Forum Index > Trip Reports > I Have Fallen: A Near Death Climbing Accident in the Rockies
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AR
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AR
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PostSun Dec 21, 2014 2:06 pm 
On future hikes that may involve falling rocks do you plan to take a helmet? Why did either of you not have some kind of first aid resource? Like a bandage pad dressing. Real light simple stuff can make a huge difference.

...wait...are we just going to hang here or go hiking?
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Just_Some_Hiker
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PostSun Dec 21, 2014 4:32 pm 
arohwed wrote:
On future hikes that may involve falling rocks do you plan to take a helmet? Why did either of you not have some kind of first aid resource? Like a bandage pad dressing. Real light simple stuff can make a huge difference.
You're talking to the guy who traveled to Peru with inadequate climbing gear and only $100 in his pocket to climb Alpamayo. Think about that for a moment.

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Josh Journey
a.k.a Josh Lewis



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PostSun Dec 21, 2014 7:03 pm 
Thanks everyone for the positive words. cool.gif
forest gnome wrote:
ummm no cell phone service I take it??...usually with injury's like that stabalize in place then someone runs out for the helicopter eek.gif
My partner perhaps did, but that would not change what we did. Because the accident happened a few hours before dark by the time a rescue could have been coordinated we figured they would have to wait until the next day. We did not have time to do that. A life threatening situation like this required us to get to a hospital asap.
arohwed wrote:
I've had a few border crossing issues and it was always coming back to America. I never had an issue with the Canadian side.
American's have always been nice about letting me back in. I told a border guy my story about the Canadian guards and even he thought they were insane!
arohwed wrote:
On future hikes that may involve falling rocks do you plan to take a helmet? Why did either of you not have some kind of first aid resource?
I forgot to mention that I plan on bringing a helmet on all scrambles. Had a lot to cover in my story even at the end. embarassedlaugh.gif Regarding a first aid kit, I almost always bring one. I had one on me during the accident too. My partner did as well. Due to not even knowing where I was or how I got there I let my partner make all the calls. Because of the situation he figured it was best to get me to the hospital asap.
Just_Some_Hiker wrote:
You're talking to the guy who traveled to Peru with inadequate climbing gear and only $100 in his pocket to climb Alpamayo. Think about that for a moment.
I wish I had $100 in my pocket to climb Alpamayo. I did it on $16. I make my dollars take me to the moon and back. People with money and resource will never understand why we fight so far with so little. If I had more money, I promise you I would have brought it. I threw everything I had to pull it off. I literally passed out from exhaustion at 19,300 feet. My water was frozen, partner dynamics were questionable at best, and I was battling sickness, and getting hammered with ice through frozen snow in a white out. While it was a crazy run, I knew that it was my best shot that I would get in this life. I wanted to go beyond my wildest dreams and not let my weakness get the better of me. If that's not enough for the world, I don't know what is. Some of us have to go beyond reasonable bounds to do incredible things. A normal person may never understand this. Your weak attempts at insulting poor climbers is no match for our enthusiasm for alpine adventures.

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AlpineRose
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PostSun Dec 21, 2014 8:34 pm 
Right on, Josh.

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NacMacFeegle
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PostSun Dec 21, 2014 8:46 pm 
Amazing story josh, I'm not sure which sounded worse; the accident itself or the medical proceedings that followed! If you are short on funds for that monster medical bill you might check out Indigogo Life a crowdfunding site that's meant for exactly this sort of thing. Get well soon!

Read my hiking related stories and more at http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/
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Bedivere
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PostSun Dec 21, 2014 11:09 pm 
Josh Lewis wrote:
I wish I had $100 in my pocket to climb Alpamayo.... If that's not enough for the world, I don't know what is. ...Your weak attempts at insulting poor climbers is no match for our enthusiasm for alpine adventures.
Dude, you're a nut and I applaud you. We should all have the freedom to live our lives as we see fit. While I'll never attempt something like your Alpamayo adventure, I recognize and admire the chutzpah it took to pull it off. Haters gonna hate. Don't let the bastards get you down!

