https://www.durangoherald.com/articl...ata-mountains/
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wishing him the best on his recovery. Always carry heat packs.
The La Platas are scary, have definitely gotten into some questionable spots, including in that drainage...
A good day to do something else.
An aside from the accident: that was an unusually comprehensive and informed article for a newspaper.
Excellent article indeed. I have lived in this area a long time now but have spent almost zero time exploring in the La Platas during the winter. I've always waited till spring to do any skiing in that range. They are a tough place to get your barrings in and way more "out there" than the typical areas off the 550 corridor.
I've heard nothing but good things about the victim and wish him a speedy recovery.
Found out last night that a close friend of mine was the partner/rescuer on this one. Have no additional details to provide. At this point I've only reached out to offer support. Obviously a pretty intense event to process.
I've only been down here three winters, but skied the La Platas a lot that first year when San Juan County was closed.
One of my biggest bc mistakes was dropping into this drainage in the spring under report-safe conditions, the trees are so inviting.
Then ended up on a rotten south face trying to avoid terrain traps in the creek, had to ski a waterfall solo with the pup. Definitely one of those, oh shit, I need to get out of here as quickly and safely as possible moments.
This is a horrifying reminder of the possible consequences of such mistakes.
yeah I've skied La Platas alot, including that run many times. Those mountains are locally infamous for their hellish exits through brush and drainages- we always joke that if you want to scare noobs off backcountry skiing, take them to La Platas! Very glad to hear they made it out alive (don't know the skiers personally). Interesting to read that his airbag & beacon probably made the difference this time, don't often see that.Quote:
Originally Posted by miserywhip
https://www.avalanche.state.co.us/ca...=808&accfm=inv
Full report was posted today. A lot of good stuff to unpack. Seems like the fact that they had cell service made a huge difference in the outcome of this incident.
Attachment 408412
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Yeah, good thing. Wonder if a 2 way inreach would have had the same outcome. Definitely seemed like the outcome would have been different with much of a delay in rescue, even if SAR had tried to take him out on foot/snowmobile.Quote:
Originally Posted by ASmileyFace
I think they made it very clear in the report that if Flight for Life didn't make that call, things would have been very different. I wouldn't hang my hat on Garmin for getting that line of communication open in time.Quote:
Originally Posted by goldenboy
When Brittany had her accident it was 7 minutes for Garmin to reach Park County sheriff's office after the initial SOS. Less than that to start pinging me, but at that point I was driving and knew cell service wasn't too far away. Fairly respectable.Quote:
Originally Posted by MakersTeleMark
That is quite heartening to hear. Surprises me. Hope she's all healed up.Quote:
Originally Posted by goldenboy
That really was an excellent article.
Update:
Durango man recounts avalanche, harrowing rescue and road to recovery
In hindsight, Henk looks back on the accident and questions some of his decision-making. With limited time for recreation and with climate change altering winters, he said he felt pressure to get into the backcountry, forcing him to take greater risk.
“The main thing I’ve learned is that when you read that avy report you’re better off going ‘All right, maybe I take this weekend off,’” Henk said.
As someone who has treated femur fractures and spine injuries inbounds... treating an open femur with a spine injury in the backcountry is something I don't want to think about. Kudos to the partner, Flight for Life and SAR for keeping this dude alive and in this good of shape.
Seriously impressive story. I've scoffed at people that have carried tourniquets as part of their first aid kit but this story makes me think about having one in the bag.
I initially thought it was the Madden trees from the image with similar aspect. It's been eons since I've been to Parrot. Where do you start from?Quote:
Originally Posted by Tele 'til You're Smelly
Both of my wilderness medicine classes in the past several years (WFA and WFR) have strongly advocated for tourniquets.Quote:
Originally Posted by John_B
This seems to be the gold standard. 2.7oz https://www.narescue.com/combat-appl...uet-c-a-t.html
Thanks. That's the one I was looking at so good to hear some confirmation.Quote:
Originally Posted by adrenalated
Kroeger campground (couple miles up the road), start on a road and then up the ridge. There's usually a pretty good skin track- it's in the local BC skiing guide books.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpinord
Thought so. Is it as brushy as Madden Creek?Quote:
Originally Posted by Tele 'til You're Smelly
Bet you have one or two Voile straps.Quote:
Originally Posted by John_B
no look at the pics- way more open- and dangerous!Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpinord
Two things:Quote:
Originally Posted by whipski
1) it's MUCH easier to get a CAT as tight as it needs to be to work effectively than a Voile strap.
2) the wider strap of a CAT is much less likely to cause permanent tissue damage especially considering it will likely be a minimum of several hours to definitive medical care in a backcountry setting
Carry the real thing.
Good luck occluding a femoral artery with Voile straps. More likely you'll block the venous outflow without stopping arterial inflow, increasing the bleeding.Quote:
Originally Posted by whipski
"All bleeding eventually stops." Rosen's Rules of Trauma
Attachment 412710
why is my foo turning blue?
Your effort is applauded, but venous pooling turns things blue and does nothing to prove the artery is blocked. Did your palpable pulses go away? Personally until you experiment has nothing on doppler of your popliteal, I am unconvinced.
It might be possible with a voile, sure... hell you might be able to do it with 550 cord, but that is an extremely suboptimal plan too and might be more painful than the injury. Sufficiently applied voile strap tq is going to hurt like a lot in very short order.
I've seen people bleed out from crapy/crappily applied tourniquets.
Not really sure why you're so committed to using the wrong tool for the job, whipski. Would I attempt a Voile strap tourniquet if I had no other options and the patient was probably going to die if I didn't try? Of course. But for $30 and 3oz and negligible pack space I'd rather just carry the real thing.
Like Summit said. If you had stopped the arterial inflow your foot would be white, not blue.
If you don't have a proper tourniquet at least use something that isn't elastic. A pack strap maybe. Preferably from the victim's pack. A belt is traditional. So not Arcade. (A tourniquet isn't something that would be high on my list of things to put in a first aid kit, but the subject has been discussed ad nauseam a few times in the PR and ski forums.)
That was my original point you use the tools you have. The stretch of the strap is not infinite. I'm convinced a couple more turns on the strap would occlude the artery. You could snap this on in seconds and not watch your friend bleed out while you fuck around looking for a knife to cut pack straps. However I would never fault you for carrying tourniquets. I've often thought about carrying a couple cravats (triangular bandages). You can make an ankle harness over a ski boot in seconds and and link the straps of adjustable ski poles for a make shift hare traction. Cravats were used for tourniquets in the military and its always useful to sling and swath a shoulder injury. Thread drift?
I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to insist on seeing a picture of your dead white foot before I believe you.
Venous tourniquet, the bane of our existence with fat people.Quote:
Originally Posted by old goat
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A voile strap or paracord might stop the bleeding but you’ll lose your leg.Quote:
Originally Posted by Summit
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Falls under extremely suboptimal :DQuote:
Originally Posted by MagnificentUnicorn
I took my WFR in the late 90's. At the time they had were pretty much going with "tourniquets bad, don't use them". Interesting how that one has turned around. And to bring it back around to the topic of the original post, it seems to have helped this guy and he seems like a cool dude, so I'm glad it did.
The Iraq War happened and we learnt stuff. Good example of why doing the recert is worthwhile :)Quote:
Originally Posted by goldenboy
You're cute! If the strap was effective why would my foot be dead? Life over limb I guess. Anyway more to the point. Guess I'll put this in the pack next to the avi-lung.Quote:
Originally Posted by old goat
http://www.combattourniquet.com/