The most useful equipment in your first aid kit? A cell phone. A 45-year-old Canadian man managed to scramble onto a ledge after getting off trail and then realizing he could no longer go up or down. He was in shorts and a T-shirt, but the ridge must not have been too small since he was able to build a fire. After getting cozy he rang up the Mounties who were nice enough to come in and save him and his two dogs.
The Colorado Mountain Club is planning on hosting a conference on lessons learned from backcountry trips gone horribly awry. I imagine there will be a lot of sitting in darkened rooms listening to speakers while watching slideshows, so be sure to pack a flask. If you want to go and tell everyone about the time your friend followed his GPS into the middle of the desert and then you left your tent poles in the truck of your car, I’m sure they can accommodate you. You can register at the Colorado Mountain Club.
With this season’s epic snowfall come more inexperienced skiers venturing into the backcountry, and their getting lost and calling 911 from their cell phones is taxing small town police budgets.
“It’s really taken a toll on my guys, my budget and my equipment,” he said. “We ended up tearing a track on one of our ATVs.”
Not an ATV! Of course this police officers is right when he says, “Unless you’re prepared for back country skiing or boarding you’ve got no business out there,” but still, a double standard exists. You wouldn’t have this cop sending off press releases about how annoyed he is to spend budget money responding to domestic abuse calls. When people need to be rescued, they need to be rescued. Why not send a press release telling people to avoid abusive relationships?
Budget cuts have meant that Devil’s Tower National Monument in Wyoming can’t afford to keep climbing rangers on year round. Of course, inexperienced climbers don’t stop showing up on the last day of the season. So what happens when a few kids on their winter break from college get stuck? They call in the locals…anyone who’s qualified and willing to help. Recently a crew of three spent from 10pm to 5am helping a few climbers down from about 120 feet below the summit.
When everyone was safe and beginning to warm up, Engle, Schrall and Noback spent a few minutes explaining to the inexperienced climbers where they went wrong and how they could climb safely in the future.
That’s probably not a lecture the 3 stranded climbers wanted, but at that point you just have to sit still for a few more minutes and take it.
A rock climber in the Canadian Rockies caught some bad luck. A rock dropped onto his helmet cracking it in half and sending him tumbling off the sharp end of the rope. He popped a piece of pro and broke his ankle, some ribs, and dislocated his shoulder. Fortunately, he also had the cell phone number for the local rescue crew who were able to pluck him from a ledge. This is the video they shot using a GoPro.
