Heard about this a few days ago...been up that slope too.
http://www.krem.com/news/164267116.html
Happy to hear of a good outcome....

Glad the out come was good, but this troubled me:

"Instead of panicking, the group relied on their wilderness training.

...triggered an emergency beacon called a SPOT.

...Weed was finally airlifted."

Yes, quite impressive wilderness training. Trigger the emergency button and wait for a helocopoter. Is this what wilderness training has come to?

ExcitableBoy wrote:Glad the out come was good, but this troubled me:

"Instead of panicking, the group relied on their wilderness training.

...triggered an emergency beacon called a SPOT.

...Weed was finally airlifted."

Yes, quite impressive wilderness training. Trigger the emergency button and wait for a helocopoter. Is this what wilderness training has come to?

Agree. However, no helmet? And the "[n]ext time, he'll probably wear his helmet, he said...

[Just] one thing he did right -- picking a group of climbing partners who came to his rescue when he needed it most.

...and still considers it a safe activity.

I don't have an answer or explanation; all I know is I'm here, I get to live and I get to do positive things with what I learned."

Am I missing something here or it's poorly written??? Glad he survived.

ExcitableBoy wrote:Yes, quite impressive wilderness training. Trigger the emergency button and wait for a helocopoter. Is this what wilderness training has come to?

What else could they have done for an unconscience, definitely in shock, not knowing the extent of internal injuries, completely immobile etc. victim?

Appears they did everything right in this case and bought him enough time to get out and into the trauma unit asap.

I would not bag on their valiant efforts (including triggering the SPOT) in what I can assure you was a very critical wilderness situation.

I would have done the same including sending someone out to confirm the SPOT actuation with a cell/sat phone.

Sounds like he slid all the way back down to the creek. I heard his interview on the radio. Amazing.

This group of climbers did everything right after the accident took place. I know some of the people involved and have climbed with some of them and they are experienced and intelligent climbers.. some of who have climbed (in the N Cascades) for decades. It's easy, in retrospect, to second-guess things or shape a perfect scenario in your head about how things should have gone, but the fact is we have all put ourselves into situations where a fall like this could occur. To me, this serves as a good reminder that this type of thing can happen to anyone and it's also a reminder that we should wear our helmets the majority of the time in the mountains.

I know on a hot day, I have put away the helmet in lieu of keeping myself cool. I'm not saying it's right, just that I've done it and I understand how others might do the same thing...