7/24/2011 Posting

A friend of mine had a bit of mishap this last weekend while climbing Mt St Helens. Another friend of mine who was also on the trip relayed the tale of the rescue, and it follows here.

My friend was coming down the slopes of Mt St Helens and lost control while boot glissading and slammed her left leg into a rock. She was in obvious pain and other friends hiking with her knew they had a serious injury on their hands.

Fortunately there was a cell tower nearby and another hiker made a 911 call to get the rescue started. At that time, they didn't know how bad the injury was and they hoped she would be able to weight bear on the leg to move further down the mountain. The county sheriff called back on the phone to let them know that a ranger was already on the trail and that he would be there soon. They were 2 1/2 miles from the parking lot with many obstacles to overcome to get back to the car. Other climbers coming down the mountain offered to help by fabricating a splint using part of the hiking poles, tape and an ace bandage. At that time, they hoped she would be able to stand, but the angle and droop of her foot with painful movement made any movement impossible.

Soon, the ranger arrived with excellent radio service and the EMTs were right behind them. It didn't take long for them to request the Volcano Rescue Team to bring in their sled, ropes, etc to get the injured person off the slope. Hours went by while the gang waited for the team to reach their rocky perch. The temperatures were hovering in the 40s and the rain kept falling to create a classic Northwest hypothermia scenario. One climber got busy and created a shelter to keep the injured climber dry by using an emergency blanket, rope and hiking poles. Everyone had extra layers of warm, dry clothes and snacks to keep them comfortable. Soon they saw the rescue team emerge from the woods, carrying pounds of gear and working their way up the snowy slope!

Once they arrived, the team went to work staging the rescue by securing ropes that would be tied to the sled to gently lower the injured climber down to flatter terrain. They loaded her in the sled, wrapped her up and carried her over to the rope system to begin the descent. Slowly, one inch at a time, they let the rope out to get her down the first snowfield, then reconfigured a second line and lowered her down the second snowfield. The work continued with 8 strong guys carrying the sled through the snowy narrow trail for the last two miles to the parking lot. Eventually, they were able to use a wheel to attach to the bottom of the sled and move her more quickly and easily along the trail. At 7:00pm, she was in the parking lot, ready to get into the ambulance and be transported to Vancouver's Trauma Hospital. A good end to this story.

My friend who relayed this story had the following to say as a follow-up:

1. Carry your cell phone with a full battery! You never know – you might need to use it and could be lucky with cell service in the vicinity. It took 6 1/2 hours for help to reach the group and get the injured person off the mountain. If they didn't have cell service, it may have been at least two more hours...
2. Know where the closest emergency phone is - one climber noticed an emergency phone placed between the vaulted toilets at the TH. It may not always be so obvious or so close, but knowing where, and what to do, can speed up the decision-making.
3. Know where you are in the universe - GPS coordinates and our altitude was key to help them find us quickly.
4. The trend is to keep the pack weight down - please carefully evaluate what you leave at home! An emergency blanket (red is good) can be used to stay warm, dry and signal for help! Extra dry, warm clothes and snacks kept the non-injured hikers from getting hypothermic, while they waited for the rescue team to arrive.
5. Stay calm and positive to support the victim and the rescue team. It can be frightening to be in a rescue situation, but panic and anxiety will use up too much energy and will not help the group make the best decision. The ranger commented that he was relieved to hear the group laughing on the rocky perch before he arrived. He knew this would have a good outcome!

Going out in the mountains or the woods can become very serious when an injury occurs and carrying the right gear and a little good luck can make the difference between comfort, life or death. A couple of critical items and cell service made a great difference in this story: