Wilson Peak July 21, 2008

This morning Allison and I set out to climb a 14,000 foot peak. Wilson Peak is situated amidst a group of 3 14ers. We picked Wilson Peak because the weather didn’t look like it was going to cooperate, and it’s the one you can get up and down the quickest. We left the house before 6 am. On our trip towards the trailhead, we had no idea that not only would we not reach the summit, but we’d be taking a helicopter home…

Driving up to the trailhead, we passed some cattle. I like the haircut on this one.

A view of Wilson Peak from the approach. 14,000 something feet high!

We parked the car at the trailhead. Hiking with an MIT student can be frustrating. You’re not allowed to start walking until your watch can pick up enough satellites to track your elevation gain vs distance traveled….

It took a while, but soon we were underway. Nice Marmot.

Looking back down the valley we hiked up. Beautiful.

A disintegrating building.

Lots of slippery snow to cross.

Approaching the saddle 13,020 feet, just before the scramble to WIlson Peak.

This is a photo of Allison at the saddle. Up above, we could see two figures taking a rest at about 13,200 feet. We would get to know these folks very soon….

This is the last photo I took before the day took a turn for the worse. You can see Lizard Head in the far right of the photo. Our trail took a left turn at this point.

Allison stopped to eat a quick snack, and I ran up the trail to look for a route. I crested a small ridge and saw a heap of gear just below some steep rocks, right where they met the snow. I looked further down and saw two people, the same silhouettes we had seen above us just 15 minutes prior. Only now, they were about 100 feet below us. One of them was lying in the snow, the other standing over him. I yelled down, “Are you guys alright?” My question was answered with an abrupt, “NO!” Not an answer you are ever expecting to hear. It was followed by an assertive, “We need rescue. Broken Thigh!”

I walked down to them, and Allison stayed up high in the hopes of getting cell communication. Luckily we could separate while maintaining voice contact.

I think they were happy to see us. A guy who works in a hospital, on an ambulance, and on ski patrol. And a hot chick with a cell phone and a GPS watch.

Looking up, I could see that the fall had been considerable. 30 feet bouncing over steep jagged rock and a 100 foot slide down the snow, to where he came to rest.

This guy’s femur was obviously broken and his thigh was as big as watermelon, only harder. And it would only get worse over time.

I took vital signs, treated for shock, and improvised a long bone traction splint. The ingredients? Two trekking poles, a stuff sack, duct tape, and 3 mil rope. Take a look…

The patient and a long view of his new splint.

The muscles in the the thigh are really strong, and once the femur breaks, the muscles go into spasm. They will pull the sharp bone ends together, causing extreme pain, and life threatening bleeding. A closed femur fracture can cause enough blood loss to lead to death.

This splint, pulling ~15lbs of pressure down on the foot is actually pulling the bone ends apart…

Allison was hard at work up the ridge. She couldn’t get voice cell service, but could squeeze out some text messages. She texted a friend, who called the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s deputy, in turn, texted Allison. At this point I had yelled up to Allison that we need a helicopter ASAP. She passed that along and that got the gears turning. Amazingly, the whole entire rescue was coordinated via text message. Not a single phone call was ever placed.

We had been on scene since 10 am, and the sheriff’s deputy promised a chopper by 1 pm.

I hiked 5 minutes down to a flat spot where I thought a chopper could land. It would take a brave pilot, but there was some flat snow just along side an old mining cabin. I made a big X in the snow that would be visible from above.

I grabbed an old board and stuck it upright in the snow. I tied my shirt to it to make a windsock. This is the last time I would ever see my shirt intact, but In marginal conditions, these pilots can use all the information they can get.

The chopper came in at about 130. We were glad to see it.

Awesome landing, right on top of my X!

Out of the helicopter came two people with lots of equipment. It then lifted off, to return when we had the patient ready to load.

We met up with Eric and Brian, members of the local search and rescue.

We hiked them up to the patient. They had lots of medical stuff with them, which we desperately needed.

I used some of it to start and IV on the patient, and to give him some fluids and some morphine. He was happy to have some pain relief.

It took over an hour to get the patient stabilized, moved into a basket, and carried the 400 feet down the snow to the helicopter landing zone. It was starting to sprinkle and lightning was moving in. We were about to lose our window to use the helicopter. The alternative? Carry this guy down 3500 vertical feet.

Luckily the weather held off. This is a shot of Eric waving in the chopper. That fabric in his hand used to indicate wind speed and direction? A fragment of my shirt…

A great shot by Allison that really shows the clouds mounting in the background.

Here’s the chopper coming in. Brave pilot.

Brian covered the patient while I held onto my hat and the IV bag. By this time, the patient looked pale as a ghost, and really needed IV fluids to keep his pressure up.

We all helped load this poor guy.

The helicopter left to drop the patient off. Luckily, it came back to get us, and give us a ride back into town.

Amazing views out the windows.

Approaching the Telluride airport via helicopter.

Once we hit the ground, we met up with Eric again. He told us that when he was transferring the patient to Flight For Life, he curiously began complaining of back pain. Since we had done such a thorough evaluation of the patient over a period of 6 hours, Eric was stunned. Reaching down to feel the patients back, as any good medic would do, Eric pulled out these rocks which were firmly pinned up against his spine… Ouch!

And no adventure is complete without a few souvenirs…

You can read the news story about the rescue in the Telluride Daily Planet.

-A’s