Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board SAR on the MR: 2/25/12

Totally agree on this. I was in a serious car accident in the late 70's (didn't wear seatbelts back then.) I kept coming in and out of conscienceness; I remember being really scared and I kept asking the emergency responder if I was going to die. I just wanted him to reassure me and say I was going to be OK, but he didn't. He just said "I don't know". That was about the most frightening thing I'd ever heard! All I could think of was that it must REALLY be serious!

It may have been some kind of liability issue for rescue departments back then... but he knew I was scared. I never understood why he wouldn't/couldn't comfort me. I mean - if I lived he would have been right, and if I died, then what would it have mattered.

I will be honest in saying that I don't know how I would react in a serious emergency. I have current CPR and First Aid Cards; I would HOPE that I would be calm and focused, but I also know that I can get nervous and high strung over stressful situations.... I wish I didn't.

But I guess none of us will really know until we are in a trial-by-fire. BUT what I do know is that this thread has renewed a decision to take a wilderness First Aid Class... yesterday I started checking locations of classes being offered.

OUCH!!!!!

Speaking to the power of words: my college girfriend's sister was going thru PA training and needed a volunteer for blood drawing practice. During the procedure, she jokingly said "I just killed you." when she missed the vein. I went white as a ghost and almost passed out. I mentioned to her that she needed to work on her bedside manner after I recovered.

Rosie, I couldn't agree more. I run into trouble because my face is entirely too expressive: gotta work with my friend Bob Sumner on the poker face! A few times, when checking Len's pupils, he looked back up at me and would say, "I'm OK." I would smile, then, erasing what I know was a look of concern on my face, and I responded, "I know you are. Because I put you there."

Way to go on looking up the WFA class. I think I mentioned finding a NOLS Wilderness First Responder course coming to Bishop through Sierra Mountain Center . Looks as though they also have a "Wilderness Advanced First Aid" in April but the link is broken (goes to ice climbing, go fig?). I don't know if I'll have the time to do the full WFR this fall, due to other plans, but it will definitely figure into 2013.

In the meantime, I don't think I mentioned it here (I know I posted on the Zone about it), but I picked up Medicine for Mountaineering at Wilson's the other day. I know, some light reading...

-L

From one of my favorite books of the last few years, Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese:

"'Tell us please, what treatment in an emergency is administered by ear?'....I met his gaze and I did not blink. 'Words of comfort.'"

Brent N

So you're saying I shouldn't have called Len a wuss?

;-)

Hi I posted about Myles and I went up a short distance to find a guy...... near the area I told Myles sometimes it is messy so you don't need to go to the area. He said he knew and was OK with it.


Many times I get to these areas and the first thing and only thing is quite the noise ,get everyone calm and we can walk down or off Big Rock or where ever they are "stuck".


Recall several years ago our Tracie was near trailcrest , someone had stopped everyone before the long trench at the top switchback and was trading one pair of crampons and crawling people across . Think about the signals that sent to the waiting people???? A lady then did slide down several hundered feet.


The late night crowd say 8-9 Pm groupies we get the message in the store someone is ...... we place a call to the dispatch , grad the pack and head up .We can reach the party /person and if they are in fact hurt call back to the dispatch details.

Most often the person is down .Been resting and we can give water with gookinaide mix. Get them to eat small amounts of candy and if nothing other than just tired We grap other hikers to carry all the gear. Get them up and move down slowly , most often they will move as fast as the other hikers coming down ..

Now the HOW : we know the group has left this person .Told them how bad they look and what is going to happen, they will die if ...... and Lets leave you here and we will call a rescue!Other hikers come along in about the same shape and say I will call a rescue you look real bad you will never make it!

Some idiots come up and say we are the cooks lets build a boat? Merry Christmas!! You look great after resting, no pain eh anywhere ?drinks this stuff, have a candy bar or some chips ready to go? We can take the pack and use these sticks ...you lead .... the rest of the group will have the car at the trailhead for you when we get down , we will take some shortcuts.... we are almost down be about 10 more mintues..... where did you grow up ?? lets slow down and take a quick break ready to go ?? Drink a little more... when was the last piss stop ?? how did it look ?? Lets take this short cut, will save about 1/2 mile and no stream crossings Sound Good? Doug Jr always jokes about what are you going to talk about at the Thanksgiving family dinner .... you know your family that left you and went for help?

We have called dispatch several times with up dates and will make a final call when we get down , most often S&R from Bishop will be let go before they get out of town and Dean(S&R) coming up from Lone Pine will get the details from the party/person and reports will be made.


The next level is broken parts ,bad wheels, belts slipping engine not running right.

