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楼主: PanShiBo

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 楼主| 发表于 2018-2-16 09:29:42 | 显示全部楼层
2018.02.12 Spindle Peak via Spindle Couloir (contd.)

What Vera did right after falling ~200m vertical is entirely beyond my comprehension - she managed to secure herself with two axes still clipped to her harness (or she most likely would slide down another 100m), took her helmet off and replaced it with warm thick woolen hat. She took her pack off and insulated the snow. There was also fleece jacket as extra layer. Then she went into a half-coma and was in this state for the rest 17 hours until the rescue helicopter airlift (9:50 am next morning).

PHOTO: This photo is NOT tilted - that's the actual slope angle. You can see trail of blood right above the axes. The SPOT without which we certainly would face different reality.
发表于 2018-2-16 11:41:37 | 显示全部楼层
给受伤后Vera的沉着冷静一个大大的赞,祝愿她早日康复
发表于 2018-2-16 13:19:46 | 显示全部楼层
难以想像 受伤后还如此冷静 。祝Vera 早日恢复 追逐梦想。
 楼主| 发表于 2018-2-16 21:48:04 | 显示全部楼层
2018.02.12 Spindle Peak via Spindle Couloir (contd.)

新年快乐! 8)









发表于 2018-2-16 21:54:01 | 显示全部楼层
贝贝已经是大小伙子了 :lol:
 楼主| 发表于 2018-2-17 08:19:56 | 显示全部楼层
2018.02.12 Spindle Peak via Spindle Couloir (contd.)

Something to learn, hard way.

Here is a question: if you had to choose only one emergency communication device among these two what would be your choice?

1) Iridium Satellite phone
2) SPOT

My personal choice with 100% confidence would be SPOT. Why? Because it worked and Iridium didn't - in that narrow mountain gully the reception is very poor, even if you can see the sky. Other BIG issue is that you can't dial 911 from satellite phone! So you have to call someone to dial it for you, hoping the people will pick up the call - we had Iridium phone and used it to backup/confirm SPOT activation.  After many failed frustrating attempts ("no network found") managed to dial 5 numbers of Vera's friends and all of them hung up on me (and all other attempts to contact them again were ignored - I managed to leave a voice message on some number and even send SMS! with zero reaction) - the phone number that pops up on their phones is looking rather weird, so in this age of scams and telemarketing people are naturally very  skeptical. The request to dial 911 for you is weird too - if someone has a phone calling me why he can't dial 911 himself? It took me 2 hours to reach out someone and beg her to dial 911 (Vera's work office). Even then, every time I had to do some unprotected night-time acrobatics downclimbing to get the reception, which could only last for 10-15 seconds on average.

Ironically, five years ago, in the accident in the Crown area in which I was involved (and NSR long line rescue followed), the Delorme Inreach (Iridium network) also failed to work - it took five(!) hours for the SOS message to reach NSR (when  the victim was already in VGH - we used regular phone to dial 911 - in that area, luckily the regular cell phone had signal).

PHOTO: Happy on the summit of Spindle Peak, getting ready for multipitch alpine rappel. Vera carries SPOT Gen3 that saved her life.
 楼主| 发表于 2018-2-17 09:42:07 | 显示全部楼层
REQUEST

If someone is available today and willing to deliver Vera's walking aid to the VGH from nearby area, please let us know. Call/text Vera for details (I will have  no internet). THANK YOU!
发表于 2018-2-17 13:21:04 | 显示全部楼层
帅气阳光的男孩 :favor: Vera 好福气.
发表于 2018-2-17 17:41:43 | 显示全部楼层
PanShiBo
REQUEST

If someone is available today and willing to deliver Vera's walking aid to the VGH from nearby area, please let us know. Call/text Vera for details (I will have  no internet). THANK YOU!


Just saw it, have you found someone to help? If not, I can help.
 楼主| 发表于 2018-2-17 21:12:13 | 显示全部楼层
lulululu
..Just saw it, have you found someone to help? If not, I can help.


