I was climbing at the north end of Nemo unaware of what had happened at Ground Zero when the storm came. I had only one thought "Let's get the hell out of here!". As my partner and I rushed along the trail, we came across the rescue. My first thought was that this was a training exercise because there were so many people in uniforms and this is what I have seen them do in the past. My second thought was "Great, at least we have medics in case anyone gets hit by lightning!". I quickly threaded my way through them, being careful to not interfere in any way. My partner, however, was stuck behind the rescue. It was then that I heard the screams and realized that this was no exercise. Somebody was hurt and bad. I think they had six or eight people carrying the litter. I stayed ahead checking back to make sure that they were on the path. At some point, my partner made it past the rescue group and we walked fast to get out of there. I now had two thoughts "Get out of this storm and get away from the screaming!". Fortunately, the screaming stopped pretty soon. The medics were doing their job. While hiking out, we were passed by the Conservation Halton pickup truck with the litter and medics in the back. We made it to the parking lot seconds before the heavy downpour hit and saw the helicopter take off. At the time, I didn't know what to make of what had happened. Later on when I found out that it was Rebecca, it added a horribleness to it all.

I was climbing at the north end of Nemo unaware of what had happened at Ground Zero when the storm came. I had only one thought "Let's get the hell out of here!". As my partner and I rushed along the trail, we came across the rescue. My first thought was that this was a training exercise because there were so many people in uniforms and this is what I have seen them do in the past. My second thought was "Great, at least we have medics in case anyone gets hit by lightning!". I quickly threaded my way through them, being careful to not interfere in any way. My partner, however, was stuck behind the rescue. It was then that I heard the screams and realized that this was no exercise. Somebody was hurt and bad. I think they had six or eight people carrying the litter. I stayed ahead checking back to make sure that they were on the path. At some point, my partner made it past the rescue group and we walked fast to get out of there. I now had two thoughts "Get out of this storm and get away from the screaming!". Fortunately, the screaming stopped pretty soon. The medics were doing their job. While hiking out, we were passed by the Conservation Halton pickup truck with the litter and medics in the back. We made it to the parking lot seconds before the heavy downpour hit and saw the helicopter take off. At the time, I didn't know what to make of what had happened. Later on when I found out that it was Rebecca, it added a horribleness to it all.

So I'm not yet back home or on the internet, but I have read over the responses from the thread that Brent had started up and I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone that replied. The positive feedback from the climbing community is one of the reasons that I love this sport so much.

I do not remember anything from the accident, or for a few days in the hospital after that, so I can't really comment on why I screwed up and fell. I had just returned from a trip to Devils Tower and I wonder if I was just getting cocky about my leading ability. Nathan (husband and Chossmonkey) went and checked out the climb after my accident, and he seems to believe that it was well within my ability. Its a sober reminder of how easy it is to let your guard down and get hurt.

I rather doubt I'll be doing much in the way of rock climbing again this season, and at the very least I don't think I'll be doing much (any) leading. I'm still in the hospital, but I can't wait to get home to familiar surroundings. I guess my right leg and hip are pretty messed up, but the fractures should heel pretty good and I'm lucky that I wasn't hurt any worse. And while the rest of this season will be a write off, I still have ice to look forward to in the winter and rock again next spring/summer (though I'm sure my father is disappointed at I didn't finish up with this sport entirely....I think he was muttering about joining a Scrabble league or something last time i saw him).

So again, thank you for the support from everyone. I'm glad I was able to read everybody's posts, and receive cards and stuff from people, and I'm glad I'm still here and well enough to appreciate the support from all those that I know well, and those that I hope i can someday meet. Thank-you everyone!

Nate, all due respect, your wife kicks ass. How tough do you have to be to take a nasty fall like that and be thinking about ice climbing from the hospital!