Wednesday, September 15, 2004
so this is all Liz's fault, ay?
Doesn't look like much action here except lots of rain and some wind.
One of my favorite publications arrived yesterday, the 2004 edition of ACCIDENTS IN NORTH AMERICAN MOUNTAINEERING put out by the AAC.
Here's an excerpt written from a fellow on a Mountaineers' (Seattle's climbing club) climb of Mt Ruth, a spur of Mt Rainier:
... In proper glissade position ... I found myself "racing" a fellow Mountaineer when the clouds once again descended upon us. Immediately, I forced my ice ax into the snow to act as a brake. With no immediate reduction in velocity and continued acceleration, I instinctively rolled over into a perfect textbook self-arrest position. To my shock and disbelief, my acceleration continued.
Earliest memories of the initiation of my fall are of sheer terror. I vaguely recalled the series of rock bands, and that they protruded perhaps 20 feet above the height of the snow ... I speculated that if I hit the rock band, my fall would terminate.
I was not stopped by the rock band. It acted more as a springboard, deflecting my fall over its rocky edge. I was then thrown through a long, narrow rock chute ... to an open snow field littered with various sized rock debris from the cliffs above. I was ejected onto a snowfield of lesser slope scattered with boulders... I found myself in a sitting position amidst a field of rock debris...
... Some time elapsed before I realized I could move my head. I could not feel my arms and I had severe pain in both legs...
Injuries included multiple puncture wounds, cuts, scrapes and bruises to both arms, a deep puncture wound to the right shin, heavy bruising on right quadriceps and other regions of both legs. Nerve damage in the left elbow resulted in lack of sensation in the fingers and limited mobility of the left arm for two months. I recall my head hitting against rock on several occasions; however, there were no visible marks from these impacts, and I never lost consciousness, even though I was not wearing a helmet... I suffered some memory loss of [sic] part of the fall...
... I calculated the total elevation loss during my fall to be about 1600 feet ...
Lucky to be able to talk about that one, I'd say.
Doesn't look like much action here except lots of rain and some wind.
One of my favorite publications arrived yesterday, the 2004 edition of ACCIDENTS IN NORTH AMERICAN MOUNTAINEERING put out by the AAC.
Here's an excerpt written from a fellow on a Mountaineers' (Seattle's climbing club) climb of Mt Ruth, a spur of Mt Rainier:
... In proper glissade position ... I found myself "racing" a fellow Mountaineer when the clouds once again descended upon us. Immediately, I forced my ice ax into the snow to act as a brake. With no immediate reduction in velocity and continued acceleration, I instinctively rolled over into a perfect textbook self-arrest position. To my shock and disbelief, my acceleration continued.
Earliest memories of the initiation of my fall are of sheer terror. I vaguely recalled the series of rock bands, and that they protruded perhaps 20 feet above the height of the snow ... I speculated that if I hit the rock band, my fall would terminate.
I was not stopped by the rock band. It acted more as a springboard, deflecting my fall over its rocky edge. I was then thrown through a long, narrow rock chute ... to an open snow field littered with various sized rock debris from the cliffs above. I was ejected onto a snowfield of lesser slope scattered with boulders... I found myself in a sitting position amidst a field of rock debris...
... Some time elapsed before I realized I could move my head. I could not feel my arms and I had severe pain in both legs...
Injuries included multiple puncture wounds, cuts, scrapes and bruises to both arms, a deep puncture wound to the right shin, heavy bruising on right quadriceps and other regions of both legs. Nerve damage in the left elbow resulted in lack of sensation in the fingers and limited mobility of the left arm for two months. I recall my head hitting against rock on several occasions; however, there were no visible marks from these impacts, and I never lost consciousness, even though I was not wearing a helmet... I suffered some memory loss of [sic] part of the fall...
... I calculated the total elevation loss during my fall to be about 1600 feet ...
Lucky to be able to talk about that one, I'd say.