Done, thank you everybody who responded and offered help! 8)
 楼主| 发表于 2018-2-17 21:37:58 | 显示全部楼层
2018.02.12 Spindle Peak via Spindle Couloir (contd.)

Many people ask how Vera stopped her fall. We don't know how -  Vera doesn't remember and I was 200m above her and couldn't see it. When I was downclimbing to her, I found her lost gloves. So she ended up bare-handed and with huge laceration on her middle finger, palm side, which looks like from an ice axe - so it is reasonable to assume it was a bare-hands self-arrest inflicted wound. The laceration was so deep that she could see the bone.



At VHG a plastic surgeon stitched it back.


I have to add, that wouldn't she stop where she stopped, she probably would end in yet another bare-ice steep chute straight down to the bottom. You can see the chute at the back. Also, in the photo, the SOL emergency bivy is cut because I had to open it to place toe warmers inside her boots to avoid frostbite. After that I resealed it back with tape.
发表于 2018-2-17 23:48:41 | 显示全部楼层
God bless her!
 楼主| 发表于 2018-2-18 08:30:19 | 显示全部楼层
2018.02.12 Spindle Peak via Spindle Couloir (contd.)

"How cold was it through the night?"

We spent 17 hours on the snow, mostly in the dark. I had digital thermometer which read -6°C - both snow surface and air. There was slight breeze with drifting snow now and then. Obviously, Vera was in a lot worse position than I - I could warm myself by moving around, she couldn't and didn't seem to care. Through the night she would occasionally plead me not to "waste" our second SOL emergency bivy on her as she was worried "你会冷", this pleading was done when she was actually sleeping. I was watching for the first (and scary) sign of hypothermia - uncontrolled body shaking. At the same time I had to keep turning her body from one side to back and to another, but she was in pain and preferred lying on her right side.  Massage every 15-20 minutes to keep blood circulation (”你要休息,那么辛苦“). I used tape to stick hand warmers to her hands and also put our foam pad  and ropes under her body to insulate from the snow. Then I moved her to another flatter platform which I cut nearby. She weakly complained about something in a flat voice. I thought it was her fractured ankle. Only after I finished securing her body to the ice axe I saw what I did - there was a sharp icicle, 20 cm tall, in between the old location and new platform, I actually dragged her over that thing. With horror I realized in how bad state she was - as she didn't react to that painful transfer so much (a sign of coma or semi-coma). New location was better as I also could place her now empty backpack under her body and my large pack next to her side. We had Tylenol tablets which I gave her to relieve pain, 4 tablets total. She refused to drink our already cold   water, but obeyed to take the pills. Now I was slowly getting cold too and exercises didn't seem to warm me up. I knew that I must keep her awake or the brain might simply give up controlling basic cardio function. So I talked to her through the entire night. I would say "Don't worry, the help is only a few hours away and then it will be over, you will have hot drinks, plenty of them, and be very, very warm and cozy. Just don't die before that, fight, don't sleep. You will make it." She didn't seem to react much and it was not actually expected. Instead she would speak in a very slow and blurry voice something incoherent, yet seeming to make sense, much like drunken people try to do. Somewhere where she was now, far away from this Spindle couloir where her body was lying motionless on the snow and below our 220th peak that we have climbed together, she seemed to have encountered something "on sale" - and was eager to report to me about that - I was pretty sure it was as always something special (only she can do that - with taste and elegance) - would it be a new type of carabiner for us, better tea kettle for our expedition or a new down jacket for me.

"??..on sale...??"
发表于 2018-2-18 16:29:58 | 显示全部楼层
谢谢博士记下这么详细的事故经历,看得惊心动魄. 如果不是 Vera  和博士的冷静处理,临危不乱,和丰富的经验,全面的装备,结局可能完全不一样。
发表于 2018-2-19 04:14:14 | 显示全部楼层
惊心动魄的经历,佩服Vera的意志和博士的冷静!祝Vera早日康复,大难不死必有后福!
贝贝真的是长大了,想念你们!
 楼主| 发表于 2018-2-19 07:44:57 | 显示全部楼层
2018.02.12 Spindle Peak via Spindle Couloir (contd.)