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Just_Some_Hiker
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PostMon Dec 22, 2014 12:05 am 
Josh Lewis wrote:
Just_Some_Hiker wrote:
You're talking to the guy who traveled to Peru with inadequate climbing gear and only $100 in his pocket to climb Alpamayo. Think about that for a moment.
I wish I had $100 in my pocket to climb Alpamayo. I did it on $16. I make my dollars take me to the moon and back. People with money and resource will never understand why we fight so far with so little. If I had more money, I promise you I would have brought it. I threw everything I had to pull it off. I literally passed out from exhaustion at 19,300 feet. My water was frozen, partner dynamics were questionable at best, and I was battling sickness, and getting hammered with ice through frozen snow in a white out. While it was a crazy run, I knew that it was my best shot that I would get in this life. I wanted to go beyond my wildest dreams and not let my weakness get the better of me. If that's not enough for the world, I don't know what is. Some of us have to go beyond reasonable bounds to do incredible things. A normal person may never understand this. Your weak attempts at insulting poor climbers is no match for our enthusiasm for alpine adventures.
Bedivere wrote:
Haters gonna hate. Don't let the bastards get you down!
No insult or "hate" intended, Josh. You've presented your misadventures to the gallery for comment, so I'm simply doing as invited. Speaking as a fellow poor climber, I don't believe that making reasonable decisions and being of modest finacial means are mutally exclusive. Traveling to Peru with a mere $16, impropper climbing gear, inadequate training, and poor conditioning has more to do with bad decision making than your economic background. The same goes for not wearing a helmet up a choss gully. In my mind, you've had an unacceptable number of close calls for such a short climbing career. Based on your own reports, you're alive today simply because of luck and little else. If you and your admiriers find that to be a source of pride, well, so be it.

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Josh Journey
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PostMon Dec 22, 2014 1:51 am 
Just_Some_Hiker wrote:
Traveling to Peru with a mere $16, impropper climbing gear, inadequate training, and poor conditioning has more to do with bad decision making than your economic background.
I came to Peru with about $175 (got ripped off $25 due to bad exchange rate). $16 was purely for Alpamayo. A buddy of mine was ready to help me out if I ran into trouble (he helped me out in a few situations and knew I had little cash). Climbing equipment was mostly up to par. A better helmet would have been nice, but is very hard to come by considering my specs. The helmet itself was a good one, but could not fit a hat and a helmet at the same time. My crampons were glacier crampons instead of ice climbing crampons which made it more difficult but certainly did the job. As for training, I have done an extensive amount of mountaineering and have done some ice climbing before this. Indeed conditioning could have been a little better if I wasn't injured from Burgundy Spire. I did however train pretty hardy before going to Peru for 3-4 months and did a lot of acclimatization in Peru such as climbing a 17K peak and rock climb at 15K as well as other altitude trips that helped me out a lot. Being sick hurt my chances a lot. I could understand if I am frowned upon for proceeding with that part (I had already been sick for over 10 days and was hoping to recover in time). Also I should have known my partner a bit better. I knew the other two quite well, but for safety/speed we wanted another person. The people I knew well got sick. One of them was lowered down on the face by the Brits based on a deal we made with them which allowed us to proceed. Having a not very well known partner and being sick are the two flaws that I see that I could have done better with. My water freezing over actually played in my favor due to it being toxic.
Just_Some_Hiker wrote:
The same goes for not wearing a helmet up a choss gully.
The best thing I could have done was bail with the given circumstances. Bringing a helmet would have been ideal, but based on what I was told it did not seem warranted hence making it unlikely for me to bring it. The choss did not seem too bad for me, but I did not factor in enough about partner dynamics in terms of one's ability to not knock down rocks.

