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clipngo
Jun 5, 2002, 5:20 AM
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Registered: Nov 12, 2001
Posts: 66
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I saw on the news this evening (Tuesday the 4th) that there was an injured climber helo-lifted off of (I think) El Cap. Does anyone know who it was or any other info? Elcapbuzz was supposed to be up there with one of the Hubers on the 3rd or 4th. Let me know.
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climbchick
Jun 6, 2002, 7:03 PM
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Registered: Dec 29, 2001
Posts: 808
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I got this in my email this morning:
02-209 - Yosemite NP (CA) ? Climbing Rescue
Just before dusk on June 2nd, Yosemite Valley rangers received a report of
a significant rock fall and subsequent shouts for help coming from the
Direct North Buttress route on Middle Cathedral. Using a spotting scope and
a PA system, rangers were able to determine that 33-year-old John Kurth of
Durango, Colorado had been caught in the rock fall and that he was
suffering from neck pain and a possible shoulder dislocation and fractured
elbow. Due to the loose rock in the area and the difficult position of the
climbing party at the base of a long chimney, it was decided that it would
be safest to wait until morning to begin the rescue effort. Kurth's
climbing partner held his arm in traction throughout the night as they
bivvied on a sloping ledge without overnight gear about 1700 feet above the
Valley floor. The following morning, rangers John Dill, Dave Horne, Greg
Lawler and Ed Visnovske and fire helitack personnel Dan Gleason and Shawn
Walters rappelled from the park helicopter to a spire about 300 feet above
the injured climber. Horne was then lowered to Kurth. Working in a tight
area with an abundance of loose rocks, the rescue team raised Horne and
Kurth to the top of the spire. From there, Horne and Kurth were
short-hauled under the park helicopter to El Capitan Meadow near the base
of the wall. Kurth was taken by park ambulance to the Yosemite Medical
Clinic, then flown by air ambulance to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto.
After the victim was evacuated, the remaining rescuers and Kurth's partner
were all short-hauled to the meadow. In the aftermath of the recent
climbing incidents on Mt. Rainier and Mt. Hood, media interest was
extremely high. The park's Media Relations Office conducted over 30 press
interviews, and the Sacramento ABC affiliate station's helicopter filmed
the short haul. The news footage was shown on ABC stations and on Good
Morning America as "The Picture of the Day." Kurth and his partner, Casey
Shaw, have about 37 years of climbing experience between them. According to
Shaw, Kurth's climbing helmet saved his life. [Todd Bruno, IC/PR, YOSE,
6/4]
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climbracer
Jun 6, 2002, 7:25 PM
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Registered: Apr 18, 2002
Posts: 226
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Thanks, Climbchick! I was looking for articles in the Fresno paper today.
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passthepitonspete
Jun 7, 2002, 7:54 AM
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Registered: Oct 10, 2001
Posts: 2183
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Tom and I were across the valley on El Cap when all the helicopter flying was taking place. I was talking to Chongo in the caf last night, and asked him what had happened.
"Raddest thing I ever heard, Pete," he said.
"Tons of rock flew directly over these guys, and they never even got hit."
Luck or destiny?
Go figure.
Ps 139.
Someone was apparently airlifted off of Sunkist just to the east (and rather higher above) us. Not sure what the scoop was there.
Gotta love El Cap.
Hurt?
Call 911.
Helicopter arrives.
And the weather's even nice.
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