4th class vs V4 - Gym climbers stranded in NCNP

[dberdinka]

Pulled this off the North Cascades National Park Facebook page.

 

Helicopter rescue, no injuries. Seems to be exactly what everyones been predicting for a long time.

 

 

"Taking a quick break from the coverage of the landslides, this recent SAR indicates the importance of preparedness when mountaineering in unfamiliar conditions:

 

On July 28, 2013 a party of four mountaineers from the Seattle area attempted the Northeast Ridge of 8,970’ Black Peak. The party split into two rope teams and quickly found that the first rope team was ascending at a faster pace. Along the Northeast Ridge the rope teams became separated, with one summiting the peak, and then descending the south face route back to their camp, having lost contact with the other two climbers. The party that summited could see their friends about midway up the ascent route, and observed them stationary for hours, well into the night. The two stranded climbers began flashing headlamps, presumably to alert their friends. The climbers at camp asked other visitors who were leaving the area to call 911 when they got into cell phone range and request assistance. NPS rangers received this call for assistance at 2:00 am on July 29, 2013 with it unclear if the party was injured or not.

 

Early on July 29, 2013 rangers made a recon flight to Black Peak, making visual contact with the stranded climbers but unable to rule out injuries to these climbers who had been stranded at the same location for almost 24 hours, just before a steep pitch on the most technical part of the route. A ranger team, using the Park’s contracted HiLine Helicopters MD500D, evacuated both 30 year old climbers individually by short-haul to their basecamp. The rescued climbers appeared to be shaken up by the experience but not injured. All parties agreed that steep technical mountaineering routes with thousands of feet of exposure above massive glaciers are much more difficult than the same level of climbing difficulty in a gym which they were more accustomed to."

[KaskadskyjKozak]

I wonder why the party that summitted did not go back up themselves to see what was up? Maybe borrowing some food from folks at Wing Lake so they'd have the energy they needed to get up there???

[G-spotter]

Maybe they couldn't find the blue taped holds once it got dark.

[olyclimber]

[rob]

Did they remember to build a giant "Y" ?

[JasonG]

The title of this thread says it all. Sheesh.

[Sol]

I geuss they didn't realize that all the footholds were in.

 

[Rad]

Pathetic, but no one was hurt and they'll be back to climb another day. Having spoken with Kelly Bush about NCNP rescues, I bet she and her team find this annoying and amusing but far more desirable than if the team had tried to come down in the dark and gotten badly injured.

 

Most of us have done something stupid at one point or another. Usually, we come out without getting injured or invoking a rescue. But not always. I know a very experienced climber, who shall remain nameless, who was on the front page photo of one of the East side papers stranded in on a rock in the Tumwater because his crampons poked a hole in the raft his team was using to cross to go climb Drury. Oops.

 

 

 

[rob]

I know a very experienced climber, who shall remain nameless, who was on the front page photo of one of the East side papers stranded in on a rock in the Tumwater because his crampons poked a hole in the raft his team was using to cross to go climb Drury. Oops.

 

Sure, unfortunate (and sometimes embarrassing) things happen to the very experienced, but that doesn't mean it's the same thing as unfortunate things happening to the inexperienced and naive. There is a difference.

 

[BootsandPants]

I wonder why the party that summitted did not go back up themselves to see what was up? Maybe borrowing some food from folks at Wing Lake so they'd have the energy they needed to get up there???

 

The thunderstorms in the area most likely caused the one party to descend rather than wait on the summit. Probably didn't know anything was really wrong (other than a slow moving team) until it was late and getting dark. They may have been too tired and didn't want to take on further risk by climbing in the night. Personally, I wouldn't really want to be climbing a loose-ish route in the dark if I was tired and relatively new to alpine climbing.

 

Easy to armchair quarterback though. At least nobody was hurt and valuable lessons learned, I'm sure.

[DPS]

 

I know a very experienced climber, who shall remain nameless, who was on the front page photo of one of the East side papers stranded in on a rock in the Tumwater because his crampons poked a hole in the raft his team was using to cross to go climb Drury. Oops.

 

 

I know who you are talking about.

[Rad]

I know a very experienced climber, who shall remain nameless, who was on the front page photo of one of the East side papers stranded in on a rock in the Tumwater because his crampons poked a hole in the raft his team was using to cross to go climb Drury. Oops.

 

Sure, unfortunate (and sometimes embarrassing) things happen to the very experienced, but that doesn't mean it's the same thing as unfortunate things happening to the inexperienced and naive. There is a difference.

 

Right. We should give newbies more slack and less flack for their mis-steps. Experienced folks should know better. We all make mistakes. Erring on the side of caution, as these folks did, isn't necessarily a bad thing. What should have happened IMHO, is the party of 2 should have gone up to see what was happening. Without communication, they had no way to know their friends weren't injured, so perhaps asking for a rescue was the right call given the circumstances.

 

I was in a somewhat similar situation years ago in Tuolumne. I climbed the Eichorn Pinnacle and was meeting up with friends who had climbed the SW Face of Cathedral. I finished, scrambled up the back side of Cathedral, and waited. They didn't show by sunset so I descended to the base of the route and waited there. Someone flashed lights to us from high on the route. I found another climber and we went up to the summit to check things out. When we got there my friends were just topping out around midnight. They were exhausted and hypothermic from too little clothing and high winds. We helped them down, warmed them, and hiked out without incident.

