Accident Report, Torreys Pk, 7-10-2011

[nrd]

I was going to post a full TR, but I decided to just post an accident report instead.

My partner and I were almost done hiking Kelso Ridge on Sunday, July 10th when we stopped for a short break just below the knife edge and the gray tower sometime around 11am. I noticed a couple of guys carrying snowboards down from the summit towards the top of Dead Dog Couloir. Neither of them had a helmet. We hung out for a few minutes to watch them start their descent. Boarder A sat down and strapped in at the very top of the snow, right next to the snowy nose that separates the East Face from Dead Dog. He stood up and slid forward a few feet to get a better look down. When he tried to stop in the very soft snow, he almost pitched face forward, did some windmilling and stopped.

Boarder B hiked down to the same spot and started putting his board on. Boarder A made a few wobbly turns and stopped maybe 100' down. Boarder B stood up and started sliding towards the nose. After sliding 5 or 10 feet, he went to make his first turn and endo'd right over the nose of his board and started tumbling towards the East Face. He bounced two or three times on the snow, bounced once or twice on a rock outcropping, bounced again in the snow then landed flat on a second rock outcropping, somehow coming to an immediate stop. He was conscious, screaming in pain, and writhing around a few feet from the top of the steep snow of the East Face.

I yelled over to Boarder B and asked if anything was broken. He eventually unstrapped, stood up, pointed at his left humerus and said his arm was broken. I yelled back at him and told him to stay there, sit down, put some extra clothing on, and drink some water, and that I would call for help. I looked down and saw Boarder A at some point had gone a little further down and stopped in Dead Dog where he was maybe 200' below Boarder B.

I pulled out my phone, had two bars (Verizon), and dialed 911. I was patched through to a Sheriff's dispatcher. I don't remember, but I thought it was Clear Creek. I explained that there was an accident maybe 200' below the summit of Torrey's Peak in Dead Dog Couloir and that a male snowboarder with a blue shirt and dark pants had fallen about 100' into rocks and was complaining of a broken arm. I said that he was sitting on a rock outcrop and that I had told him not to move. After giving the dispatcher all of this info and my contact info I hung up and tried to get a little bit more comfortable to wait for rescue to come get the victim. I didn't feel that there was a safe way for me to get over to the victim.

Boarder A and Boarder B had been yelling back and forth at each other, and my attention came back to them. About then I heard Boarder B say something to the effect of "I can just strap in and ride out". My mouth dropped open and I shot an exasperated look at my partner who returned the same. Boarder B walked to the edge of the rock outcropping and strapped in again. He stood and started sliding away from the outcrop and immediately endo'd again and started tumbling straight down the couloir.

After two or three tumbles, Boarder B somehow managed to land on his butt with his board downhill, moving at a pretty high rate of speed. He slid past Boarder A and into the runnel. Board downhill, Boarder B was able to slightly check his acceleration with his heel edge. He slid quickly out of my sight, down the couloir proper. I looked over at my partner who could see the entire couloir and watched him as he slowly turned his gaze downhill, eyes locked on Boarder B. After some time, he turned towards me and said something like "Oh God, he went over another cliff. It looks like a big one and I can't see him anymore." Boarder B had gone all the way down Dead Dog without making a single successful turn.

I pulled out my phone again, called 911 again, and explained that I was the RP for the Torrey's accident and that the injured snowboarder and fallen again and had gone over some more rocks, and was probably somewhere down on the apron now. The dispatcher said that the alpine rescue team was on their way and that someone would want to talk to me.

I thought most likely Boarder B died after hitting the third rock outcrop at the bottom of the couloir, and tried to get my head straight to finish my hike and get back down. It took us a while to finish the ridge, pick up the trail, descend past the saddle, and get to where we could see any of the couloir again. As more of the apron came into view, we could see that nobody was there. I scanned the trail which had a lot of people on it but didn't see any ART people or what looked like any kind of rescue effort. All I could see were happy smiling hikers heading up and down, oblivious to the accident.

We hiked back to the trailhead, and still didn't see any evidence of an accident or a rescue. It was surreal, like it didn't even happen. We hung out for a while watching the soggy but happy hikers and eventually drove home. The next day I looked up ART's office phone number, called them up, and left a message with my contact info. I said that I was the RP for the accident on Torrey's and that if anyone wanted to talk to me they're welcome to call. I have not received a call back.

I have learned through some forum posts that after bouncing over the third rock outcropping at the bottom of the couloir, Boarder B got up, slung his arm, and walked out with Boarder A. ART met up with them somewhere near the trailhead and checked him out. He refused an ambulance ride and apparently left with Boarder A.

