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knieveltech
Nov 3, 2008, 6:37 PM
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Posted Sunday:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/...ng/story/296289.html
In reply to: TABLE ROCK MOUNTAIN, N.C.—Rescue crews are working hard to rescue an injured person who has fallen on Table Rock Mountain. The person fell about 70 feet around 3:30pm Sunday in an area of the mountain called The Amphitheater. Burke County EMS says this area is very popular for rock climbing. EMS crews say its still going to be several hours before the individual is rescued. There are EMS crews on the ground with the victim but that person needs to be airlifted from the area.
Hoping for the best here. Anyone have additional information?
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LineoFire
Nov 3, 2008, 6:55 PM
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was up there as part of the rescue last night. the victim fell roughly 35 feet and tumbled against the face on the way down. suffered lacerations to the head, seperated shoulder and prolly a broken collar bone. paramedic got to him around 630pm and found the paitient to be conscious and responsive but was unable to clear c-spine. victim was raised in a stokes basket sometime around 4am then airlifted out via blackhawk around 445am. keep this gent in your thoughts and climb safe.
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knieveltech
Nov 3, 2008, 7:01 PM
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LineoFire wrote: was up there as part of the rescue last night. the victim fell roughly 35 feet and tumbled against the face on the way down. suffered lacerations to the head, seperated shoulder and prolly a broken collar bone. paramedic got to him around 630pm and found the paitient to be conscious and responsive but was unable to clear c-spine. victim was raised in a stokes basket sometime around 4am then airlifted out via blackhawk around 445am. keep this gent in your thoughts and climb safe.
Thanks for posting up. I'm glad it wasn't a climber and am definitely pulling for this guy. Out of curiosity where exactly did he fall from?
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LineoFire
Nov 3, 2008, 7:45 PM
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he fell from the pitch 3 of the daddy. and the victim is a climber just to put that out there. |
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knieveltech
Nov 3, 2008, 7:48 PM
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LineoFire wrote: he fell from the pitch 3 of the daddy. and the victim is a climber just to put that out there.
Damn. The 2nd charlotte.com article made it sound like a hiker fell. Hopefully this guy recovers and either he or his climbing partner posts up details of the accident.
(This post was edited by knieveltech on Nov 3, 2008, 8:27 PM)
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rsmillbern
Nov 3, 2008, 8:23 PM
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Do you mean the 3rd (super short pitch), or the one after (3rd on the 5.8 variation - 4th if you go way right at the big ledge).
Just curious, I have a hard time imagining someone falling from P3 (the short pitch).
the next one I can see though as there is a bit of loose rock and is a little spaced on gear...
Hope he is doing well! Thanks to the rescue guys!
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Tipton
Nov 3, 2008, 10:20 PM
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I was there climbing this weekend and there were definitely a decent number of people who had less than ideal amounts of experience. I left Sunday morning, but from what I saw on Saturday of two different parties in the Amphitheater area, I wouldn't be shocked if it were one of them.
One party was moving slow trying to get five people up The Daddy on one rope from what I saw. (they didn't make it out until well after dark) Another party of two was going very slowly up The Daddy, then bailed, and started on The Prow at an equally slow rate. That's the catch to these remote climbs, you need to be fully prepared and extra cautious. Evac at 4 am must suck total balls.
Hopefully this fellow will heal up okay.
Edited: Clarity
(This post was edited by Tipton on Nov 4, 2008, 3:54 AM)
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lymankiserjr
Nov 4, 2008, 2:53 AM
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Man I sure hope that guy turns out to be ok. I was at the Amphitheater Sat and Sun. Tipton your timeline is off. You are talking about Saturday. (The group of 5 on the Daddy topped out about 8pm and hiked off on Sat.) The accident happened on Sunday. And here i diverge from the accident to rant about etiquette. I was with the party that was slow on the daddy, bailed, and was equally slow on the prow Saturday. You were not one of the parties that were up our A** were you? Whoever it was, look either pick another route or be good enough to go around a slow party. We got to the Mummy and a party was on the first pitch, so out of politeness i went to the Daddy. We got pushed so hard from a group of 5 that came up on us but could not pass us- and who could have gone to the Mummy and climbed unemcumbered- that yeah we bailed off the Daddy. Comically while i was bailing, ANOTHER group climbed up past me while i was rappelling. (THERE WERE THREE SEPARATE GROUPS' ROPES STRUNG TO THE FIRST BELAY OF THE DADDY AT THE SAME TIME). We went to the Prow and yes we moved slow. I am rusty as usual and the guy i was with it was his second time . So we went to the Prow to avoid the crowds. Wrong. We get swarmed on by a group of 5 or 6 who were climbing in tandem. Obviously an easy meaningless tick for these guys. One of them literally hit my friends heels a couple of times he was that much up his A** (can you cuss on this group?) Both of these pushing groups said the same thing, take your time, don't mind us, enjoy your experience. And i think they are probably nice people who enjoy a lot of the same parts of climbing that i do. But they made some bad choices as far as routes and group size and timing based on the routes available and people there, and really just impacted us in a very negative way because they focused on what they wanted to accomplish and didn't think about other people. Look if you can pass me in a reasonable amount of time please do. And I could come up with a lot of do and don't's for etiquette, but really it just comes down to everybody managing their expectations of what they are going to accomplish out on the rock any given day, realizing how you may impact others, and working to make climbing enjoyable. I have climbed a lot of places over the last ten years, and have really never seen anything quite like this. I hope I can go another ten without seeing it again. Lyman
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lymankiserjr
Nov 4, 2008, 2:58 AM
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sorry about this rant in the I&A section. I am trying to figure out how to get the rant part moved to the general forum.
