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| Page Type: Trip Report Location: California, United States, North America Date Climbed/Hiked: Aug 2, 2010 Activities: Hiking Season: Summer | Page By: Artbash Created/Edited: Aug 6, 2010 / Aug 6, 2010 Object ID: 646490 Hits: 327 Loading... Page Score: 85.04% - 1 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
False statement leads to search and rescueInclude texSeeing a loud low flying helicopter, with its bright search light, around midnight, was a surreal experience at Thousand Island Lake. A search and rescue (SAR) effort was under way. Do you think it’s for Art and Garo? The six of us in our party, were pondering the question as we were following the chopper make low approaches around the lake and around and over Mt. Banner. You think Pete went so far and actually convinced a camper to contact a ranger or other law enforcement agencies that two climbers were in trouble?
Earlier that day, (Monday, August 2, 2010) me and Garo started our climbing venture while my brother and three others started a day of fishing and relaxation at Thousand Island Lake. When we reached North Glacier Pass we met a lone climber. Pete with his heavy and large camera bag was contemplating to hide his camera and gear and climb Mt. Ritter because the hazy atmosphere was not ideal for picture taking. After giving us advice on how to navigate from the pass to the base of Ritter/Banner Glacier, Garo and I proceeded to maneuver per his recommendation. After taking a few pictures, Pete caught up with us at the base of a steep snowfield. He and I realized Pete’s suggested route was not the best choice as the rock ledge on the other side of the steep snowfield was difficult and exposed rock. Pete himself concluded the same. The three of us climbed the steep snowfield instead of traversing the snowfield to reach the rock ledge as originally suggested by Pete. Once above the snow field, it was a few easy steps to the glacier that leads to the Ritter-Banner Saddle. Pete mentioned a few other facts about himself and the area. But most importantly, he obsessively talked about the loose rocks and boulders in the area and the need to climb side by side or 50 yards apart in case one dislodges a bolder. He emphasized the need to yell ROCK should a rock get dislodged even if a climber was not below because one could be out of view. We didn’t see Pete again, after climbing the steep snowfield, till the end of our journey on Tuesday afternoon at Agnew Meadows.
As Garo and I were walking back to our campsite almost 12 hours later from the starting time in the morning, we were intercepted by two of my friends about ¼ mile from our campsite about 7:30 pm. Seeing us, my friends were in shock and were waiting for us to tall “the” story. Noticing that we had nothing unusual to say except that we successfully climbed the peak, and that it was tough and it took longer than anticipated… they started to mention about a man, who around 4 pm, was heard shouting to a camper near the east end of the lake about two “geeks from LA that nearly killed him…who were in trouble… needing immediate help.” Hearing him shout such words, they chased after him to find out more. Based on his description of us, my friends had no doubt the man was talking about me and Garo. He spoke in a manic matter repeating the same story to my friends and further stating that Garo and I had only a 10% chance of survival... that we went up a wrong chute… that we were doomed and that he would not help us. After listening to the man and not being able to ask a question (as the man did not give chance for questioning because he continually ranted on in an angry and manic manner), my two friends went back to camp. As they walked back to camp, they could hear Pete continuing with his manic manner and shouting to other campers that someone needs to get a ranger as the “geeks from LA don’t have a chance.”
From the time my friends encountered the man till Garo and I returned to camp from our climb, my brother and the four friends had no alternative but to think the worst had occurred. My brother experienced terror and panic. “Have I lost my only brother…?” My brother and one other friend were preparing to hike to a ranger station but they were delayed as my brother started to experience gastrointestinal problems from his worry about me.
After hearing the story, Garo and I realized that the man was Pete but we were in shock about his story. We couldn’t understand why Pete would create such a story. No boulders were dislodged and Garo and I did not experience anything that would have warranted someone to call for help. I could only assume that Pete was suffering from some mental/emotional problem. The mere fact that he would rant in a manic matter and repeatedly say that “I am not going to help them…” illustrated Pete’s unbalanced character. When we all got back to camp and when everyone (including my brother) realized that nothing had happened to me and Garo, that we were never in any danger, the fear changed to anger towards Pete. We analyzed the events trying to understand Pete’s motive but could not find an easy answer. The most logical answer was that he was suffering from a mental/emotional condition.
It was later that night when we all went to sleep when the SAR helicopter made its appearance around Thousand Island Lake and Mt. Banner. Based on everything Pete had said, it was very possible that someone would call for help.
In the morning a helicopter was back and circling around Mt. Banner. We continued to ponder if the SAR is for someone else or us? As we started to leave Thousand Island Lake and headed back to Agnew Meadows, we passed by a ranger who was talking to a trail maintenance crew. She asked me if we climbed in the area in the past couple of days. I answered yes but didn’t bother to talk about Pete. She than asked if we were aware of a climber who had fallen as the authorities had received a radio call about a fallen climber. While I said I didn’t know…I concluded that the SAR operation was for someone else all this time and not me and Garo. Since she mentioned a “fallen” climber, I assumed someone must have witnessed the fall of a climber.
I was in the front of the group as we finished our hike and were entering the trailhead parking lot (High Trail/PCT). A ranger and another individual were sitting at the trailhead. As I was approaching the parking lot, the ranger stood up and asked if we had climbed in the area over the past day. I proceeded to say yes and I was prepared to also talk about Pete when I noticed the other person that was sitting next to the ranger was Pete. As I started to yell and curse at Pete for causing my brother to be worried to death, the rest of the group now entered the parking lot. We all confronted Pete for about 15 minutes. His first statement was “oh great…you guys are ok”. I told him what he had done was unethical and bordering on evil (to basically say to someone that a loved one is practically dead when you know they are not… is evil). I didn’t even bother with the criminal aspects of his behavior. He had no reason to conclude that we were doomed. He said that because Garo was not holding the ice-axe properly, he feared that his lack of experience could result in his or our demise. He continued with his explanation that a SAR was warranted because he was so worried about our safety. However, we questioned his sincerity since the afternoon before he kept repeating to everyone that he would not do anything to help. The ranger realized the true situation as he heard the confrontation between Pete and the group. Pete began to change is attitude and began to apologize to everyone. Pete even mentioned that we had passed the most challenging portion of the climb when we climbed to the top of the steep snowfield. This statement contradicted his other statements. He had no reason to trigger SAR when he himself was admitting that the rest of the climb would be easy. As we started to proceed towards our cars, the ranger made a very stupid comment. He asked for my name and I refused to give. I asked why he needed my name and he replied “in order to halt the SAR”. Since I didn’t give my name and he didn’t continue to press for it, I assume SAR is still going strong? What a joke! Since nothing had occurred that would warrant anyone to have a reason to trigger SAR, I believe his behavior amounts to a false statement which is a criminal offense. But I doubt the authorities would press charges. But I may be wrong. At most I would hope the authorities have a serious chat with him. And yes, the SAR operation was for no one else but me and Garo.
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