Mt. Baldy rescue: 12/23

Sam Page · Post by **Sam Page** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:28 pm

A young woman was seriously injured today after falling 1000 feet down Baldy Bowl. Some members of this forum, me included, arrived shortly after the accident and helped stabilize her at the (locked!) ski hut. A big rescue ensued. When I left Manker Flats at around 7:30 PM, the helicopters had been unsuccessful and I think they were carrying her down.

I'm skipping lots of details and just want to know if she is ok. Any word?

norma r · Post by **norma r** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:36 pm

sam, sara called me a bit after 9pm and had just gotten off the mtn. her voice was very hoarse and she was tired. i thought she said the injured woman was still on the mtn. she will call me back tomorrow after she gets some sleep and i will post a follow-up. she did say the patient had turned critical.

Sam Page · Post by **Sam Page** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 11:07 pm

My heart just sank. Thanks for the update, Norma, and nice meeting you today. I hope this turns out well . . .

Post by **Taco** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 12:50 am

I hope all goes well.

Zach · Post by **Zach** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 8:05 am

What kind of injuries did she sustain from her fall? Were you able to break into the cabin? ...and why was it taking so long to get her off the damn mountain!?

Norma, I was really worried that it was one of you guys when I first saw this post. I feel kind of guilty for sleeping in now

I hope this girl pulled through, my thoughts and prayers are with her.

Sam Page · Post by **Sam Page** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 8:56 am

Zach wrote:What kind of injuries did she sustain from her fall? Were you able to break into the cabin? ...and why was it taking so long to get her off the damn mountain!?

This from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin: "The hiker reportedly suffered some broken bones, but her injuries were not life-threatening, said San Bernardino County sheriff's Sgt. Maggie Finneran."

My understanding is that she had slide-burns all over her body, hips, etc. She also complained of abdominal pain, could not walk, and was shivering uncontrollably.

By the time I left, we had not broken into the hut because we believed a rescue would ensue before nightfall, which it did. High winds complicated a helicopter rescue, and the narrow icy trail complicated a carry-out.

mve · Post by **mve** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 9:13 am

I hope she pulls through without any long term damage.

Sam Page · Post by **Sam Page** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:03 am

I just got unofficial word that the fallen climber is recovering. Deep sigh of relief.

mve · Post by **mve** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:37 am

DaddyLongLegs wrote:I just got unofficial word that the fallen climber is recovering. Deep sigh of relief.

Great news! Best wishes to her and her family. I hope she gets to go home for Christmas instead of being stuck in a hospital.

Do you know if she was eventually airlifted or carried out from the trail?

I am trying to envision a team of four with a makeshift litter (or even a real one) carrying a victim on that trail and it just sounds to be a very difficult task since the trail is so narrow.

It seems that only two people could be used at a time -- rotating constantly (one in the front one in the back, with two standby). Perhaps the rear person would have to be belayed by another two (from the back) in case of a slip. Tough scenario ...

Sam Page · Post by **Sam Page** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:54 am

mve wrote:Do you know if she was eventually airlifted or carried out from the trail?

It is my understanding that she was airlifted at around 8:30 PM.

whatmeworry · Post by **whatmeworry** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 11:21 am

This is a tough situation. We are used to having a rescue helicopter swoop in and whisk the subject to the nearest hospital.

Weather and other factors may preclude the use of aircraft and still entail a relatively long response.

Deciding to do a carryout is not a trivial decision, particularly with an improvised litter and a small # of people.

Depending on the injuries, the carryout could be worse than waiting. Hand carrying a litter requires a significant number of people and subjects everyone to risk of injury or worse.

A litter with a wheel makes a huge difference since the majority of the weight rides on the wheel. You can see this set-up in action on Baldy last year (http://mtnviewsnews.com/old/mvobs/v03/M ... _01_18.pdf). It still takes a large # of people to safely evac someone.

How many of us are equipped and/or trained to provide some level of care and comfort to a fellow hiker or climber that is injured in a place like Baldy Bowl? Being able to provide initial care and protection from the environment can make the difference between life/death in the winter in our local mountains.

(I'm ignoring any aspect of being 'compelled' to respond 'cause that is a different issue....)

bsmith · Post by **bsmith** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 11:22 am

DaddyLongLegs wrote:I'm skipping lots of details and just want to know if she is ok. Any word?

more info here: http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum ... #Post71409

scroll to end.

mattmaxon · Post by **mattmaxon** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 11:28 am

mve wrote:I am trying to envision a team of four with a makeshift litter (or even a real one) carrying a victim on that trail and it just sounds to be a very difficult task since the trail is so narrow.

Taking a person with possible serious injuries down a trail would be fraught with all sorts of problems technical,medical, & legal

SAR teams would likely use something like this

carrying the thing for miles down hill is near to impossible, you'd probably need 8-10 people to use this.

other people more experienced in these sort of things might enlighten us (or not)

Matt

mve · Post by **mve** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 12:31 pm

mattmaxon wrote:SAR teams would likely use something like this

I love America! Back home they'd just wrap the victim in some bubble-wrap and roll them down the mountain

Post by **Taco** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 1:12 pm

Glad to hear things are turning out alright.

Good on all of you guys for helping her! That is the true spirit of mountaineering.

EManBevHills · Post by **EManBevHills** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:41 pm

Congrats to those who participated in aiding a stricken climber.
You have a lot to be proud of.

I 2nd Ryan's comment. That's what it's all about.
Happy Holidays. And here's to a speedy and complete recovery!

luciano136 · Post by **luciano136** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 6:36 pm

We went up the Baldy Bowl today (we were the only group beyond the hut all day) and came across a broken crampon halfway up. Not sure what type it was but the teeth were pretty short; with the hard pack snow, I can imagine those not being sufficient for enough traction.

We were carrying the crampon out but lost it somewhere on our way down the backbone

simonov · Post by **simonov** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 8:03 am

luciano136 wrote:We went up the Baldy Bowl today (we were the only group beyond the hut all day) and came across a broken crampon halfway up. Not sure what type it was but the teeth were pretty short; with the hard pack snow, I can imagine those not being sufficient for enough traction.

Another victim of aluminum crampons?

luciano136 · Post by **luciano136** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 9:07 pm

simonov wrote:
luciano136 wrote:We went up the Baldy Bowl today (we were the only group beyond the hut all day) and came across a broken crampon halfway up. Not sure what type it was but the teeth were pretty short; with the hard pack snow, I can imagine those not being sufficient for enough traction.
Another victim of aluminum crampons?

Actually in this case, I think they were steel but for some reason they were made with very short/small teeth?! My guess is that they are meant to be used on relatively flat terrain.