That's it. Just like that. I guess it's fine. Please be safe out there.

[ectreeskier11]

damn, that's a new one. glad it turned out OK i suppose.

[summit]

Hot damn! Good post.

I think I met those guys on Skyscraper. One strapped in leaned back too far and slid straight into a rockwall, falling into the crevice head down. I turned to his friend and said, "see what your buddy did there? Don't do that." He didn't even traverse, he slid his edge right out and joined his friend upside down in the crevice. They took 15 minutes to unstrap, work around the corner of the crevice, and precariously (they had no axes or crampons) strap back in. Meanwhile, you could hear them screaming things like "I'M NEVER SNOWBOARDING IN THE SUMMER AGAIN!" One of them decided he wasn't going to strap in, tossed his pack which rolled all the way to the apron, then glissaded on his ass with no ability to stop down the whole thing, narrowly missing rocks. The other guy managed to snowboard 45deg off the fall line, and despite having the entire snowfield to choose from, RAN INTO MY GROUP while we were standing 400 feet away watching the idiocy.

[khakis]

so homeboy made a mistake and self-extracted, but since he disobeyed the orders you were barking at him (even though you were not part of his party and unable to assist)...he's the "f*nozzle"?

props to the snowboarders for getting themselves out without requiring SAR

[ectreeskier11]

so homeboy made a mistake and self-extracted, but since he disobeyed the orders you were barking at him (even though you were not part of his party and unable to assist)...he's the "f*nozzle"?

props to the snowboarders for getting themselves out without requiring SAR

i guess that's one way to look at it, but after nearly killing yourself once it's probably in your best interest to chill the fuck out instead of going for it again, sounds like they got pretty goddamn lucky to me.

[BGnight]

Lol they sound like a couple of clueless kooks who can't ride.

[strawjack]

i guess that's one way to look at it, but after nearly killing yourself once it's probably in your best interest to chill the fuck out instead of going for it again, sounds like they got pretty goddamn lucky to me.

ahh...yup! they should probably check out the blue squares over at breck for a bit before adventuring off again.

[brutah]

so homeboy made a mistake and self-extracted, but since he disobeyed the orders you were barking at him (even though you were not part of his party and unable to assist)...he's the "f*nozzle"?

props to the snowboarders for getting themselves out without requiring SAR

let me count the ways boarder A & B were f'nozzles:

1. both were obviously in way over their heads in ability, skill level and b.c. knowledge which not only endangers yourself but can endanger others as well.

2. Boarder B almost killed himself twice: once after watching his partner fail then doing the same thing only worse. then again after almost killing himself and not staying put when rescue efforts were on their way.

I think nrd was probably shooken up and was not informed of what happened to the victims and since it appeared the victims fled the scene, he was right in calling them f'nozzles. I also understand the need to get out of the backcountry as fast as possible once an accident occurs and that takes precedent over informing concerned parties. its scary as shit watching someone fall down a mountain.

[SILENCER]

Hot damn! Good post.

I think I met those guys on Skyscraper. One strapped in leaned back too far and slid straight into a rockwall, falling into the crevice head down. I turned to his friend and said, "see what your buddy did there? Don't do that." He didn't even traverse, he slid his edge right out and joined his friend upside down in the crevice. They took 15 minutes to unstrap, work around the corner of the crevice, and precariously (they had no axes or crampons) strap back in. Meanwhile, you could hear them screaming things like "I'M NEVER SNOWBOARDING IN THE SUMMER AGAIN!" One of them decided he wasn't going to strap in, tossed his pack which rolled all the way to the apron, then glissaded on his ass with no ability to stop down the whole thing, narrowly missing rocks. The other guy managed to snowboard 45deg off the fall line, and despite having the entire snowfield to choose from, RAN INTO MY GROUP while we were standing 400 feet away watching the idiocy.

This just plain rules. "I'M NEVER SNOWBOARDING IN THE SUMMER AGAIN".

That's gold, Jerry. Gold!

[khakis]

let me count the ways boarder A & B were f'nozzles:

1. both were obviously in way over their heads in ability, skill level and b.c. knowledge which not only endangers yourself but can endanger others as well.

2. Boarder B almost killed himself twice: once after watching his partner fail then doing the same thing only worse. then again after almost killing himself and not staying put when rescue efforts were on their way.