Lyman
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knieveltech
Nov 4, 2008, 3:25 AM
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Tipton wrote: I was there climbing this weekend and there were definitely a decent number of people who had less than ideal amounts of experience. I left Sunday morning, but from what I saw of two different parties in the Amphitheater area, I wouldn't be shocked if it were one of them. One party was moving slow trying to get five people up The Daddy on one rope from what I saw. (they didn't make it out until well after dark) Another party of two was going very slowly up The Daddy, then bailed, and started on The Prow at an equally slow rate. That's the catch to these remote climbs, you need to be fully prepared and extra cautious. Evac at 4 am must suck total balls. Hopefully this fellow will heal up okay.
Five(!!?!?!??!!!thefuck?) people in one clump with one rope on the Daddy? For. Fuck's. Sake.
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Tipton
Nov 4, 2008, 3:59 AM
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If you really want to bust out the math, it looks like there was one party of five, and two parties of two. The grand total looks like 9 people on three ropes, and one belay. I was with the party that passed on rappel. We had the go ahead to pass the party of five, but I was unaware of the circumstances regarding the bailing party until I was midway up the pitch and they were passing on the way down. The root of the problem was mis-communication from party to party.
Lesson learned,
Tipton
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saxfiend
Nov 4, 2008, 4:02 AM
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rsmillbern wrote: Just curious, I have a hard time imagining someone falling from P3 (the short pitch).
Good luck to the injured climber.
JL
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deltav
Nov 4, 2008, 4:05 AM
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The third pitch is more than 35 feet up, isn't it?
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LineoFire
Nov 4, 2008, 4:22 AM
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in response to the question about fall location...the victim fell above aforementioned ledge and was lowered to said ledge for assessment and care. my appologies for any confusion.
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majid_sabet
Nov 4, 2008, 5:02 AM
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MORGANTON - Emergency crews made Sunday what they called a dangerous rescue of a climber in the Pisgah National Forest.
Justin Almers, 28, from Mebane fell while climbing the "Big Daddy Climb" near the North Carolina Wall, an area popular with expert level rock climbers. He remains in a Charlotte hospital in serious condition.
Maj. Ken Anthony with Burke County Emergency Services said the operations center received a 911 call at 3:29 p.m. Sunday informing them of the fall.
Almers and a friend, Chris Beaton, of Cary, were climbing when the accident occurred.
The caller reported Almers fell between 100 and 200 feet and remained suspended by rope approximately 200 feet from the bottom of the rock.
Emergency responders gained access from the Table Rock parking area, but it took four hours for advanced life support personnel to reach Almers.
He received life-threatening injuries and Anthony said rescuers made a decision to allow minimal personnel to the rock area due to visibility, height and dangerous rock cliffs.
Rescue technicians extricated Almers approximately 200 feet to a safe, workable area. A helicopter was called in to complete the rescue.
The NC Helo-Aquatic Technician Team was activated with members of the Burke County EMS Special Operations Team and a Ull-60 Helicopter from North Carolina National Guard, which was supported by NC Emergency Management utilized for the rescue mission.
Responders transported Almers to the Foothills Regional Airport, formerly known as the Morganton-Lenoir Airport, where he was flown to Carolinas Medical Center.
Anthony said multiple safety factors made this a serious, life-threatening mission.
Personnel allowed in the high-level work area were highly trained and experienced with the equipment.
Anthony said, "This rescue mission was one of the most advanced and demanding technical missions ever completed in this area simply due to the high level of hazards, large amount of equipment needed and the mechanism of injury the victim had experienced."