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Tom_Sjolseth
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PostMon Dec 22, 2014 4:41 am 
First of all, I'm glad it wasn't worse and I'm glad you're back here to tell the story. I don't want to be that guy who Monday-morning QBs your accident, but I do feel like it is my duty (as someone who doesn't want to see others die in the mountains) to offer you some unsolicited input. I guess that makes me a Monday-morning QB. I've been called worse (today). I have witnessed your progression as a climber through this website. You have come a long way in that time. My opinion (take it or leave it) is that you have a dangerous knack for pursuing objectives that are beyond your ideal comfort range. I don't think that was necessarily the case with Mt. Cory, but I definitely think it has been the case in the recent past. Your situation (lack of money, lack of truly experienced mentors, lack of experience on difficult objectives, lack of transportation, and thirst for "adventure") makes the odds of an injury and/or death high for you. When I was learning how to climb, I took it s-l-o-w and I surrounded myself with people who were safe and had the same goals as me - chiefly, pursuing objectives that were challenging yet not over my head. I think the trait that has saved my ass the most is always being honest with myself regarding my level of experience, my abilities, and what I need to work on and improve. I (along with many other climbers) have gotten lucky in the past, but luck will only get us so far. I would advise you to find every way to maximize your experience before jumping on bigger objectives, thereby maximizing your chances for success (success = not getting injured). This means working on every facet of mountaineering skills, reading books and blogs, cragging (climbing harder in a more controlled environment), and listening to others with more experience, as well as your inner voice. If it seems like it's over your head, then it probably is. Don't ignore that instinct, in my experience it is almost always a presage of bad outcomes. Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do. It's also what we think. Have integrity when you evaluate yourself and your readiness for the next climb. In this Mt. Cory situation, two people travelling in an area of high rockfall potential were separated by enough distance that the rock gained speed, became increasingly less predictable with which way it was going to bounce, and ultimately struck and almost killed you. Yes it is too bad that Gimpilator dropped a rock on you. BUT you (downslope) should know that party-inflicted rockfall is always a possibility, no matter how careful the person upslope is. For that reason, you are ultimately responsible for getting hit. As much as that probably hurts to hear (or not), it isn't meant to be an insult, it's meant to be sound advice. Managing rockfall is up to both of you, and often it's out of both of your control (i.e. spontaneous), but when we're talking party-inflicted rockfall I truly believe the downhill guy needs to take the responsibility for getting hit. Who cares who takes responsibility you ask? You should care because understanding that simple idea will make you a safer climber and prevent this from occurring in the future. It is now your responsibility to analyze, be completely honest with your analysis, and make adjustments. You lived, you survived! Make this a true learning experience. When mitigating risks in the mountains whether it be rockfall, avalanches, equipment, partners, weather, timing, or falls, we need to focus on the variables WE can control to prevent injuries/death. Everything else is out of our hands. Your partner's ability to prevent kicking rocks down on you is out of your control in this Mt. Cory situation. It is your responsibility to zig-zag through loose class 3 using clear and constant communication, know where your partner is at all times, and don't be afraid to tell your partner to STOP if they get too far ahead (and you stop yourself if you are getting too far ahead). When I travel in loose terrain, I am absolutely anal about sticking close (within ~10' depending on the situation) and also zig-zagging. Climbing steep, loose class 3 rock with other party members is probably the most dangerous situation in all of climbing (along with rappelling). I am not exaggerating. I have actually stopped climbing with people - otherwise solid and fairly experienced partners - because they couldn't understand how to travel safely in steep, class 3 terrain, didn't stay close, didn't communicate, and generally didn't listen when I communicated my own concerns. Think I'm overreacting? Fine, find another partner. It sounds like you've done some soul-searching in retrospect. I hope you can get out there soon and continue to do what you clearly enjoy doing. I'm sure someone out there in internet land will have a problem with me giving this advice or taking the time to type up this post, but be forewarned that I absolutely 100% do not care. I'm not typing all this to make friends, I'm typing it to get whoever reads it to think. Hopefully someone learns something and puts it to use next time they're out and about. Good luck in your future endeavors, Josh, and godspeed with your continued recovery.