I think nrd was probably shooken up and was not informed of what happened to the victims and since it appeared the victims fled the scene, he was right in calling them f'nozzles. I also understand the need to get out of the backcountry as fast as possible once an accident occurs and that takes precedent over informing concerned parties. its scary as shit watching someone fall down a mountain.

seriously? So say you're out playing (climbing skiing biking paddling fishing underwater basket weaving) and take a spill...some hiker sees it from afar, from his vantage decides that you must be badly hurt or dead, starts barking orders at you, calls 911, freaks out, whatever...you're just gonna sit there and do what he says, let SAR spend tons of time and resources coming to get you, even though you self-assess and decide you're capable of getting yourself to safety?

nrd the only communication you mention receiving from the guy was him telling you that his arm was broken. Did he respond to you when you said you were calling SAR? You also don't mention calling SAR when it became apparent that the guys had decided to hike themselves down. Does anybody know if SAR actually deployed for this incident?

[brutah]

seriously? So say you're out playing (climbing skiing biking paddling fishing underwater basket weaving) and take a spill...some hiker sees it from afar, from his vantage decides that you must be badly hurt or dead, starts barking orders at you, calls 911, freaks out, whatever...you're just gonna sit there and do what he says, let SAR spend tons of time and resources coming to get you, even though you self-assess and decide you're capable of getting yourself to safety?

not so good at reading comprehension, eh?

I also understand the need to get out of the backcountry as fast as possible once an accident occurs and that takes precedent over informing concerned parties.

if you can get yourself out then do it. i'm not sitting tight when i know i'm hurt, i could be bleeding internally and getting myself out of the backcountry is the first and foremost concern. S&R rescues aren't always fast......

what i was trying to iterate is that Boarder A and B were f'nozzles for putting themselves into that situation in the first place, hence, endangering those trying to rescue them and wasting S&R monies that could be put to a more valuable use.

I also made the point that it is scary as shit to watch something like that go down even if you don't know them and even scarier when you don't know the outcome of the victims, so that nrd's outrage was somewhat justified......

[khakis]

I guess the point I was trying to get across (without actually coming out and saying it) is that a lot of faith is being put into the OP's assessment of these guys' skiing ability without any real knowledge. That said...

what i was trying to iterate is that Boarder A and B were f'nozzles for putting themselves into that situation in the first place, hence, endangering those trying to rescue them and wasting S&R monies that could be put to a more valuable use.

I'll be sure and keep in mind that I am a f*nozzle next time I do anything dangerous or challenging, that if i fall somebody might call SAR and cause them to waste their resources while I am selfishly self-extracting so I can patch myself up or get to the hospital

[Edgnar]

I'm with BGnight on this one.

[ACH]

This sounds like a case of "no good deed goes unpunished"...
Maybe the object lesson here is, wait to call S&R until you can confirm injury
and or if said injured person needs/wants (assuming they are in a capacity to make the call) assistance?

[bendtheski]

I think nrd did the right thing dialing 911 and initiating a response. ART can always be stood down if it turns out a response isn't necessary and if the snowboarders had further injured themselves trying to get down, ART would have already been on the way.

The snowboarders seem to have demonstrated a tendency towards bad decision making and probably increased the risk to everyone in their vicinity including ART responders. Glad to see their ineptitude didn't inflict damage to any beyond themselves.

It was probably wise to update dispatch that the injured party was continuing down. That information could have changed the level of response from ART, although I think they would still have considered it an emergent response for an injured party in the bc.

It was fortunate that there wasn't another call requiring a response from ART while these clowns were flailing around. ART are all volunteers and it's hard enough getting resources and personnel for one incident, let alone two. Had another incident arisen with more serious injuries while responders were tied up with this cluster, well you can see where this is headed...

[hutash]

Nowhere in did the OP tell Boarder B that SAR was connected with and on the way, at least I don't see it written. If that is true the boarders did what was logical, get themselves off the mountain. Sure they are kooks for not being capable of riding the line they choose, but that is a whole other discussion.

"What we have here's a failure to communicate".

[nrd]

hutash, I don't remember exactly what words I used (I was pretty spun up), but I did tell him that I called for help and that help was on the way. He sat down for a while and appeared to be waiting, but then changed his mind after communicating with his buddy. By the way he spoke, it was clear that he was deciding to do something different (self-extricate) than what he was doing (sitting). I did not verbally re-engage him at this point. Maybe I should have. That is still my biggest uncertainty about my actions during the whole thing.

khakis nailed it on faith in my assessment. I made a rapid assessment based on limited observational data that this kid would probably not be able to safely self-extricate himself. In my opinion, strapping in with a broken arm and possible head injuries, carTwheeling down the couloir, and launching over a third rock outcrop is not a safe self-extrication. That's only one data point, but I think I got it right.

bendtheski, are you saying I should have made a third call, or were you referring to the second call? By the time I could tell that the boarders had hiked out it was probably 1.5 - 2hrs after the second 911 call. It was pretty clear that if ART had shown up, they had also left already. I called their office phone on Monday instead of making a third, late 911 call. Disregard if you were referring to the second call.