Most often on the Whitney Trail we may have as high as 20% of the hikers with medical backgrounds. Most will stop and help or even do the care needed, until S&R can remove the person off the mountain , again keeping the area secure from endless jabber about OMG SEE THAT LEG /ARM LOOK AT THE BLOOD EVERYWHERE !IS HE DEAD ? HOW DID IT HAPPEN? I SAW A GUY LIKE THAT ONCE HE DIED BEFORE THEY GOT HIM DOWN! If you can help ... help if not have a nice day and move on. Offer to take gear bring back supplies but GO your nights ahead maybe better if things do take a turn .


It may take 6-8 hours for help to get to the area. Many times it will require a stay overnight and a flight at first light if a flight can be found if not it will be a carry out , these take hours . Example from above Myles and I found the person around 3 PM about 1/2 mile up the trail down in a canyon. S&R was able to get him to the Portal about 1 AM. This was a very easy carryout many people came and a very short snow section , add less people more snow ...... add hours.

The last condition... it is very sad but we may have 3-5 fatal events a year. Most of fatal events are not from slips or falls but from age related or existing conditions and it seems the added stress on the body maybe the main factor.
Please repect the area if you come to a group that is taking care of a fatal event , many times family members are there ,loved ones ,life long friends . Sometimes this may take several hours waiting for the recovery to take place or the need to move the person down on a wheel carrier. Please stand off the trail and let the group by and refrain from asking any questions , If the litter is covered Please pay your respects with silence.
Thanks Doug

OMG, Doug, you're killing me.

I once again want to thank everyone who is participating in this discussion. Instead of pointing fingers and assigning blame, this has been one of the most intelligent discourses I've seen. Granted, the outcome was as good as it would ever get, but the level of experience and information, from everyone, given here is truly outstanding. I have learned so very much over the past week!

I hope this also makes regular posters and lurkers alike see the value in posting questions and scenarios. While opinions will vary widely, and some more easily swayed than others, I think this shows that we can all offer important points which can be integrated into the greater information pool.

Thanks, everyone!!

-L

I damn near spit my coffee out my nose when I read that this morning. At least I know I'm not the only Pleb experiment.

What you "did" is what EXACTLY I ment by text book example of what to do. Some people would have tried to stop the fall (if they were close enough). you knew that it was important to see where he ended up. Through your own words you showed that you accessed the surroundings before acting (therefore rendering the area safe for you and others to procede in rendering aid). That alone, showed you were aware and already accessing the process needed to render help.

T.

Great job Laura and crew ! In situations like this I always think of the What Ifs. Who knows how bad shock would have been for Len had you not had a warm bag and extra clothing,situation under control, diverting his thoughts to a better place, communication for a haul, etc etc.
Dave

Excellent report and afterthoughts. I learned a lot, and especially appreciate the honesty, sincerity, good humor and common sense from Laura, Len, Doug, Ken and others. Thanks for posting and keeping this thread going.

Hi Laura , long time no see !

Thanks for posting all the info about your trip with Len . Accidents do often happen on relatively easy ground . Always important to read about them , especially when they involve friends . There is always more to learn .
I have not been back to the Sierra since May 2009 , as I am busy with family .

Happy Climbing


Simon

No report yet, but a few pics are up on the Inyo SAR page.

I found an interesting Survival First Aid Quiz – 16 questions on various possible situations in the back country. I have to admit, I got a couple wrong (i.e. if you are bitten by a snake, I didn’t know you were supposed to keep the bite below your heart, and I got the “burning/blurry eye” one wrong) but it’s a good educational tool to start with.

http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=Survival-First-Aid-Test-1

I’m also including a link to a list of wilderness first aid classes – there aren’t nearly as many as available in Washington as I had hoped – I’m signed up on a waiting list for the class in Portland next month... it’s full right now but I’m hoping there’ll be cancellations.

http://www.nols.edu/wmi/courses/wildfirstaid.shtml

That's a good one, Rosie! My fave question:

Question 11 / 16
You are hiking in cold weather only wearing a long sleeve shirt, you thought all that hiking would keep you warm. You begin to shiver uncontrollably, your fingertips are turning a pale blue and you are finding it hard to concentrate. What do you do?

A. You decide to pick up the pace to heat up the body.

B. You stop, get a fire going and bundle up in a sleeping bag or emergency blanket. You sip hot beverages until you start to feel better.

C. You stop get a fire going and have a beer knowing that alcohol warms you up.

Hmmm...

Hi Thanks Rosie for the link.I talked with several people this past weekend that follow this thread and they said thanks to all that are adding information and found it of great value.
You know this will get me back I don't know what he said so here goes the real answer is catch the dog! for question 11( well a hint Jack London) Thanks Doug

My brother requested that a trust fund be set up for people needing help paying for EMT training in his area of Arkansas, last week the second year award went to a young lady and she will become another EMT/first responder helping others.

Laura, How about putting on a pair of pants since the question states that you are ONLY wearing a long sleeve shirt?

That's awesome, Doug!