Steph- Here's to a speedy recovery!

[JasonG]

Thanks for the in depth report on the incident.

 

http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/665615/vesper-peak-accident-rescue.html

 

Bummer. Stay safe out there folks.

[ivan]

how many of your 9 lives have you used up now girl?

 

[OlympicMtnBoy]

(Steph's Photo)

 

 

Bummer, glad everything post accident went well! Hope you have a speedy recovery and get back out there soon!

 

[denalidave]

I'm sorry to hear of this unfortunate accident... Best wishes on a quick recovery. We need more TRs and photos, so please, GET WELL SOON!

[kevino]

I'm happy to hear she is ok and got to keep her foot! Hopefully she has a good recovery.

 

On a related note, I am more than happy to donate a cam or some carabiners.

[Dane]

Good luck on the recovery! Glad you still have both feet :-)

[dennyt]

We can rebuild her.

 

But seriously - what a horrific experience that must have been. I'm glad you got out safely, and you still have both feet! Rest up, and if you haven't yet, read Kelly Cordes' blog, starting here:

http://kellycordes.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/bad-breaks/

 

Edited September 29, 2010 by dennyt

[olyclimber]

Get well Steph!

 

Wow, accident at 1pm and helo onsite at 3:40??? That is amazing for the mountains!

[ivan]

Get well Steph!

 

Wow, accident at 1pm and helo onsite at 3:40??? That is amazing for the mountains!

my thoughts exactly - holy shit that coulda sucked a lot worse!

[Winter]

Yikes. I responded to a compound fracture of the tib/fib in the Bugs back in '03 and stayed with the patient while they called in the mounties. I can imagine those 2+ hours took some serious moxie to get through so props to you for sucking it up. I got a letter several weeks/months later, and she was on the road to recovery, but it was a long road. There is light at the end of the tunnel ... and hopefully some IV dilaudid in between.

Edited September 29, 2010 by Winter

[G-spotter]

[Rad]

Get well SOON!

[summitchaserCJB]

Good luck!

[genepires]

heal fast. You both handled the situation in the best way possible. Much thanks to the rescue people involved.

[telemarker]

Like you say, this is nature's way of telling you to finish grad school! Hoping for a expedient and complete recovery for you!

[wayne]

Hey Steph, glad you are as ok as you are. Good jobs to Jenny for taking care of you , Musta been tough on you both. Here's to a solid recovery and welcome to the tib-fib club.

[Dannible]

Wow, crazy story. Since you didn't lose your foot, I'm sure it will be a fun experience to talk about 10 years from now. Nice that it happened at the end of a good summer, and not the beginning. Good work to everyone involved.

 

I'm not trying to change the subject or start a debate, this has been covered before, but in her story Steph said that maybe a Spot Beacon might have been better than a phone. In my experience a phone is more reliable in the cascades (but not reliable enough to make me bring one along very often). Spot worked about 10% of the time for me, even when I was out in the open. A phone has been crucial for Steph n friends on 2 occasions now.

[sparverius]

Steph, the pickets will still be there when your foot heals. Now is the time to crank out some statistics! I wish you a speedy recovery.

[Steph_Abegg]

(Steph's Photo)

 

 

Somehow, making words with my alphabet cookies helped me to stay sane up there. The worst part was the first 2 hours, wondering if my sister would find cell service, since if she could not it was doubtful she would make it to a pay phone in time to get an airlift that day. We were lucky with the cell service, and lucky that the helo happened to be all ready to go as it was on a recon for a body up on Snow King. The helo was sent in by Snohomish County Sherrif's Office, and I do have to say they did a phenomenal job. These guys really put themselves on the line to rescue climbers in need. Many of them are volunteer helpers.

 

I guess I will put it out there that there is some nice gear on the route that my sister left behind as she rappelled to the glacier. There's a rope (might be damaged), at least 4 cams, and several biners and slings. So, if anyone happens to have a Vesper adventure in mind in the near future, maybe look out for some gear. We were slightly to the right of the gully on the lower face, since the gully was wet at the time we were climbing, so it might be a bit off the ideal route.

 

Thanks everyone for the support and encouragement. Being injured sucks, especially long-term like this injury clearly is going to be, but at least I was injured doing something I love doing. I will take it as my challenge for the year to get myself back to 100% by next season!

 

-Steph

[rocky_joe]

Steph, great write up. Here's to a quick recovery, I know we''ll all be looking forward to your first TR back from injury!

-Joe

[pup_on_the_mountain]

You guys kept your act together wonderfully. Wish you a speedy recovery!

 

Damages to the leg should be temporary, as you use the down time to make progress toward your Permanent head Damage (PhD) .

[denalidave]

(Steph's Photo)

 

 

Somehow, making words with my alphabet cookies helped me to stay sane up there. The worst part was the first 2 hours, wondering if my sister would find cell service, since if she could not it was doubtful she would make it to a pay phone in time to get an airlift that day. We were lucky with the cell service, and lucky that the helo happened to be all ready to go as it was on a recon for a body up on Snow King. The helo was sent in by Snohomish County Sherrif's Office, and I do have to say they did a phenomenal job. These guys really put themselves on the line to rescue climbers in need. Many of them are volunteer helpers.

 

I guess I will put it out there that there is some nice gear on the route that my sister left behind as she rappelled to the glacier. There's a rope (might be damaged), at least 4 cams, and several biners and slings. So, if anyone happens to have a Vesper adventure in mind in the near future, maybe look out for some gear. We were slightly to the right of the gully on the lower face, since the gully was wet at the time we were climbing, so it might be a bit off the ideal route.

 

Thanks everyone for the support and encouragement. Being injured sucks, especially long-term like this injury clearly is going to be, but at least I was injured doing something I love doing. I will take it as my challenge for the year to get myself back to 100% by next season!

 

-Steph

[mountainmandoug]

There's no doubt that God assigned Steph a guardian angel that is just as bad-ass as she is.

[Le Piston]

Never met you Steph (my loss) but enjoy your pictures and trail reports a lot...always something I look forward to. So, I really hope you have a rapid recovery and no long term complications. I'm glad you weren't hurt worse.

[spotly]

Heal quickly. I'm looking forward to seeing all of those new TRs and pictures you take once you're over this glitch.