Rescue on Adams

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I read this morning in the Union Leader that they reached him around 9:30pm or so. Wonder if he had crampons or not. Franconia Ridge by Lafayette and Lincoln were terribly icy Saturday. I was surprised to see several people heading up with no traction. Thank you Search and Rescue.
 
Thank you SAR for your dedication and commitment and your passion for helping others.

Those snowfields below Adams are expansive and come at a time in the climb when hikers are often feeling the burn. I took a very minor little slip there a few April's ago, never lost my footing, but all I could think of was hurtling down King Ravine at Mach Speed. NOT a good place to take a fall, amazing that he suffered no injuries.
 
Now you've gone and done it. This thread has made it to the UL rants about the irresponsible hikers causing all ills of the world.

I assume, of course, that this is also on VFTCWEPCAD.com message board as well.


(Views From The Couch While Eating Potato Chips All Day)....:rolleyes:
 
This is such a great story and well-written report that I think it's worth sharing so that everyone can read it, especially since we've already been discussing (and hypothesizing about) it. From the NHF&G press release:

HIKER RESCUED AFTER SURVIVING 1,500 FOOT FALL IN WHITE MOUNTAINS TRAILS ABOVE TREELINE REMAIN ICY LANCASTER, N.H.
A White Mountain hiker was rescued Sunday evening, March 28, 2010, after surviving a perilous fall down the slope of King Ravine. On Sunday afternoon, hikers Douglas Soholt, age 25, of Colorado, and Nathaniel Blauss, age 28, of Hanson, Mass., were hiking the trails on the north side of Mt. Adams. At about 1:30 PM, after having successfully reached the summit of Mt. Adams, they were beginning their descent on the Gulfside Trail located to the north of the Mt. Adams summit. Soholt lost his footing, falling on the icy alpine slab that is prevalent above treeline at this time of year, and began to slide downward into King Ravine. Because of the steep terrain, Soholt was not able to stop his fall and was last seen by his companion sliding in the direction of the headwall of King Ravine. Soholt had slid approximately 100 yards and was still descending at a rapid rate when he disappeared from view.

A short while later, Soholt was able to call 911 with his cell phone. The fallen hiker gave his general position and reported that he had suffered some superficial head injuries but was otherwise unharmed. He was stranded near the treeline and could not go up or down. This call alerted rescuers from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department's Advanced Search and Rescue Team, as well as members of the Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue (AVSAR), that a high-angle, technical rescue would be required.

"Hasty" teams (rapid-response ground teams) consisting of five Conservation Officers and four AVSAR members were mobilized to respond to the Appalachia Parking Lot in Randolph to ascend into King Ravine. Rescuers were to search the large headwall area of the ravine both from the bottom and from the rim, where Soholt was last seen. Because Soholt had survived his fall, it was assumed that he had come to rest prior to pitching over the steepest part of the ravine headwall. Ultimately, this would prove to be a false assumption.

At about 8:30 PM, Conservation Officers Brad Morse and Alex Lopashanski made visual contact with Soholt. Miraculously, the hiker had fallen approximately two thirds of the way down the headwall of King Ravine, or roughly 1,500 feet down extremely steep terrain, before he was able to stop. He was initially spotted by the light of his headlamp. It took about an hour for the rescuers to reach him.

Once in the hands of rescuers, Soholt was lowered out of the steep terrain and was able to walk out under his own power with the aid of rescuers. He reached the safety of the trailhead at 12:45 a.m. Soholt's right eye had swollen shut, and he had suffered other lacerations to his head, but was in remarkably good condition considering the magnitude of his fall. He was transported to Memorial Hospital in North Conway for treatment.

"Truthfully, I knew he was all right because he had spoken to 911 after he had fallen. However, if all I had known was where and how far he had fallen, I would have been preparing to remove a critically injured or deceased person," said Lt. Douglas Gralenski of Fish and Game. "He is one very fortunate person to still be with us. If he had hit any rocks or trees of substance on his descent, he would not have survived the fall."

