Forum Index > Trail Talk > Jacob's 2nd helicopter rescue - 5/4/14 ((Updated))
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Gimpilator
infinity/21M



Joined: 12 Oct 2006
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Gimpilator
infinity/21M
PostSun May 04, 2014 2:52 pm 
Sad news about my buddy Jacob. frown.gif Just 3 months after his first helicopter rescue, it's happened again. Last week Matt Lemke invited me on a trip, but I couldn't go. Later I spoke to Jacob and it sounded like the two of them decided to go to Leavenworth. I'm super bummed to hear this terrible news. I have not spoken to Jacob yet, but I imagine moral is low. This has been a bad year for injuries and deaths. I'm hoping you have a speedy recovery Jacob! I'm very sorry this happened. Crews rescue injured climber near Leavenworth

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zephyr
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zephyr
aka friendly hiker
PostSun May 04, 2014 3:33 pm 
I am sorry to hear this news about your buddy, Gimpilator. I am glad it wasn't more serious, but I imagine he is feeling pretty low since he was on the mend. I wish him the best of luck with his recovery. ~z

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Gimpilator
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Gimpilator
infinity/21M
PostSun May 04, 2014 3:36 pm 
I just talked to Jacob. He's home now and apparently the accident happened yesterday. Matt Lemke went down to get help and found some group of people camping. The doctors at the hospital were surprised to find that nothing was broken, but his ankle was dislocated. Jacob sounds positive and he is hoping to recover in 6 to 8 weeks so that he can participate in some of the trips that we have planned for the summer.

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Bryan K
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Bryan K
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PostSun May 04, 2014 4:29 pm 
I certainly hope that after 2 rescue efforts that Jacob will donate some cash to SAR. I can't imagine that it's cheap to gas up a helicopter.

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HundsSolo
Baby Step Hiking :o)



Joined: 06 Jun 2009
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HundsSolo
Baby Step Hiking :o)
PostSun May 04, 2014 4:33 pm 
Hopefully he was wearing a helmet.

The Mountains are Calling - I must go and PLAY! If you don't Respect Mother Nature, Mother Nature won't respect you. Wag More and Bark Less smile.gif
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Redwic
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Redwic
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PostSun May 04, 2014 7:57 pm 
The question I have is this: Was he not roped up for the rock climb? I would be interested in seeing where and how he fell a length of 10'-15'.
Bryan K wrote:
I certainly hope that after 2 rescue efforts that Jacob will donate some cash to SAR. I can't imagine that it's cheap to gas up a helicopter.
My wife made a similar comment. She does not think it is right for someone to have repeated rescues within such a short amount of time without paying any $$$ to anyone at a SAR, whether forced to do so or voluntarily.
Gimpilator wrote:
Jacob sounds positive and he is hoping to recover in 6 to 8 weeks so that he can participate in some of the trips that we have planned for the summer.
Isn't this the same guy who was told by doctors to take it easy for a while after puncturing his lung and fracturing his ribs, only to go back on climbs meer weeks later? He didn't learn last time... Hopefully he will this time.

60 pounds lighter but not 60 points brighter.
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robM
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PostMon May 05, 2014 8:26 am 

Get a life, or die trying!
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Cyclopath
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Joined: 20 Mar 2012
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Cyclopath
Faster than light
PostMon May 05, 2014 9:04 am 
Years ago, I had a bike accident in July and broke a rib. It was a terrible experience to begin with, but I missed the summer because of it, and that was unbearable. My heart goes out to your friend as he's sidelined during the spring. Did this happen Saturday or Sunday? I was climbing in the Icicle on Saturday. At one point an ambulance went up the road, a sheriff a bit later, and we saw a helicopter overhead later still. Creeped us both out a little.
Redwic wrote:
The question I have is this: Was he not roped up for the rock climb? I would be interested in seeing where and how he fell a length of 10'-15'.
You can fall 15 feet on a rope.

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SeanSullivan86
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PostMon May 05, 2014 10:44 am 
Redwic wrote:
The question I have is this: Was he not roped up for the rock climb? I would be interested in seeing where and how he fell a length of 10'-15'.
Of course depending on the type of climbing, falling may be rare or common. But in any case, if you do fall, 10-15' is an entirely normal distance to fall. Consider that you are 5 feet above your last piece or gear (which isn't particularly far at all)... you free fall a distance of 10 feet (from 5 feet above the gear to 5 feet below it) and then continue to fall as any slack comes out of the rope and the rope stretches. A perfect belay (assuming the belayer can see you) could change this somewhat, but that's the general idea.

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wolffie
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PostMon May 05, 2014 11:37 am 
I spent a summer in a cast. Not much fun. @ Jacob, one thing you might do meanwhile is find a yoga instructor. It'll be really stiff when the cast comes off, and the rehab is a longterm project, but that stuff worked for me.