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mehitabel
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PostMon Dec 22, 2014 9:26 am 
Quote:
Climbing steep, loose class 3 rock with other party members is probably the most dangerous situation in all of climbing (along with rappelling).
This might be true, but after having nearly been killed a while ago by a rock broken loose by a climbing partner on a not generally loose alpine class 5 climb (which cut the rope, and left me injured and unprotected hanging on a cliff after miraculously avoiding falling hundreds of feet), and reading Steph Abegg's account of her accident on Vesper, I'm not so sure that alpine class 5 climbing isn't similarly dangerous. One issue might be that the risks of class 3 may not be always in the front of your mind, especially when hurrying to get down before dark, tired after a long day etc. I assume the OP posted this so that we all might learn, and hope he appreciates having his mistakes dissected after his traumatic experience.

toujours gai toujours gai
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TK
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PostMon Dec 22, 2014 11:06 am 
Amazing story Josh, glad you are better. Honestly I am a bit disturbed by the possible "murder" at your first campsite. Do you really think someone got killed? Or was this just a situation where two jerks decided to mess with you guys and shoot some guns. If it really was a murder, I would have imagined that these fellows would have come after whoever was in the area. Plus how come you are not able to give out your location due to "political" reasons? Just curious.

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Tom_Sjolseth
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PostMon Dec 22, 2014 12:22 pm 
mehitabel wrote:
I assume the OP posted this so that we all might learn, and hope he appreciates having his mistakes dissected after his traumatic experience.
We're always learning in life. I hope one would learn beyond the initial account posted by Josh, because we obviously all have different experience levels and we might be able to learn from each other. It's brave of Josh to write this narrative up.

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Roly Poly
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PostMon Dec 22, 2014 1:11 pm 
I am curious about the "murder" too. What do you mean by "political" reasons? Wouldn't a murder be reported in the news? On a different note, it is pretty amazing to do an international climbing trip with only $100 in your pocket.

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PostMon Dec 22, 2014 6:24 pm 
I'm in agreement with Tom S; live and learn. The tricky part is to bend the learning curve upward enough to keep you both alive and sufficiently healthy to keep chasing your dreams. That second part's a big problem if you become a walking medical museum.

Karl J Kaiyala
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cartman
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PostTue Dec 23, 2014 10:56 am 
Tom_Sjolseth wrote:
when we're talking party-inflicted rockfall I truly believe the downhill guy needs to take the responsibility for getting hit.
How so? When climbing uphill, if the person in front has not managed the pace so that the follower is close, the leader is at fault. When more than one person is moving in rockfall terrain, they must move as a team. That means moving at the pace of the slowest climber. Both are responsible for effective communication, but the lead climber must have the awareness to manage the follower's exposure to party-induced rockfall. However, I completely agree with your statement above when moving downhill, for reasons stated in my earlier post. Josh, Tom is right when he says you should take it more slowly when pursuing your goals. The mountains have plenty of objective dangers we cannot control; a wise climber aims to reduce subjective dangers to a minimum and manage objective danger as safely as possible. Case in point: just two weekends ago, a rock the size of a basketball came flying at head level out of a gully we were traversing under, missing me by about three feet. Totally spontaneous rockfall. I've never had a close call like that in fifteen years of climbing. An objective hazard we had no real power to manage. But: how many of us three were wearing helmets? Just me, and I didn't put it on until coming down. Not smart, especially since we had brought a rope and gear for the peak (Independence), which should automatically mean everyone should bring a helmet. This is, of course, a way we could have partially managed our risk to objective danger.
Josh Lewis wrote:
While it was a crazy run, I knew that it was my best shot that I would get in this life.
Why would you think that? You're 20 yrs old. You have no idea what opportunities may present themselves down the road. But if you keep letting ambition override wisdom, your road may end far worse than your last epic.

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