I'm glad they did make it out on their own and I don't blame them for not waiting around. I wish they could have told me they were okay and cancel the call, but they were 1200' down and out of sight. I really did think I saw that dude's last moments and it bent me sideways. I already apologized for my angry post, and I know I shouldn't have posted it. Above all, I am extremely relieved that everyone is apparently okay and that there was not another call to ART while their volunteers were responding to this mess.

Thanks for providing a place for me to express the story. It's been cathartic and even hilarious. "I'M NEVER SNOWBOARDING IN THE SUMMER AGAIN!"

[hutash]

Didn't mean to assume too much. It does seem better communication would have helped, but that is not your fault, but theirs. You were trying to help, and they didn't seem to really be that aware of their own situation. Props to you for trying help. I am glad it turned out well, but it was probably just dumb luck on the boarders part.

[khakis]

good on you for trying to do what you could to help...the flipside of my earlier arguments is that you'd probably never be able to forgive yourself if you had done nothing then seen a double body recovery on the news. That third call when you realized the boarders were no longer in the coulie or apron probably would have been a good move though

[bendtheski]

nrd,
I think you did the best you could given the situation. An arm fracture alone might not be serious enough to warrant a response from ART, but if you suspected more serious injury from the tumble over the rocks, then I don't see a problem. Victims are not always entirely accurate or reliable at assessing their own injuries.

From your description it doesn't sound as though you would have had enough information (that the boarders were walking themselves out) since you had lost visual contact to place a 3rd call to stand down Alpine and the boarders themselves might never have thought of doing so, or had a cell signal to do so even if they had.
In the end I think too much response is probably better than too little or none, especially if it turns out that injuries are worse than the original assessment indicated.


I was up there yesterday for the first time and wanted to see the area in person since I've worked a couple of calls up there recently.


Dead Dog Coulior


Mtn Goat looks on (wonder if he face-hooved watching your snowboarders)

[madturtle]

khakis nailed it on faith in my assessment. I made a rapid assessment based on limited observational data that this kid would probably not be able to safely self-extricate himself. In my opinion, strapping in with a broken arm and possible head injuries, carTwheeling down the couloir, and launching over a third rock outcrop is not a safe self-extrication. That's only one data point, but I think I got it right.

From what I read here, seems to me you made some reasonable assumptions. Luckily neither of them was hurt worse but if the fall was as bad as you say I think calling ART sooner than later was the way to go, epecially since you weren't in a position to confirm in a timely manner.

I know things can get crazy in the moment and yelling across the ridge or whatever is not great communication but re-engaging the boarder if at all possible would have made sense to me when they seemed to be heading down. Of course given their propensity for making bad decisions maybe calling a rescue was still the way to go...tough to say.

bendtheski, are you saying I should have made a third call, or were you referring to the second call? By the time I could tell that the boarders had hiked out it was probably 1.5 - 2hrs after the second 911 call. It was pretty clear that if ART had shown up, they had also left already. I called their office phone on Monday instead of making a third, late 911 call. Disregard if you were referring to the second call.

I'm not sure what bendtheski was trying to say but I think you should have called 911 or ART a 3rd time when you couldn't find any signs of either the boarders or the rescue just to close the loop. Sounds like all worked out just fine but especially since you initiated the rescue you should make sure there wasn't a SNAFU w/ the snowboarders waiting out of view or getting into more trouble down low and ART searching the wrong area or having given up because they couldn't find anyone. Just my 2 cents.

[bamboocoreONLY]

Why do these guys go and try and board difficult lines when they suck major ass at snowboarding? especially without a helmet, like wtf...

[summit]

It's the self-destruct genes activating like chlorine in the shallow end of the gene pool. Unfortunately, stupid is hard to kill and SAR is the lifeguard on duty.

[strawjack]

In my opinion, strapping in with a broken arm and possible head injuries, carTwheeling down the couloir, and launching over a third rock outcrop is not a safe self-extrication. That's only one data point, but I think I got it right.

pretty tough to argue that point!

you were just thrown into a shitty situation and reacted the best way possible.

if someone were to steal their snowboards would that be considered a crime or an act of sympathetic compassion?

[Danno]

If they had been skiers and not boarders, I would have guessed it was this dude.