[pct-l] Two hikers dead in avalance near Snoqualmie Pass

Wed Dec 5 22:10:02 CST 2007

I know you're hearing from a bazillion people, but allow me a few lines to say how relieved I am that all of you faired so well.  You kept your wits about you and you should be very proud.  What a grand testimony to "team effort".  Thank you for documenting your ordeal for all to read and learn from.

I had one minor thought.  I have just started reading, "Mountaineering:  Freedom of the Hills" and I remember reading that if you need snow shoes in an emergency, you can cut boughs off an evergreen tree and lash them to the bottom of your boots, with the cut portion toward the toe of the boot.  This might have helped in some slight way.  Now after reading your account, I think I'll hang on every word in the book and try to memorize it for emergency situations!

So glad you're home safely!
Beyond this, there be dragon toes!!!

Wheeew

cvano at tmail.com wrote: Yes!

On Wed, 5 Dec 2007 9:03 am, g l wrote:
> Isn't this Chris of the Pirate fame???  "Drifter"????
>
> Wheeew
>
> cvano at tmail.com wrote:
>
>> Please feel free to repost if there is a lesson to be learned. I am not
>> a member of this forum and have about 400 emails to answer this morning
>> - doped up! C
>>
>> On Wed, 5 Dec 2007 8:42 am, Greg Kesselring wrote:
>>>  What an amazing story!! Thanks for writing it up and sharing it with
>>>  us. Have you considered posting it on www.nwhikers.net ?
>>>
>>>  Amazing that you all survived and that your feet FROZE and it looks
>>>  like you are not going to lose even one toe!
>>>
>>>  Congratulations on surviving and getting found and getting out safely.
>>>
>>>  Greg
>>>
>>>  cvano at tmail.com wrote:
>>>>  Actually, the bottom paragraph in this article IS about me. The first
>>>>  group was in fact avalanched. We opted to leave the trail and go
>>>>  cross country (down and away) to avoid this very situation. We left
>>>>  on a short overnight hike with a forecast of 3 to 5 inches of snow
>>>>  followed by rain and wind. Perfect to test new gear. What we got was
>>>>  3 to 5 FEET of powder followed by torrential rain. We just couldn't
>>>>  make it out without snowshoes. Took 7 hours to go 1 mile.
>>>>
>>>>  So it ended up with 4 of us in a 2 man Sierra Designs tent for 2
>>>>  nights. We immediatly went on reduced rations and pulled together.
>>>>  We had one synthetic sleeping bag. The other 3 were down and worse
>>>>  than useless, everything being thoroughly soaked by this time. I had
>>>>  my alcohol stove and a full Capt Morgan bottle of fuel. We used that
>>>>  for cooking, melting snow, and warmth every hour during the night. We
>>>>  also all had to cuddle. BTW, I'm the 55 year old.
>>>>
>>>>  The first night, the snow beneth my butt kept sinking and water came
>>>>  in through the tent floor. Next morning a river appeared on our left
>>>>  about 10 feet away. Another appeared on our right also about 10 feet
>>>>  away. We packed up and I postholed into a third river directly under
>>>>  where the tent had been. Hypothermia was also a big concern along
>>>>  with dehydration. I got to witness a couple of avalanches, new
>>>>  waterfalls, mudslides etc. There is no way to describe the power of
>>>>  water in these conditions. Unbelievable! It takes big trees and
>>>>  boulders along on the first wave like nothing. Sounds like a turbine
>>>>  engine on take off.
>>>>
>>>>  It took 3 hours to move 100 yards across the river and up 100 feet to
>>>>  a tree where we again set up camp.
>>>>
>>>>  SAR took 36 hours to reach us on snowshoes. A helicopter made 2
>>>>  passes Monday but didn't see us. One came yesterday and we flipped
>>>>  our Thermorest pads at it and were spotted exactly where we told them
>>>>  we were. In the meantime we had made a path to a clearing so we could
>>>>  get out and do that quickly when we heard them coming.
>>>>
>>>>  SAR arrived on foot about noon Tuesday with dry clothes, med gear and
>>>>  food including Gummy Bears and snowshoes. They did first aid to my
>>>>  feet, and we set off. We all walked out!
>>>>
>>>>  We all had adaquate gear for the conditions. What happened was I had
>>>>  waterproof socks. Unbeknownst and unexpected by me, they got full of
>>>>  water from postholing (above waste) and actually froze on my feet. I
>>>>  couldn't get my shoes off. This was Sunday about noon. I had 4 pairs
>>>>  of dry wool socks. Didn't help. We chose NOT to warm them with any
>>>>  heat (body, stove) for fear of it happening again. That was the right
>>>>  choice.
>>>>
>>>>  I will probably not loose any toes. When we got out, between the 12
>>>>  or 14 hikers that came in, 2 helicopter crews, 2 ambulances, command
>>>>  post, snow plow, sherriff, there were more than a hundred volunteers
>>>>  involved in this rescue. The hospital fed me twice and I was a
>>>>  celebraty there because most of the staff had never seen frostbite!
>>>>  Anyway, they also gave me warm IV, blankets, and hung all my clothes
>>>>  to dry. The also gave me morphine even though I was in no pian. My
>>>>  toes felt like they had a shot of novacane. No feeling at all. Then
>>>>  they put them in 85 degree water. Cool to the heal but OMG did it
>>>>  burn my toes. This went on for several hours with progressively
>>>>  warmer tap water.
>>>>
>>>>  This morning most of the purple color, waxy appearance and white
>>>>  colored nails are gone. My feet have both swelled to near twice their
>>>>  normal size and they hurt. Its also very hard and painfull to walk.
>>>>  Doc says it will take several days or a couple of weeks to regain
>>>>  normal size and feeling. Got some good drugs though.... Taking today
>>>>  off work (hate when THAT happens!)
>>>>
>>>>  Bottom line, $hit happens, even to me! Be prepared! This was only a
>>>>  4.4 mile and 2000' gain hike. Don't ever wear waterproof socks in
>>>>  freezing conditions. It was only about 20 degrees. We were all warm
>>>>  other than me feet, although very cramped in the tent but we survived
>>>>  a great adventure. Each of us had some piece of gear that contributed
>>>>  to group survival. Synthetic bag, alcohol stove with pleanty of fuel.
>>>>  A 2 man tent, one ice axe, one set of hiking poles, 2 orange sleeping
>>>>  pads, one cell phone (low battery), we pooled the food and shared
>>>>  everything equilly. The one thing we lacked was snowshoes. Even with
>>>>  them on we postholed and fell a lot on the way out. Even the SAR team
>>>>  did that. We all pulled together as a team, no one got scared, mad,
>>>>  or even testy. Even moral stayed good considering.. A grand
>>>>  adventure! BTW, the differance between ordeal and adventure is
>>>>  attitude. That helped a lot. Thanks everyone for your concern. We
>>>>  did have to cashe some gear on the mountain. It was just too wet and
>>>>  heavy to get it all down. Confidence is high that it will be there
>>>>  when we go to retrive it. Its 100 yards off trail and well hidden in
>>>>  a rugged area. It will probably be a couple of weeks to months before
>>>>  we can get back up there to get it.
>>>>  C
>>>>
>>>>
>> Beyond this point
>> There be dragons...
>>
>> Chris ~ S/V Drifter
>> Anacortes, WA. ~~~_/) ~~~
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Beyond this point
There be dragons...

Chris ~ S/V Drifter
Anacortes, WA. ~~~_/) ~~~

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