Teen rescued on South Sister after crevasse fall

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Bend Teen Falls Into Crevasse on South Sister

Bend Teen Falls Into Crevasse on South Sister
Rescue Operation Takes Hours; Escapes With Minor Injuries
By Joe Burns, KTVZ.COM
July 5, 2011

BEND, Ore. -- The Deschutes County Sheriff's Search and Rescue unit was well-prepared to go out and find an injured hiker on South Sister Tuesday, but they give credit to one crucial tool in helping in this medical
emergency: AirlLnk's helicopter.

Airlink, the emergency air ambulance service, averages more than four life-saving missions every day in Central Oregon. And Tuesday's effort was one of those.

A group of young climbers were hiking up South Sister with two adult chaperones and the group had made the summit and was descending when one of the climbers, a 17-year-old boy, wandered off-trail near the
Lewis Glacier and fell 20 feet into a crevasse -- a deep crack in ice, said sheriff's Deputy Rhett Hemphill.

The teen was lucky to sustain only minor injuries, and was able to crawl out of the crevasse on his own. That's when another member of the climbing party called 911 for assistance in getting back down.

And it wouldn't have been possible without the help of AirLink.

"AirLink was crucial in helping get four of our medics up there, --it saved about two hours in hiking just from where they got him to," Hemphill said.

The helicopter flew to an area below the injured climber near Moraine Lake, where they could access the patient more easily.

SAR set up its command post along the Devil's Lake trailhead, about four miles from the hiking party. Eight SAR members began to hike in to meet up with the other unit members and the injured teen.
But four miles away and up a mountain, it was better for a helicopter to fly in and make it a quicker, easier operation.

And after just a couple hours, AirLink was able to fly him out to safety.

The injured juvenile male was treated for his minor injuries and exposure to the elements and is fine, Hemphill said. The hikers were escorted back to the trailhead, where friends and family were waiting to take them
home.

As for any lessons out of this: "Stay on the trails," Hemphill said. "Make sure you know proper climbing techniques. When you are up there doing the glacier crossings, just make sure you practice the right safety
stuff."

MY PUBLISHED COMMENTS:
Robert Speik
The Deschutes County SAR spokesman states: "As for any lessons out of this: 'Stay on the trails,' Hemphill said. "Make sure you know proper climbing techniques. When you are up there doing the glacier crossings, just make sure you practice the right safety stuff."

In fact, there are no "glacier crossings" on South Sister and you and a partner do not have to be prepared with a climbing rope and each with an ice axe, two crevasse rescue pulleys, two prussic loops, climbing
harnesses and crevasse rescue training.

A $7.00 USGS Quad topographic map will tell you that the inviting "moderate snow field" above the little tarn is actually the remaining vestige of the ancient Lewis Glacier, moving ice that is cracked into many deep
crevasses, especially along the edges. A "snow field" is not a "glacier".

". . .one of the climbers, a 17-year-old boy, wandered off-trail near the Lewis Glacier and fell 20 feet into a crevasse -- a deep crack in ice", said sheriff's Deputy Rhett Hemphill. In fact, one must intentionally climb many meters off the obvious dirt trail and climb out onto what can appear to be an inviting snow field to glissades down the snow. "Wandering" does not report the true picture of this event.

The normal scramble trail to the volcanic summit rim is along the west lateral moraine of rock and pumice pushed up by the slowly sliding ice. It actually melts clear of snow very early in the season. See the photos and description of the glacier in my previous post: http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/News_SouthSister_Crevasse.htm

This page describes the exhausting climb to the summit of South Sister: http://traditionalmountaineering.org/Photos_SoSister.htm

Perhaps the best lesson is to carry a small day pack with extra clothing snacks and water and a map, compass and GPS. Carry an ordinary cell phone to call 911 and talk with SAR about your dislocated knee. They
are there to serve the public and you will not be charged for the call. Yes, they can most probably locate you through your ordinary phone, taking the search out of search and rescue.
--Robert Speik