The underlying lesson this incident carries for other hikers is the importance of being prepared for the unexpected in the outdoors. "They were not planning on hiking in technical terrain and packed accordingly," said Gralenski. Soholt was wearing "micro crampons" (similar to ice creepers) and carrying ski poles.

"It is still very much winter above treeline. Although many trails above treeline are not viewed as technical terrain, they are very icy. And, as this incident shows, unexpected accidents can have dire consequences," Gralenski said. "Micro crampons have their place in hiking, but it is not on the Gulfside Trail or any other alpine trails near technical terrain. Traditional crampons and an ice axe, not ski poles, should be standard equipment in this area. If Soholt had these two pieces of gear, he most likely would have been able to prevent his fall or self-arrest immediately after the fall. Not having them could have easily been a fatal mistake.
 
Traditional crampons and an ice axe, not ski poles, should be standard equipment in this area. If Soholt had these two pieces of gear, he most likely would have been able to prevent his fall or self-arrest immediately after the fall. Not having them could have easily been a fatal mistake.

Possession of an ice axe is no guarantee of self-arrest. Arguably he was negligent for lack of these two pieces of equipment which "should be standard equipment in this area", although the link in the OP quotes F&G as saying he was prepared:

Soholt does not have a tent or a sleeping bag, but was prepared for the hike, Gralenski said.

Tim
 
Possession of an ice axe is no guarantee of self-arrest. Arguably he was negligent for lack of these two pieces of equipment which "should be standard equipment in this area", although the link in the OP quotes F&G as saying he was prepared:

Soholt does not have a tent or a sleeping bag, but was prepared for the hike, Gralenski said.

Tim

I think you missed the point, without an axe there is ZERO chance of stopping.
 
I think you missed the point, without an axe there is ZERO chance of stopping.

Could you have missed the point? Having an axe without the knowledge of how to self-arrest is a crap shoot at best and dangerous at worst (in the case of needing it to arrest.) You need both the tool and the knowledge to use it properly and safely to have a good chance of arresting.

Tim
p.s. if there were ZERO chance of stopping, why isn't he still going? ;)
 
I was surprised when I first read that he fell "100 feet"..."100 yards" on the Gulfside Trail... (the initial news accounts) and needed help. 1500 feet is unbelievable. What a lucky hiker he was to have survived. Even with crampons on Lafayette Saturday, I was nervous crossing Franconia Ridge and thinking myself foolish for not having grabbed the ice axe. I saw numerous folks heading up Falling Waters with just snowshoes, microspikes, Yak traks and even bare booting.

Glad for the happy ending.
 
Pretty amazingly lucky guy. And, lots of food for thought, as like many here, I gave up using crampons and an ice ax on winter/spring hikes in the Whites a long time ago. But, I still consider much of the above-treeline terrain that I hike as "no fall," as even a short slip can smash your head into an exposed rock and kill you.

I suppose that we could we revisit old VftT threads about the virtues and drawbacks of an ice ax (great if you know how to self arrest, but no use if the ax pierces all the way through your mid-section as happened to a hiker on the Gulf of Slides) and crampons (great if you know how to walk in them, but no use if you catch the points on your pants or gaitors causing a serious fall).
 
As always, my primary interest in these threads is to define negligence and what A. Reasonable Person thinks it is. In this case, F&G is on record as saying both "he was prepared" and "he should have had an ice axe and crampons". From a legal standpoint, if you accidentally injure or kill somebody (yourself or others) with a tool (an ice axe, a logging axe, chainsaw, shotgun, hammer, automobile, ...) with which you have zero training or experience, then any competent lawyer can easily make you look negligent.

Tim
p.s. In the interest of full disclosure, I (still) do not own an ice axe, and I have never needed crampons in my pursuit of the winter 48. MSRs and microspikes have been more than sufficient.
 
I assume, of course, that this is also on VFTCWEPCAD.com message board as well.


