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[pct-l] Rescue/CA fishing license



Natural selection WAS at work here! see it????  He had (good) friends along,
did not solo, had a support network later, etc...etc. If he was by himself,
had no friends to help him...then natural selection would have played
out with his death probably instead of survival!! ..so he was "selected" to
survive for
"good reasons"..instead of passing away at the base of the wall..
but then if he solo'ed would he have climbed that 30' by himself??
You never know...so..I still contend natural selction is the best
means...let 'er rip...high end of the gene pool survives and
betters the species!! always!! Mother Nature will have her due!!

Rich


At 09:34 PM 12/2/02 -0800, Vic L Hanson wrote:
>Hey, why not, I might as well join you Marge.
>
>There has been a lot of joking about natural selection (at least I hope
>it was joking!), not wanting to pay for idiot's mistakes, getting what
>you deserve, etc. About 5-6 (?) years ago a group of us were climbing up
>at Castle Rock at Big Bear. There is a fantastic wall there about 90 feet
>high. While a couple of us climbed up around the back to put up the top
>ropes, the rest waited for us down at the base. One of the guys, a fairly
>novice climber, decided to do a little bouldering while he waited for us
>to get the rope set up. We didn't know anything about it up top until we
>heard a scream and a sick sounding thud. He had climbed up about 30+ feet
>on an easy route and then it got harder and he decided he better go back
>down. As most climbers soon learn, it is usually easier to climb up then
>to climb down. He slipped and fell from about 30 feet, bounced off a
>ledge at 15 feet and fell on the rocks at the base. It was a miracle that
>he didn't hit his head but did break some ribs, puncture a lung, receive
>a compound fracture on one ankle and severely sprain the other (and a
>broken arm? Can't remember all the details). When we got down, he was
>gasping for breath, in terrible pain and going into shock. We had a
>marathon trail runner with us, she ran down 2 miles or so to a phone,
>called Big Bear Fire & Rescue, ran back up to tell us they were on the
>way and then ran back down to meet them and guide them back up. They
>brought an oxygen tank, treated him as much as possible and put him on a
>stretcher. We carried him to a clearing on a small hill and waited for
>the helicopter. After awhile the radio reported that the helicopter would
>be delayed due to another rescue on the other side of Big Bear. As our
>friend ran down to get another oxygen tank off the fire truck (and run
>back up with it!), we watched him almost die waiting for the helicopter.
>You know, we weren't telling him how stupid he was or that he deserved to
>die. We were yelling at him to keep fighting to stay alive, reminding him
>that his two little girls needed him (his wife was killed in a fireball
>when a car crashed into the gas pump as she was filling her car, a couple
>of years before that). When the helicopter finally got there, we watched
>as they hoisted him up and flew away. All we could do was pray that he
>would live until they got to the hospital in San Bernardino. He did live
>and recovered fully, thanks to a great rescue team, doctors and other
>hospital staff, friends that supported and encouraged him and the grace
>of God who watches over all of us fools when we do stupid things or just
>have "accidents".
>
>Thanks Marge, you must have been a good Mom. What are we teaching our
>kids (or grand kids)? Looks like Dude got the message.
>
>Peace and God bless,
>
>Vic
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