Robert_Speik
What! A crevasse on South Sister? Read more here: http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/News_SouthSister_Crevasse.htm

Do not attempt to glissade down a Glacier!
--Robert Speik

http://www.ktvz.com/news/28457729/detail.html

Some of my previous comments on the KTVZ website:
I think part of the problem is that many people don't really "plan" to become stranded. Perhaps that is a big part of the problem for SAR, the families of the stranded and the unhappy folks who get much more of an adventure than they really wanted. Each year in Oregon, people become stranded overnight and some die each year from hypothermia

KTVZ has done the best job in Central Oregon, of publishing news reports that identify the factors that can "mitigate" the risks of backcountry travel:
1. Tell a "Responsible Person" where you plan to go and agree with the RP on the best time for a timely call to 911;
2. Dress for the forecast weather and carry a day pack with enough extra clothing, food and water for an emergency stop or stranding overnight;
3. Carry a $7 topo map of the area, a $25 declination adjusted compass and a current $100 GPS and learn some new skills;
4. Carry a common digital cell phone from a (CDMA technology) Provider and for hunting, a $149. SPOT-2 GPS satellite communicator that can call home, friends or 911 (without cell phone towers).

For a full list of the ten essential outdoor systems visit www.traditionalmountaineering.org.

Check my not for profit web site for more detail: www.TraditionalMountaineering.org
--Robert Speik

http://www.ktvz.com/news/27459098/detail.html

What can be learned from this interesting incident?

We have been unable to talk to this young man. Federal HIPPA privacy laws prevent medical personnel, including SAR Units, from providing contact information for patients. If his parents will contact us, we will correct any inaccuracies in our analysis. This is not a 'could-a, would-a, should-a exercise, but a traditional effort to help folks learn valuable lessons from the experiences of others.

Note that this Rescue was initiated by a cell phone call to 911 from near the summit of South Sister. Multiple cell phone providers have leased space permitted and supplied with electricity, on the top of Mt. Bachelor. The summit of South Sister is a very short straight line distance from the summit of Mt. Bachelor.

Cell phones have increasing coverage, year by year. Check connectivity your favorite recreation areas. Much of the high desert area and the Three Sisters Wilderness is covered by Verizon CDMA cell phone towers. Note that Verizon towers can not be "seen" by any other local Providers who do not use CDMA code.

However, hunters, climbers and others who adventure into the backcountry, can carry a $149.00 SPOT-2 GPS Satellite Messenger. This new device will send a message home, "I'm OK and having fun exactly here on this map"; or message friends "I could use a little help, exactly here"; or send a message to 911 "I need help exactly here, right now - see the map attached," (taking the Search out of Search and Rescue)!

Navigation back to camp or car with a GPS, map and compass-
Note that it is not necessary to leave a $100.00 GPS on all the time! Most GPS receivers have at least 14 hours of life on two new batteries. Extra AA batteries can be carried in a warm pants pocket to change out batteries weakened by cold. Lithium batteries withstand the cold much better than "regular" AA batteries.

It is not good to "track back", learn to use topo map, base plate compass and current GPS together:
Using a $7.00 USGS topo map and a $30.00 base plate declination-adjusted compass, it is simple to draw a line back to camp (where you have surely input a waypoint). Then find on the map, the best way back to camp, (by the nearby road system, etc.) Leaving your simple $100.00 Garmin eTrex H GPS "on" so you can "track back" is not recommended and very inefficient. Learn to use your topo map, adjusted base plate compass and adjusted GPS together!

My hiking buddy suggests I add the following to this second incident in the last few days:
By reporting over and over what went wrong in these cases, we learn what to avoid. If you read about avalanche accidents, you'll see that about 80% of the accidents are caused by about the same five mistakes. There are similar "what went wrong" reporting's of Kayak accidents. If you are a kayaker who takes on more than Elk Lake, its helps to know the three or four elements that appear common to most incidents. It's called learning from the mistakes of others and it doesn't happen unless those mistakes are pointed out.

