had the strongest first aid skills, and he stepped up to the challenge, taking control of addressing Steve's injuries. Under Jason's calm directions, we bandaged Steve's head wound and created a makeshift split for his left leg using the aluminum stay from Donn's pack. Steve began to shiver and display signs of shock, so we layered him with our extra coats. We were encouraged by the fact that Steve tried to help put his arms into the sleeves as we told him what we were doing. He began to be responsive enough to complain of the pain in his leg, and asked repeatedly what had happened.

 

We agreed that the quickest way to get help was to find a spot where we could get reception on Jason's cell phone. On the previous days, we had been able to get service from the summits of both Inspiration and Degenhardt. The quickest way to get to a location of cell service would be to continue climbing the buttress to the summit of Terror. We formed a plan. Jason would stay with Steve. Donn and I would continue up towards the summit as quickly (and safely) as we could and try to initiate a helicopter rescue before the night set in. Making the phone call in time was crucial, as Steve's chances of survival would decrease if he had to spend the night on the mountain, especially considering that the deteriorating weather forecast for the coming days.

 

Donn and I left the accident scene at 12pm to simulcimb the rest of the Stoddard buttress to the false summit. When we passed the location of Steve's fall, we saw a large dihedral-shaped fresh gash. It is likely Steve had been standing on this section when a sizable chunk of what had appeared to be solid rock tore loose below him. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Every climber's nightmare.

 

As Donn and I simulclimbed towards the summit, we checked repeatedly for cell phone service, but to no avail. When we reached the false summit, we were discouraged that we still could not find a signal. It looked as if we would have to take precious time and climb to the true summit and make one last effort at finding a signal. Then, in a final effort before continuing upwards, Donn found a signal on the far south end of the false summit. At 4pm, we established contact with 911 and initiated a rescue operation out of Marblemount.

 

By the time we started down the west ridge an hour later, we could hear a chopper flying in the vicinity of the north buttress. The chopper would have to make several fly-bys of the buttress to locate the injured party, to test wind speeds and gauge overhead clearance, and to survey the terrain on which to land the rescue personnel. Once this was done, the chopper would land in Crescent Creek Basin, attach a rescue personnel to a long line, and fly above the north buttress to literally pluck Steve from the mountain. This would be a tricky and dangerous maneuver and require a lot of skill by the chopper's pilot. The windy conditions made the maneuver even more difficult.

 

At 8:30pm, Steve was successfully plucked from the route. Donn and I cheered when we saw Steve on the end of the line flying high above Crescent Creek Basin on his way to the drop-off point in Concrete (WA). From Concrete, a Lifeflight chopper took him to Bellingham. Steve was treated for a femur fracture, broken heal, and deep scalp laceration. As of July 7, his condition has improved greatly. He is out of climbing commission for the season, but doing fine.

 

By the time Steve was successfully transferred to Concrete on July 5, dusk had set in and it was too late to airlift Jason off of the mountain. Jason was unhurt, but was not prepared to descend or ascend the route alone, especially not in the dark. When the helicopter had plucked Steve from the rock face, they had dropped off a bivy supply and several days worth of food and water for Jason. They also left him with a radio. Donn and I had also been given a radio during the brief staging in Crescent Creek Basin, so we could keep abreast with the proceedings and even communicate with Jason. The plan was to airlift Jason off the mountain early the next morning. It was difficult to sleep that night knowing Jason was still high up on Mt. Terror.

 

However, rain and winds and thick clouds moved into the Pickets during the night of July 5. This made it impossible for the helicopter to safely airlift Jason off of the route on July 6 as had been planned. Donn and I remembered a overhanging ledge system about 200 ft below Jason's exposed position on the mountain, where there was a sloping cave. Via our radio we were able to encourage Jason to make an attempt to descend to this spot. This was a risky undertaking given Jason's scant amount of gear and the now treacherous conditions at his location, but the cave would provide significantly more protection from the elements. Realizing this, Jason made the attempt to move to the ledge below. The radio was silent for an agonizing couple of hours, and our hearts lifted when Jason's voice relayed that he had reached the cave. We heard an element of hope in his voice as he bravely stated that this was a place he felt he could stay for several days if necessary.