When "The S.O.S." Button was pressed?

We carried SPOT and Satellite phone - Vera had SPOT and I had the phone. We also carried our two-way radios. I had regular cell phone as well. After she slipped, I saw her tumbling down, head down, head up, sideways, bumping up and hitting the surface, ice-axe in the air. For that kind of technical icy steep slope, which we front-pointed all the way up, with two axes, it is impossible to self-arrest.  All you can do is to hope that your ice-axe won't pierce through your stomach in the fall. The fall lasted only 2-3 seconds. She didn't scream or yell. Suddenly it was quiet. I couldn't see her. I paged her on the radio "你在吗"? There was silence, but I could hear the beep of her radio down below. I could hear its weak but sharp echo from the north walls of Widow Maker.  I finished the last rappel and started downclimbing. I paged again and again "你在吗"? Silence again, except the same remote beep of her radio. Then I saw the blood on the snow. It was a single small red frozen piece of Slurpee. I picked it up, looked close at it and wanted to keep it, which was silly, of course. A sinister voice inside me whispered "See that? You might not need to hurry anymore".  I kept paging Vera, but noticed that I couldn't hear the beep of her radio anymore. "你在吗? 你在吗!?"

Further down I found her broken sunglasses (which I picked up), a pair of gloves teared off her hands. I put the gloves in the inner pocket of my down jacket but they kept falling out. Some other voice inside me yelled "Stupid! You are wasting your time! Hurry!". Then I saw her,  on her knees, hands waving. She yelled "Call 911!", I yelled back, "Press SPOT SOS button!". She slowly lay down, facing the snow, as if preparing to sleep. I hoped, like five years ago on Crown, there will be cell phone signal, and tried to dial 911 from my cellphone, but it didn't work. I tried to use sat phone, but the electronic voice on the other end would say "You can't dial 911". I felt I indeed was wasting time, BIG way. I resumed down, quick, it was still some distance to do. Then I saw her SPOT sitting on the snow, also teared off her pack in the fall. I picked it up. That's when I pressed the SOS button. Now, for the SPOT to send emergency message, it takes some time to get working, the log below shows the very first SOS received by the GEOS International Emergency Response Center. It was 17:55.



Vera's radio was lost in the fall too, so I was paging the device which she couldn't reply. The only thing she didn't lose was her camera, but in the fall it cracked open and the SD card with our group photos on the summit was gone (you have to press it hard to let it out, so it took some impact to do so). By the way, all devices were girth-hitched to the backpack straps  with lanyards, so "lost" basically means "torn-out".
 楼主| 发表于 2018-2-19 22:14:32 | 显示全部楼层
2018.02.12 Spindle Peak via Spindle Couloir (contd.)

Q: How far did Vera fell?
A: The elevation drop was 213 m.

It is easy to figure out - we rappelled four times on two 30m connected ropes (7mm static and 8mm twin), each rap approx. 25m, which gives the elevation of the last rappel station : 1,498 (summit) - 4x25 - 10m (drop to the first rap station) = 1,388 m  - that's where she fell off (N49.41162 W123.09227)

My GPS shows that I found Vera (and where we spent the night) at N49.41191 W123.08893 , elevation 1,175m

So Vera fell 1,388-1,175 = 213  vertical meters.

PHOTO: THE HELMET


 楼主| 发表于 2018-2-20 07:22:59 | 显示全部楼层
2018.02.12 Spindle Peak via Spindle Couloir (contd.)

Cause of the accident: Slip on steep snow, failure to follow rappel reset protocol. Lack of core training.

Ironically, it was training (for our Denali 2018 expedition) when the lack of core training caused the accident. We trained climbing Steep Snow just previous day and it certainly helped us confidently simulclimb and overcome the steep crux/moat just below the exit. However, the failure to follow basic core protocol during rappel reset - securing to the rappel station and not securing well enough with two ice axes was the BIG mistake. The accident was entirely preventable.