No one is saying human's are expected to be perfect. But painting every outdoor "incident" with the mantra of "He did nothing wrong - it just "happened" is a recipe for such incidents to happen again and again and
again."

Here are some Basic suggestions for all backcountry travelers

1. Practice the Four Basic Responsibilities of the Backcountry Traveler. They work! Basic Responsibilities

2. Carry items in the new Ten Essential Systems, sized for the forecast weather and the adventure in a light day pack. This includes a map, compass and GPS and the skills to use them. In the spring winter, this includes enough extra insulation and waterproof clothing to keep you dry and warm if you become stranded. In snow, you must have a shovel and insulating pad and the skills to make a shelter in the snow to avoid hypothermia and frost bite damage. It works! Essential Systems

3. Carry a fully charged digital cell phone and periodically check where it can communicate with any cell towers to assist authorities to triangulate your position from cell tower pings. (Most cell providers do not use cell phone GPS signals to locate customers under FCC E911 regulations - they use triangulation). Cold disables batteries. If the weather is cold, carry the cell phone in a pants pocket near the femoral artery. Report your UTM NAD27 coordinates, your condition, the conditions where you are and discuss your plans with SAR. Ordinary Cell Phones If you may be out of cell tower range, carry a SPOT. SPOT-2 Satellite Messenger

4. Always stay found on your topo map and be aware of major land features. If visibility starts to wane, reconfirm your bearings with your map, compass and GPS and quickly return to a known location. A GPS is the only practical way for a trained individual to navigate in a whiteout or blowing snow. Lost Mt Hood Climbers

A suggested minimum standard news advisory for all backcountry travelers!

"We would like to take this opportunity to ask our visitors to the backcountry of Oregon to Plan for the unexpected. Each person should dress for the forecast weather and take minimum extra clothing to provide protection from a drop in temperature and possible rain or snow storm or an unexpected cold wet night out. Each person should carry high carbohydrate snacks, two quarts of water or Gatorade, a topo map and declination adjusted base plate compass and an optional inexpensive GPS (and the skills to use them together). Each person who has a cell phone should carry their ordinary charged cell phone (from a service provider that has the best local backcountry coverage). An inexpensive SPOT-2 GPS Satellite Communicator is a good additional option for some. Each person should carry their selected items from the new 'Ten Essentials Systems' in a day pack sized for the individual, the trip, the season and the forecast weather."

"Visitors are reminded to tell a Responsible Person where they are going, where they plan to park, when they will be back and to make sure that person understands that they are relied upon to call 911 at a certain time if the backcountry traveler has not returned. Call 911 as soon as you become lost or stranded. You will not be charged. Do not try to find your way until you are benighted, exhausted, or worse yet - wet. Your ordinary cell phone call to 911 can take the 'Search' out of Search and Rescue."

THE MISSION of TraditionalMountaineering.org

"To provide information and instruction about world-wide basic to advanced alpine mountain climbing safety skills and gear, on and off trail hiking, scrambling and light and fast Leave No Trace backpacking techniques based on the foundation of an appreciation for the Stewardship of the Land, all illustrated through photographs and accounts of actual shared mountaineering adventures."

TraditionalMountaineering is founded on the premise that "He who knows naught, knows not that he knows naught", that exploring the hills and summitting peaks have dangers that are hidden to the un-informed and that these inherent risks can be in part, identified and mitigated by mentoring: information, training, wonderful gear, and knowledge gained through the experiences of others.

The value of TraditionalMountaineering to our Friends and Subscribers is the selectivity of the information we provide, and its relevance to introducing folks to informed hiking on the trail, exploring off the trail, mountain travel and Leave-no-Trace light-weight bivy and backpacking, technical travel over steep snow, rock and ice, technical glacier travel and a little technical rock climbing on the way to the summit. Whatever your capabilities and interests, there is a place for everyone in traditional alpine mountaineering.

WARNING - *DISCLAIMER!*
Mountain climbing has inherent dangers that can, only in part, be mitigated

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