 

If the party on the rock had had a two-way communication device (sat phone or something else) the heli-rescue would probably not have been needed.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

I wonder why the party that summitted did not go back up themselves to see what was up? Maybe borrowing some food from folks at Wing Lake so they'd have the energy they needed to get up there???

 

The thunderstorms in the area most likely caused the one party to descend rather than wait on the summit. Probably didn't know anything was really wrong (other than a slow moving team) until it was late and getting dark. They may have been too tired and didn't want to take on further risk by climbing in the night. Personally, I wouldn't really want to be climbing a loose-ish route in the dark if I was tired and relatively new to alpine climbing.

 

Easy to armchair quarterback though. At least nobody was hurt and valuable lessons learned, I'm sure.

 

I didn't mean to suggest to go up in the dark, but the next morning.

 

I don't agree about the armchair quarterback comment. I think it's worth talking/thinking about alternatives to handling a situation. Next time you, I or someone are in one, maybe that prior thought/discussion might trigger a memory and a good response to the situation.

 

One theme in ANAM reports are rescues involving parties that separate. It's easy to separate when two rope teams are on a route for sure, and worth trying not to let that happen.

 

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Sure, unfortunate (and sometimes embarrassing) things happen to the very experienced, but that doesn't mean it's the same thing as unfortunate things happening to the inexperienced and naive. There is a difference.

 

There's a balance between "going for it" and trying to expand what you have done, and being conservative and developing more slowly. NE ridge of Black is a pretty logical step up from something like Liberty/Beckey or E ridge of Ingalls.

[dberdinka]

To much heartfelt analysis. Need more facepalm.

 

 

[Rad]

D,

Kev will jump in shortly to tell your pretty pony to wear a helmet! Yes, this is a pathetic and humorous outcome. I'm just glad it's comedy and not tragedy like the Sharkfin newbie-crushing block incident from a few years back.

R

[Rad]

ps. maybe you can start a business to teach V4 gym climbers to scramble 4th class. They probably have cash to drop on the right tool/app/person.

 

[CascadeClimber]

I know a very experienced climber, who shall remain nameless, who was on the front page photo of one of the East side papers stranded in on a rock in the Tumwater because his crampons poked a hole in the raft his team was using to cross to go climb Drury. Oops.

 

Last time I climbed Drury we had to stop on a gravel bar halfway across because "the Good Ship Klubberud" had lost half her air since we'd left the bank. Perhaps the eleventh essential for Drury is a hand pump...

[DPS]

I know a very experienced climber, who shall remain nameless, who was on the front page photo of one of the East side papers stranded in on a rock in the Tumwater because his crampons poked a hole in the raft his team was using to cross to go climb Drury. Oops.

 

 

 

What strikes me as even funnier is he's a very accomplished open ocean sailor with multiple crossings of the Pacific under his belt.

[rob]

I know a very experienced climber, who shall remain nameless, who was on the front page photo of one of the East side papers stranded in on a rock in the Tumwater because his crampons poked a hole in the raft his team was using to cross to go climb Drury. Oops.

 

 

 

What strikes me as even funnier is he's a very accomplished open ocean sailor with multiple crossings of the Pacific under his belt.

 

And I thought his boat capsized? Rafael's comments about the mishap when it happened referenced a broken paddle and unstable boat, and the news article mentioned the craft capsized after entering rougher water.

 

This is the first I heard someone claim it was because he punctured the raft with his crampons. But, whatever

Edited August 15, 2013 by rob

[DPS]

I know a very experienced climber, who shall remain nameless, who was on the front page photo of one of the East side papers stranded in on a rock in the Tumwater because his crampons poked a hole in the raft his team was using to cross to go climb Drury. Oops.

 

 

 

What strikes me as even funnier is he's a very accomplished open ocean sailor with multiple crossings of the Pacific under his belt.

 

And I thought his boat capsized? Rafael's comments about the mishap when it happened referenced a broken paddle and unstable boat, and the news article mentioned the craft capsized after entering rougher water.

 

This is the first I heard someone claim it was because he punctured the raft with his crampons. But, whatever

 

Now that you mention it, I recall a capsizing. Maybe we are talking about two separate things?

[Pete_H]

Right. We should give newbies more slack and less flack for their mis-steps. Experienced folks should know better. We all make mistakes.

 

I don't know. Getting over your head and bailing on a route is one thing. Calling for a heli-rescue because you couldn't get out of a situation on your own when no one is injured is another and deserves some shit talking in the internets.

[olyclimber]

Seems like it wasn't even the climbers who "needed rescue" that called in the chopper. Probably this makes it even worse, and needs more internet armchair discussion.

[Alex]

My crampons didn't poke a hole in the raft. We launched at the wrong spot in the dark, and capsized. It was a very dangerous situation that turned out fine. Still think about it often.

 

The interesting irony is that while I am not a V4 climber, I and that same partner from the raft simul solo'ed NE ridge of Black without trouble some years back; the route is very exposed, I'm not surprised folks had trouble with it.

 

That same partner(!) climbed W Ridge of Stuart with me in 13 hours easy car to car jaunt as well, and then did a forced bivy on it some years later with a different partner.

 

I think it's really a YMMV thing, even very experienced people make mistakes, even when you've done the route before!

[bstach]

All parties agreed that steep technical mountaineering routes with thousands of feet of exposure above massive glaciers are much more difficult than the same level of climbing difficulty in a gym which they were more accustomed to."

 

Quote of the month.

 

Add to that: long approach, climbing with a pack, cold hands, loose rock, wind, marginal gear placements, runouts, route finding, deteriorating weather...totally different experience than red pointing that 11a in the gym.