Steph- Here's to a speedy recovery!

[AR_Guy]

Holy crap. What a heck of a description on the OP link.

 

Best wishes for a fast and full recovery.

[Steph_Abegg]

 

Was that Mt. Sir Donald? Glad to see I'm not the only one who takes photos of summit registers!

[Skeezix]

Mend quickly.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Mend quickly.

 

+1

 

Your trip reports are inspirational!

[curtveld]

Wow, Steph, a nasty accident, but almost SO much worse. Pretty sobering that a couple of very solid climbers could go up a reasonably tame route, do absolutely everything right, and almost end up losing a foot! Hope the rehab goes smoothly.

[banos]

Glad they saved your foot Steph... I've been in quite a few of those type distal Tib/fib fracture surgeries... When I read your description of the fall.. it was the first thing I thought about. Making sure there's adequate circulation to the foot is certainly a main priority.. tho as you know.. when there's not, vein grafting is not always successful.. Thank Goodness yours was!!

 

I too commend your medical team! As well as S&R of course..

 

Looking forward to many, many more TRs from you!

 

Here's to a quick & complete recovery

Edited October 1, 2010 by banos

[Sherri]

What an incredible story, Steph. So sorry to hear about the accident but the way you two handled yourselves and the wonderful response of the rescue team really inspirational. Thank you for sharing it with us. Please add my get-well-wishes to the stack!

[canadug]

I hope you have a speedy recovery Steph.

 

At least it happened where you would be rescued quickly and receive awesome medical care you likely would not have received in BC.

 

Did you have out of province medical insurance?

[Dan_Miller]

You two did all the right stuff! Rigorous attitude; was a decided benefit at least in my reading of this incident.

 

Heal well! We're all thnking about you.

[Off_White]

Pretty sobering that a couple of very solid climbers could go up a reasonably tame route, do absolutely everything right, and almost end up losing a foot!

 

We've had a number of those sort of reminders in the last few years, haven't we? I'm feeling a little less cavalier about my assumptions of control out in the mountains.

 

Steph, your TR's are a great gift to other climbers, and your well told tale of this accident is no exception. Here's to your swift and complete healing.

[Steph_Abegg]

We've had a number of those sort of reminders in the last few years, haven't we? I'm feeling a little less cavalier about my assumptions of control out in the mountains.

 

Steph, your TR's are a great gift to other climbers, and your well told tale of this accident is no exception. Here's to your swift and complete healing.

 

Thanks everyone for the words of support and encouragement. Now about 3 weeks from the accident and cutting the narcotics cold turkey, I am feeling myself again. Which means yearning to be back in those mountains! Might be awhile though. I'm trying to look at the recovery as my challenge for the year, and am determined to be back and stronger for it by next summer.

 

This accident and Dallas Kloke's even more tragic accident are reminders that the mountains are powerful and unpredictable. It's part of what makes alpine climbing what it is and it's not going to stop me from loving the mountains, but its best to realize the potential consequences and try to be as well prepared for them as we can be.

 

Thanks again for the supportive comments.

 

-Steph

 

[DaveLeo]

Steph,

 

It's great to see your spirits are up! Well done quitting the narcotics cold turkey!

 

Ironic about that hardware in the leg! It certainly does resemble a nut tool

 

Godspeed!

 

Dave

[wayne]

The gear recovery was successful.

Thanks to Josh K and Dave K. Yes, they had to resort to the K-team.

[denalidave]

The gear recovery was successful.

Thanks to Josh K and Dave K. Yes, they had to resort to the K-team.

A-O-K then!

[Buckaroo]

Whoa!!! A lead fall on an 8mm with rockfall, and the rope didn't cut. You used up one of your cat lives on that one. Was it a half or a twin?

 

I soloed N face Vesper a couple times, went way right at the start (easier) but the rock was choss for the first couple pitches.

 

You will really be more aware of loose rock from now on. I broke my thumb on West Garfield back in July pulling a loose rock down. Now when I climb every rock is suspect.

 

You should go back and finish Vesper, it's a really pretty climb and peak. I have to go back and finish W Garfield, the hazardous enigma is attractive.

 

GET WELL SOON

[Buckaroo]

This accident and Dallas Kloke's even more tragic accident are reminders that the mountains are powerful and unpredictable.

 

 

and John Arum also, on Storm King in Sept.

[Steph_Abegg]

Whoa!!! A lead fall on an 8mm with rockfall, and the rope didn't cut. You used up one of your cat lives on that one. Was it a half or a twin?

 

We were climbing on a doubled 8mm. Mostly we were planning on simulclimbing, where my standard tact is to double the rope to minimize rope drag, but at the moment I fell we had just set a fixed belay since it was a bit sketchy. So essentially a 16mm with a fixed belay 20ft below and good protection, so the fall was the safest part of the whole thing!

 

We had also been climbing on a doubled 8mm on Mt. Terror last year when a rock broke loose. The rockfall severed one of the strands, and likely would have severed a single 9.x strand. It showed me the merit of climbing on a doubled rope rather than a single fat rope. I think the only time I use the 8mm as a single line is for glacier travel.

Edited October 6, 2010 by Steph_Abegg

[Steph_Abegg]

The gear recovery was successful.

Thanks to Josh K and Dave K. Yes, they had to resort to the K-team.

 

Thanks so much Wayne, Josh, and Dave. I'm glad you stayed safe up there and successfully saved me some $$ and gave me a real morale boost. Some of those cams had some history and I was sad to think I'd never see them again. It's great to see how climbers support each other in times of need!

 

-Steph

Edited October 6, 2010 by Steph_Abegg

[Mr. Hands]

It's great to see how many male climbers are so willing to suck up to other young women climbers in times of need! Its great to be a woman climber in the PNW!

 

-Steph

 

Cheers Steph! Heal up soon! My wife suffered a similar injury years ago. Her recovery was slow but full. Your strong and young and I'm sure have many more years of adventures to come.

[denalidave]

It's great to see how many male climbers are so willing to suck up to other young women climbers in times of need! Its great to be a woman climber in the PNW!

 

-Steph

 

Cheers Steph! Heal up soon! My wife suffered a similar injury years ago. Her recovery was slow but full. Your strong and young and I'm sure have many more years of adventures to come.

This is prolly true just about anywhere. Even more so for those hawte female hardwomanish climbers

 

Seriously though, there are many of us here (guys/girls) that are very inspired by your TRs, photos and relentless drive ticking off all the classics. Heal quickly.

[Steph_Abegg]

It's great to see how many male climbers are so willing to suck up to other young women climbers in times of need! Its great to be a woman climber in the PNW!

 

-Steph

This is prolly true just about anywhere. Even more so for those hawte female hardwomanish climbers

 

Seriously though, there are many of us here (guys/girls) that are very inspired by your TRs, photos and relentless drive ticking off all the classics. Heal quickly.

 

Hey, if it helps find climbing partners and convince surgeons to make an extra effort to save the foot, I'm not complaining.

 

[Peter_Puget]

Interesting and somewhat related......

 

Conclusions: Females aged between 13 and 64 years exhibit significantly lower mortality than males after trauma-associated shock. This outcome difference is lost at the extremes of age (preadolescent children and individuals aged ≥65 years) where the effects of sex hormones are absent or diminished. These findings suggest that hormonal differences play a role in the gender-based outcome disparities after traumatic shock.

 

link