(Views From The Couch While Eating Potato Chips All Day)....:rolleyes:
Hey - my couch sitting and potato chip eating entitles me to "bottomless" rants! ;)

My eyes kept getting wider and wider as I read this. Imagine being the one left on top, watching your buddy slide out of view into KR. OK, imagine being the one who is sliding into KR. What luck.

Having an axe without the knowledge of how to self-arrest is a crap shoot at best and dangerous at worst (in the case of needing it to arrest.) You need both the tool and the knowledge to use it properly and safely to have a good chance of arresting.

True. The window to stop a slide on hardpack is very short - right at the beginning or probably not at all. The axe is potentially an asset in that short window and a serious liability afterward. It needs to be a reflex, which means practice, which reminds me that I need practice.

I occasionally have nightmares about a long sliding fall with crampons, catching the crampon points and breaking my legs, then breaking them some more as the tumble continues. :eek: So I never put on crampons without an ice axe in my hand, which means I expend a lot of energy carrying both items around all the time.

Waiting for corn!
 
Pretty amazingly lucky guy. And, lots of food for thought, as like many here, I gave up using crampons and an ice ax on winter/spring hikes in the Whites a long time ago. But, I still consider much of the above-treeline terrain that I hike as "no fall," as even a short slip can smash your head into an exposed rock and kill you.

I suppose that we could we revisit old VftT threads about the virtues and drawbacks of an ice ax (great if you know how to self arrest, but no use if the ax pierces all the way through your mid-section as happened to a hiker on the Gulf of Slides) and crampons (great if you know how to walk in them, but no use if you catch the points on your pants or gaitors causing a serious fall).
Concur. But we have also discussed the merits of hiking with a helmet. The report indicates he suffered some head injuries. Hence, he might have been much better able to have ascertain his position/situation and walk out had he been wearing a helmet. I never wear my helmet while hiking in the Whites, but I will now give it some serious thought (while still able to).
 
One lucky dude. Glad he's OK.

In the interest of full disclosure, I (still) do not own an ice axe, and I have never needed crampons in my pursuit of the winter 48.

Can we use that as your epitaph?
 
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Pretty amazingly lucky guy.
That he is. On the other hand, he was unlucky to fall in the first place...

And, lots of food for thought, as like many here, I gave up using crampons and an ice ax on winter/spring hikes in the Whites a long time ago. But, I still consider much of the above-treeline terrain that I hike as "no fall," as even a short slip can smash your head into an exposed rock and kill you.

I suppose that we could we revisit old VftT threads about the virtues and drawbacks of an ice ax (great if you know how to self arrest, but no use if the ax pierces all the way through your mid-section as happened to a hiker on the Gulf of Slides) and crampons (great if you know how to walk in them, but no use if you catch the points on your pants or gaitors causing a serious fall).
Its all about the probabilities of injury from each possible cause (including from the additional equipment) and the chance that the additional equipment and skills will prevent the accident/injury.

<speculation>
One could argue that he shouldn't have been there since he didn't have the appropriate equipment and may not have had the appropriate skills. (On the other hand, others presumably with similar equipment such as his partner, appear to have made the trip without incident. Whether the risks were justifiable is impossible to say from here, but we should note that a recent trip report tells of a group that appears to have had similar equipment and turned back from Mt Adams.)
</speculation>

IMO, leaving behind equipment which may be required (eg crampons, ice axes, snowshoes) is a potentially dangerous trend. One needs to have the sense to back off when one's equipment and skills are not up to the situation.

"The mountain will always be there--the trick is for you to be there, too", Don Whillans.

Doug
 
I remember thinking Saturday (on Madison & Adams) that I was suprised noone had had a bad accident YET, and I was thankful it wasn't me.... Most people were wearing full crampons but I saw at least one in microspikes heading along the rim above King's Ravine to then up Adams.... made me VERY nervous. Madison was even worse. There were several slips (written up in trip reports here). Thank God that guy is OK!!!
 
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