Ozone

[kevbone]

Anyone know what happened today out there? Anyone hurt. I have been getting conflicting stories about rescue.....

[geoff]

Seemed like every cop and rescue professional within 20 miles was there.

[kevbone]

Ozone or Drop zone?

[denalidave]

?

 

[JosephH]

Probably Ozone. If dropzone, it was likely a practice as those guys have been onto the place since they hauled Stewart out of there.

[billcoe]

?

 

He means The Far Side. I was up at higher elevations so have no clue about it, but I could see heat prostration, wasn't it like suppose to be 97 degrees in the valley yesterday? Ozone and The Far Side would be full on sun all day. In either case, I heard it was at the Ozone. Hope the person will be OK.

[denalidave]

??

[geoff]

Really though, no one knows what happened?

 

Probably 25 cars at Ozone on my way to Beacon, the most I've ever seen. On the way home it was just police, SARs, fire, ambos. I guess they booted everyone because they needed parking. They were arriving over the course of an hour or so. Emergency folks were passing us all the way to Vancouver. No practice, unless they practice with their sirens on.

 

 

[eldiente]

There was a wildfire near there last night, maybe that was it. ?

[psychobikere]

It happened at Ozone, I was there climbing yesterday on the eastern end, and the accident apparently happened toward the western end. It was only my second time there, so I can't give any specifics about exactly where it happened. We were oblivious to anything having happened, along with another party who were climbing near us. It wasn't until we got up to the lot that we saw all of the police/fire/SAR vehicles and personnel. We had heard nothing suspicious all day, and thought that maybe they were doing some sort of training exercise. We ran into some other climbers at the store right after, who were the first to respond to the accident. Apparently it was a random rockfall that struck a climber in the head, knocking them unconscious. This caused them to take a fall. I'm not clear on whether it was the leader or belayer who was struck, but believe it was the leader. The two climbers I spoke to at the store said that the victim was stable whenever they left. This is all second hand knowledge, and the conversation I had with them was after climbing all day in 90 degree heat during a beer run, so take that as you may. I am positive though the accident was caused by a rockfall strike to the head. NO I don't know whether or not he/she was wearing a helmet.

I've climbed long enough to be around more than a few of these kinds of accidents, but this was the first time that something happened so close to me while climbing and I had no idea. It was pretty surreal for my partner and I to hear about it after the fact. Be careful out there.

[Lodestone]

That's unfortunate that someone got hit by rock but not surprising at all. I have had several close calls from people knocking rocks down. Two weekends ago a guy sent a shoe sized rock down that landed eight feet from me. Later in the day I had another, smaller, rock graze my back. I think I'm on my last life.

 

 

Chad

[stevetimetravlr]

I'm always amazed at all the people that climb at Ozone without helmets on. Last time I was there, I think we were the only two people with helmets on out of about 15 or 20. Rolling the dice.

[Mr. Hands]

I'm always amazed at all the people that climb at Ozone

 

Amen!

[crimper]

...and beyond "natural" or "climber-caused" rockfall, people toss glass bottles and other garbage from above these two crags. when we first got to ozone in 2005 (and the drop zone a couple years later - why do you think it became known as "the drop zone") both places were absolutely littered with broken glass. you have no idea. and as far as we dug down to excavate the top layer of glass, we kept uncovering even older broken glass. and it didn't sprout there from seeds. so that's yet another reason to wear your helmet when you are climbing right under highway 14.

[Stewart]

My mother-in-law and wife are both nurses. They would always harass me to wear a helmet. Penny(mother-in-law) works on the trauma unit and always see people who are vegetables just because they were too cool to wear a helmet. I would always argue that its the persons right to wear one or not. After she researched insurance statistics of veggy-patients it becomes obvious that most of the care ends up on the tax payers after the million or so is used up by the insurance companies, if you have insurance. So most of the time it becomes more of a social burden if you get clipped.

 

Ahh the debate....

 

Anyways... any time your climbing at the (O/Drop)zone's, or any other new crags, best to wear a helmet. My opinion

 

Stewart

[billcoe]

I think I've got it now, thanks everyone for the help. Let see if I have it down yet.

 

Bad dog no biscuit! Lycra and no helmet, sure you look stylish, *cough* cough* if it was still the 80's I mean.

 

Good dog's. When they get kicked through a goalpost from 40 years out for humping your girlfriends leg and making it look like a glazed donut, they'll still be safe.

 

 

Bad dog, you have the helmet now but don't chop the rope and drop my backpack from 200' up Opps:-) No biscuit!

 

Good dog - fetch me that beer!