Some people have better things to do with their lives than walking the dog. Some don't.
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Jacob Smith
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Jacob Smith
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PostThu May 08, 2014 6:02 pm 
So here's what went down: (RobM - thank you) Me and Matt, after doing DGS on the Upper Town Wall on Thursday and Outer Space on Friday, hiked up to Value Village on Saturday. It's about a 2 hour endeavor, I've read 2800 vertical feet but that seems a bit high. It's probably the most remote developed crag on the Icicle. Anyways, so we get up there around 11am and spend some time trying to figure out what's what. We finally decide what climb we are going for, the name of which I don't recall (I've told people Pork and Beans but there's reason to think I am mistaken and it's the one next to it called Pork Chop Express.) In any case it was a 5.8 super awesome looking crack. We rack up and flake the rope and whatnot on the highest large level spot, about 30-40 feet beneath the crack itself and I start up, climbing class 3-4 terrain with no intention of placing gear before I reach the base of the climb (as I have done many, many times before). About 10 feet off the deck something happens and I'm still not sure what. At the time I thought a hold broke, but remembering back to the kind of hold I was using (a big granite lip) that seems unlikely. Matt says he heard something snap so it's possible I grabbed a branch on the snag that was right there and it broke. It's also possible my foot slipped (it was a smear hold with shoes I had not used before). Regardless, I fell straight down and landed on the ledge Matt was belaying from and then tumbled a bit down the slope, maybe 20-30 feet. Somewhere along the way my ankle hit something just perfectly wrong and got dislocated, although it looked very broken at the time. It was definitely a freak accident, I've never fallen on that kind of terrain before and I have fallen farther (on lead and otherwise) and been fine on multiple occasions. And yes, I was wearing a helmet. Just to clear things up, it was military helicopters both times, so no need to get pissy about SAR funding, although i did actually attend the Snohomish County SAR fund raiser in Fremont last winter. I could go on a long and ugly rant about people who want to force climbing accident victims to pay for their rescues but it basically reduces to this: sh## happens, and the more you climb the shittier the happenings tend to be. I personally believe that adventure sports like climbing are worthwhile activities despite the risk of injury or death and I have no problem with my tax dollars going toward the rescue of injured people, even if they were not injured in my adventure sport of choice. To put it another way, replying specifically to you Craig, this accident could have happened to you at about 20 different places on Cashmere, and the other one almost anywhere on Whitehorse just past where you turned around. So I'm not sure what you are expecting me to "learn." Mind you, I'm pissed as hell about this and, for personal reasons, unsure whether I am going to fully return to climbing once I recover, but I maintain that I didn't really do anything wrong. Also, that previous accident, with the 7 broken ribs and the bad pneumothorax (small lung puncture), was in January, and it put me out of commission until mid-march but I had fully recovered and been climbing hard since then. The two are in no way connected.

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SeanSullivan86
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PostThu May 08, 2014 7:35 pm 
Hey, thanks for sharing the details. Glad you're ok. I don't really understand your claim that "I didn't really do anything wrong". Seems to me that you misjudged the terrain, some degree of bad luck kicked in, and it resulted in a fall. From a more speculative viewpoint, the fact that both of your accidents occurred in relatively easy terrain may indicate that you loosen your focus on this kind of terrain.
Quote:
sh## happens, and the more you climb the shittier the happenings tend to be
I'd say the more you climb the more vigilant you have to be... understanding that the odds will certainly catch up to you if you aren't constantly asking yourself how you can be safer. Maybe for some people the necessary vigilance comes naturally, but two accidents is a trend and it would seem this focus in easy terrain is something you should actively work at improving. Of course it is POSSIBLE for two "1 in a million" accidents to happen, but do you really want to dismiss it as such? Anyways, best of luck.

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PorcupinePhobia
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PorcupinePhobia
Murse
PostThu May 08, 2014 8:44 pm 
Isn't that weird, how even thought it happened to you, you still aren't quite sure what went down? I've had similar experiences, sometimes I wonder if it is some sort of psych response to stress/fear/whatever. Anyway, you had two separate accidents, both fairly serious, sort-of close together. I'm sure nobody can tell you or teach anything about them that isn't already seared into you mind and memory. I'm sure the only lesson you will learn on this forum is that "the plural of opinion is not data"

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Ski
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PostThu May 08, 2014 9:37 pm 
yeah.... and people were probably talkin' smack about George Mallory too. Illegitimi non carborundum

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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Cyclopath
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Cyclopath
Faster than light
PostFri May 09, 2014 7:47 am 
Thanks for sharing the details of your accident, Jacob. I was climbing in the Icicle on Saturday; I'll take this as a reminder not to let my guard down. I hope you enjoy a complete and speedy recovery.

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