More than 100 personnel from the following agencies were involved: Burke County Emergency Services, Burke County EMS Special Operations Team, Burke County Rescue, Eastern Burke County Rescue, Oak Hill Fire and Rescue, Jonas Ridge Fire and First Responders, US Forest Service, NC Outward Bound School, NC Helo-Aquatic Rescue Technicians (NCHART), North Carolina National Guard, NC Emergency Management, NC Forest Service BRIDGE Program, Linville Central Rescue Squad, McDowell County Rescue Squad, Drexel Fire Department, Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte and Burke County REACT.
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rsmillbern
Nov 4, 2008, 1:15 PM
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LineoFire wrote: in response to the question about fall location...the victim fell above aforementioned ledge and was lowered to said ledge for assessment and care. my appologies for any confusion.
Thanks, this is one of my favorite climbs to take beginners on, I appreciate the clarification. Saxfiend, you are right, the 5.8 variation fits the description upon re-reading.
Lyman,
Good to see you are still around someplace. Come have a beer sometime, much has changed...
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rsmillbern
Nov 4, 2008, 1:16 PM
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deltav wrote: The third pitch is more than 35 feet up, isn't it?
The third pitch, as many parties do it, only gains about 35ish feet and is needed to reduce rope drag if you don't do the 5.8 variation.
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socalclimber
Nov 4, 2008, 1:34 PM
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It seems to me that the issue of all these parties log jamming a route have far more to do with safety than being polite.
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deltav
Nov 4, 2008, 11:40 PM
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100-200ft fall?? Does any knowledgeable person know what really happened? Stupid newspapers...
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ncclimber
Nov 5, 2008, 12:45 AM
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I topped out The daddy before the climber that fell. Talked with him while he climbed behind me. He was climbing with only passive pro, mainly nuts. I topped out the route he was on P3. I was at the bottom of the Mummy. When we heard the fall,long and scary. Someone yelled assistance on the Daddy, so me and my partner climbed the gully behind the buttress. We were the first on scene at the top of the route, Fixed a line to descend to the climber. Another climber who was an EMT arrived and he rapped down first to the victim.
I released the lead rope to use it as an extra line on the face. The climber had left the P3 ledge climbing straight up skipped P4 belay and climbed into the corner near the top. His top piece of gear was 4 feet above the dead tree on p5, so he was around 20-25 feet from the top when he fell. Best guess 30 foot fall on his head with no helmet. The high piece of gear held but all but one of the lower pieces zipped tumbled him another 40 feet. Unconscious for a couple of minutes after the fall. His second had to untie and climb up several feet to lower the leader to the p3 ledge.
The fall happened around 2:45 (Best guess with out a watch), paramedic to the climber by 5:30, Climber in litter and on the top (190 foot haul) 4:00, In blackhawk 4:00. A very long night for all, my partner was on the top above the climber shuttling, gear, ropes and communication for 13 hours.
As hard as the rescue was climbers stepped up and had an EMT to the climber within 30min. of the fall. we also had ropes set so the paramedic was lowered by climbers. The rescue teams where also escorted in by climbers. Special thanks to all and Outward Bound for the fixed lines arouhd the rim to make the rescuers safe.
I was proud of all the rescue personell. These guys risked their lives with out questioning, or understanding why we climb. As a climber I can't describe how I felt watching these guys saving one of our own. I cant thank these guys enough.
I hope this helps people to understand the accident.
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deltav
Nov 5, 2008, 2:09 AM
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Thanks for the detailed report. Wow, that sucks. I agree, thanks to all who stepped in to help, putting their own safety at risk. My thoughts go out to the climber, his family and his partner. Just out of curiosity, how much experience did the climber have?
(This post was edited by deltav on Nov 5, 2008, 2:11 AM)
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mazzystr
Nov 6, 2008, 4:56 PM
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In reply to: Five(!!?!?!??!!!thefuck?) people in one clump with one rope on the Daddy? For.
I don't feel that a party of five on a 5.4 moderate is out of the question.
I have taken at least 4 people (on one rope) up Bedtime for Bonzo in RRG at 7am, high noon, 3pm and THREE AM while you were in your tent sucking your thumb. I have seen parties of at least TWENTY climbing on Bedtime, no joke! You should see Nutcracker in Yosemite, that climb is a ridiculous superhighway, ppl do the most assinine things but its still fun as hell and every time its some story or another!
...and thats just the way the cookie crumbles! sometimes you win. sometimes you don't.
Personally, I do my best to keep my teams (especially my large teams) moving and placed out of the way so passing is possible but if someone is nipping at my feet...theyre going to kicked in the tooth.
/Chris C
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m_daughtridge
Nov 6, 2008, 8:54 PM
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It sounds like wearing a Helmet would have been very worthwhile in this scenario. I hope if nothing else it will encourage more folks to wear helmets more often.
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