 

Unfortunately, throughout the day on July 6, the weather continued to deteriorate, and via radio Jason reported that it had began to snow outside his cave high on the mountain. Always looking at the positive side of things, Jason commented that the change from rain to snow stopped the flow of water that was pooling in the cave. However, the snow made even a ground rescue (by Donn and me or a Search and Rescue team) quite hazardous. Feeling as though we were abandoning our friend Jason but realizing that we would be better positioned with the team we were communicating with via radio in Marblemount, Donn and I hiked out of Crescent Creek basin on the afternoon of July 6.

 

Donn and I spent much of July 7 discussing the situation with the rescue team located in Marblemount. In every way, Donn stepped up to the challenge of communicating with the rescue party while I mostly sat back and listened, occasionally contributing photos I had taken of the accident scene and the route around Jason's location. Given the weather and conditions, it was decided that our best option is to try to wait for a window to airlift Jason off of the route. Currently, he is in a safe and relatively sheltered spot in a sloping cave, has bivy gear and a supply of food and water, and is in contact with the rescue team via radio. He is hanging in there, and despite his situation maintains high spirits and a calm head. There is hope for a break in the weather within the next few days, which will allow Jason to be airlifted off of the route.

 

Please keep Jason in your thoughts and prayers.

 

(This is the current status of the situation as of 12pm on July 8.)

 

SEE UPDATED POST ON PAGE 3 OF THIS THREAD AFTER JASON WAS RESCUED AFTER 4 NIGHTS ON MT. TERROR

A TR with plenty of photos posted on my website:

http://sabegg.googlepages.com/terror

Edited July 10, 2009 by Steph_Abegg

[AllYouCanEat]

Wow, that's terrible Steph. I hope all comes out well for everyone in your party.

[Dannible]

Crazy. Sounds like ya'll did a pretty good job in a bad situation. Glad that Steve is going to be alright, and that Jason has bivy gear and food. Lets all hope this weather clears sooner than later.

[sweatinoutliquor]

Thank you so much for the update Steph.

[dinomyte]

Thoughts, prayers and good vibes from me! Hang in there buddy.

[Sol]

You guys sound like the raddest partners your buddy could have had. Thoughts and prayers go out to Jason, hang in there!

[Tokogirl]

I had heard about the accident through a ranger friend of mine but did not know all the details.

Great way you all handled a difficult and challenging situation!

 

Best to Steve and hoping Jason gets a clear weather window.

[OrygunJim]

Donn taught me damn near everything about climbing, and I summited Jefferson last year with Jason. If there are two dudes more capable of dealing with/enduring this situation it is them. Both speak highly of Steph and her tirelessness and degree of focus as well. I wish I could embrace my friends now in their time of need...

[layton]

I'm assuming your friend Jason probably felt like there was no other choice to make, which is a true test of what makes someone not only a hero, but an excellent human being. I'm glad everyone else is okay, and I really hope your friend will be too. I'm sure he will!!! You guys handled this situation in the best possible way even though I'm sure you wish you were with your friend right now. I'm sorry this happened.

 

 

[mvs]

Thanks for the great report, Steph. Sending positive thoughts and prayers to that little ledge!

[cschilling75]

Hi, this is Jason's brother. We've been in touch with the Park Service in Marblemount.

 

I got a call late last night from park services that they attempted a rescue when there was a clearing in the weather but by the time they got the helicopter up and running, the opportunity had passed. They spoke with Jason via radio and he said that the visibility on the mountain was not good either so they aborted the attempt. The person I spoke with said Jason's spirits were still "pretty good" and he still had food and was keeping dry and warm under the ledge. However, they did say that he only has enough food to last him for several more days. That being said, the weather report still looks terrible for the extended forecast. Obviously, the situation is becoming more critical.

[G-spotter]

Weather should clear tomorrow afternoon with sunny high pressure for Friday...