Prevention: 台上一分钟, 台下十年功
Alpine 101 - Alpine Rappel


PHOTO: 2018.02.11 Climbing / downclimbing steep snow, fixed ropes. Training on Mt. Seymour


The moats like this can be hard if not impossible to pass, for many reasons: soft thin warm snow, wet rock, unstable footing and ice-axe purchase. Downlcimbing this thing is even harder. Almost exact copy of this we had on Spindle, just below the exit. The exposure: 600m vertical.
 楼主| 发表于 2018-2-20 21:15:02 | 显示全部楼层
2018.02.12 Spindle Peak via Spindle Couloir (contd.)

Q: How is Vera doing?
A: As of today (2018 Feb-20) Vera is still in VGH Trauma Unit(her 8th day).  Her injuries: dislocation fracture of the left ankle,  lacerated finger  and suspected hematoma on the left heap. She has had two surgeries and is expected to fully recover.

She wants to thank all the friends who texted, emailed,  made phone calls,  visited her at VGH,  brought yummy food, sent flowers and wish-you-well cards, provided help with deliveries and made donations. Your generous support is greatly appreciated!

This list is in random order:

YUAN CHUN SONG
美丽温村(Vicky)
Jennifer Hong
立春
JOHN L CHAN
匿名
Gilbert
Megan
Christine Chen
Jonathan
麓山
丽人行
Tracy & Sean
Explorer and Janet
HONG HONG
XU DONG WU
马赛克
Doreen
Jane Li
LI LIU
刘民
水玉枫华
今日黄叶-Yvette
Flora Fei
laowei
ShuMaDingDing
Dawn
Rose
Jennie (HPCC)
Philip彪哥& celia
傅松
CHUAN BAO WU
Bala (BCMC)
Kitty
末班车
LISA JIANG
lulu & Gordon
五月 and Gary
老马失图
Coyote
Dada
LisaQ
Irene & Chandler
追云逐雪
老邹
Ingrid Yang
Leeza Han
闪亮的日子
Wayne (ACC)
Jonathan
Book
RICK ENG
Carol Jin
Shuoying
大卫
Nena (HPCC)
雪莙 Jane
CHENGYA ZHANG
平中医
匿名
Windy
Mebrat (HPCC)
Yong
Youliana T (ACC)
YUBIN GUO
yin G & David Huang
ZHI-HUA YU
Vanfossil
LilyQ
Gentle
Mike Mechanic
王伟胜
英子
Anna I (HPCC)
Flora Yan - poker(大师姐)
Emily-Zhang Yong Mei
Igor K
蔡田
Nellie
BIN LUO
边走边唱Lixq
FANG YUAN ZENG
Fanny Fan
Jesse
Winne Su (HPCC)
lacelee2010
Grace Guan
PoCo
康妮-Connie
Gloria Lam
Angela 雪飞扬
Grace Hu (HPCC)
tanisan
Cindy 健康喝
棉花糖
YIJUN LOU
min(朱依敏) CHINA
WENJUN LAO (爬手)
飞man
YangYan + Daniel
Eric (Choco)
夏天
FengXiaKe
Carol + Edna + Mary Beth (HPCC)
Steve Chen
青青楠竹
Grace Zhou
Maggie (VGH)
LI HANG
山雨
junmei
Swimmer
WEI WI CHEN
杏儿
Grace (HPCC)
Jaz (HPCC)
Susan A (HPCC)
匿名
Diana D (ACC)
Anonymous
Flora
NW
kaizi1986
Sandra (HPCC)
starlight
Susan Zeng
武传宝
Millie
00
知了
翱翔
Jennifer (jen)
小毕
TianLanLan
Emma-麦芒
海泉湾











 楼主| 发表于 2018-2-21 11:59:41 | 显示全部楼层
2018.02.12 Spindle Peak via Spindle Couloir (contd.)

Finally, arriving home! It's been a long way from that Spindle Couloir.

欢迎回来家!
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