Millcreek Canyon UT - 4 fatalities

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Originally Posted by Boissal

Don't want to hijack this thread but was this posted somewhere? MP? I remember the incident but can't remember ever reading a report that wasn't 7th degree hearsay... And I don't have the 2016 ANAM.

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FALL ON ROCK / Loose Rock, Descending Unroped
Little Cottonwood Canyon, Gate Buttress

On March 29, two climbers, ages 38 and 26, had just finished climbing Tingey's Terror (5.7), a multi-pitch route on the Gate Buttress. After having lunch on top, the two decided to descend via a rappel into Green Adjective Gully, a popular cragging zone on the west side of the Gate Buttress. The two traversed toward a set of anchors reached by a short, easy downclimb to a ledge. Just before the first climber reached the ledge, the large flake he was holding onto for balance pulled out. He managed to get it out of the way of his chest and legs, but lost his balance and started tumbling backward. He desperately tried to grab on to any rocks or trees as he fell, to no avail. AFTER ABOUT 50 FEET, Just before he went over the lip, he was slammed back into the wall, as the rope he was carrying on his back in a mountaineer’s coil snagged a feature on the rock and caught him.

The climber managed to grab a tree and pull into an alcove just below the lip of the cliff. This alcove contained anchors for the route Mother of Pearl (5.11+), which a party had just finished climbing, leaving a rope through the anchors. He assessed his injuries and found a swollen ankle, blood on the back of his head, loss of skin and bleeding on the hands and forearms, and broken fingernails. The rope suffered multiple core shots and the sheath was melted in several sections, even fusing two strands in one point.

As the fallen climber was conscious and felt he had full mental function, the two decided to self-rescue. He rappelled the rope set up on Mother of Pearl and got down into the gully, where he was met by several climbers, one of whom happened to be an EMT. She assessed his injuries and suggested he wait for emergency services, but he decided to continue the descent unaided. The climber managed to scramble and hike down to the Gate parking lot, where he was met by police and EMTs, who released him after examining his injuries.

:eek:

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Originally Posted by tgapp

The climber managed to scramble and hike down to the Gate parking lot, where he was met by police and EMTs, who released him after examining his injuries.

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After which he promptly changed his pants and underwear.

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Originally Posted by Danno

After which he promptly changed his pants and underwear.

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we actually went to porcupine after (his pick) while his head was still bleeding slightly from a gash

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Originally Posted by tgapp

we actually went to porcupine after (his pick) while his head was still bleeding slightly from a gash

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wow he must have lost his sense of taste in the fall.

Dispatch in the valley is a mess right now with VECC and stuff, and will just want a street address, but at some point you should get transferred to a canyon UPD unit that will happily take GPS coordinates. A lot of times a 911 call will have coordinates associated with it , but not knowing how dispatch got them it's nice if we can confirm them with the reporting party. And then at some point you might get a call from a SAR member that will be really happy to hear something like "We're at the bottom of Pentapitch"

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Originally Posted by tgapp

FALL ON ROCK / Loose Rock, Descending Unroped
Little Cottonwood Canyon, Gate Buttress

On March 29, two climbers, ages 38 and 26, had just finished climbing Tingey's Terror (5.7), a multi-pitch route on the Gate Buttress. After having lunch on top, the two decided to descend via a rappel into Green Adjective Gully, a popular cragging zone on the west side of the Gate Buttress. The two traversed toward a set of anchors reached by a short, easy downclimb to a ledge. Just before the first climber reached the ledge, the large flake he was holding onto for balance pulled out. He managed to get it out of the way of his chest and legs, but lost his balance and started tumbling backward. He desperately tried to grab on to any rocks or trees as he fell, to no avail. AFTER ABOUT 50 FEET, Just before he went over the lip, he was slammed back into the wall, as the rope he was carrying on his back in a mountaineer’s coil snagged a feature on the rock and caught him.

The climber managed to grab a tree and pull into an alcove just below the lip of the cliff. This alcove contained anchors for the route Mother of Pearl (5.11+), which a party had just finished climbing, leaving a rope through the anchors. He assessed his injuries and found a swollen ankle, blood on the back of his head, loss of skin and bleeding on the hands and forearms, and broken fingernails. The rope suffered multiple core shots and the sheath was melted in several sections, even fusing two strands in one point.

As the fallen climber was conscious and felt he had full mental function, the two decided to self-rescue. He rappelled the rope set up on Mother of Pearl and got down into the gully, where he was met by several climbers, one of whom happened to be an EMT. She assessed his injuries and suggested he wait for emergency services, but he decided to continue the descent unaided. The climber managed to scramble and hike down to the Gate parking lot, where he was met by police and EMTs, who released him after examining his injuries.

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Holy fuck tgapp!! That's one of the "luckiest" stories from the hills I've ever heard. Bet you guys enjoy telling the story and laughing about it now though ;)

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Originally Posted by Xover

Holy fuck tgapp!! That's one of the "luckiest" stories from the hills I've ever heard. Bet you guys enjoy telling the story and laughing about it now though ;)

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Right! Holy fuck indeed. Good to know re: coordinates, sfotex. My experience was always on the receiving end in a much more remote area. And now that I think about it, the first question was usually "where did the coordinates come from?"

Choosing to travel uphill or within the avalanche terrain may exposure multiple people to the hazard. Best practice is to set your up tracks and transition areas outside of the avalanche terrain. If you do expose yourself to the hazard, move one at a time from island of safety to island of safety. Avalanches are running far and wide and are frequently being triggered from below and remotely. Use your inclinometer often, familiarize yourself with the terrain in which you travel, be observant for signs of previous avalanche activity, and ensure that your safe zones are substantially distance from even the largest avalanche track you can imagine

Foggy Goggles from the Trelease thread.

https://www.backcountrysos.com/#download

Used to work for jurisdictions who were compatible with e 911. It doesn't work in my local anymore unfortunately. Super great idea. And my dispatch supports the tech. Perhaps more press and an update will help.

Anyone going to tune in to the UAC zoom tonight? I've registered. Not sure if anything new will be learned, but probably interesting none the less.

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Originally Posted by jtran10

Anyone going to tune in to the UAC zoom tonight? I've registered. Not sure if anything new will be learned, but probably interesting none the less.

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yep i'm on it, gonna get as many touring partners as i can to go too