Bondcliff Rescue (8/29/05)

[Waumbek]

An AP report:

[start quote]
Injured R.I. hiker rescued from White Mountain National Forest
August 29, 2005

LINCOLN, N.H. --A crew of 50 mountain rescuers carried an injured Rhode Island man out of the White Mountain National Forest on Monday.
David Pierce, 49, of Narragansett, was hiking Sunday in the Pemigewasset Wilderness with his son and a friend when he suffered a knee injury and mild hypothermia, said Fish and Game Lt. Todd Bogardus.
His companions set up a shelter for him and hiked nearly 10 miles out of the woods to get help, alerting authorities at 11:30 p.m. Sunday.
Early Monday, rescuers began climbing the rugged Bondcliff trail, located Pierce and carried him out by evening. The rescue took nearly 12 hours, Bogardus said.
Pierce was evaluated and released. He was not hospitalized, Bogardus said.
U.S. Forest Service, Appalachian Mountain Club, Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue and Upper Valley Wilderness Response teams helped with the rescue. [end quote]

 

[dentonfabrics]

Not even a scratch?

He WASN'T hospitalized? Hmmm....I would think that a hiker that required a 50 man, 10 mile, 12 hour rescue would have been injured enough to warrant a looksee in the local emergency room...

Thanks for posting these reports Waumbek. Makes for interesting reading.

bob

 

[Tim Horn]

Ever blown a knee? Dislocate a joint? It is very possible to have an injury that imobilizes you, but that once treated, does not require overnight hospitalization. Unless I was there and knew different, I would not cast dispersion on or minimize someones injury. Many kudo's to the rescue team.

 

[KMartman]

anyone know if he'll be charged for the rescue? Doesn't seem that its carelessness that caused this? I know there was some other post about VT changing laws on rescues...maybe it wasnt this board, but would stil like to know...

thanks..

M

 

[Jim lombard]

Does anyone know if he had to be carried out by hand or if they use wheeled stretchers? On Mt Killimanjaro we saw a porter who fell flat on his face (with 40lbs on his head!) They put him in a 6 foot stretcher with a single motorcycle tire (with brake) affixed on the bottom. This way 2-4 men could walk him down the mountain pretty easily. It was a bumpy ride but they were fast and they got him to a Land Rover quickly. The single wheel stretcher would work well around here also. I wish I'd taken a picture of it.

 

[KMartman]

Does anyone know if he had to be carried out by hand or if they use wheeled stretchers? On Mt Killimanjaro we saw a porter who fell flat on his face (with 40lbs on his head!) They put him in a 6 foot stretcher with a single motorcycle tire (with brake) affixed on the bottom. This way 2-4 men could walk him down the mountain pretty easily. It was a bumpy ride but they were fast and they got him to a Land Rover quickly. The single wheel stretcher would work well around here also. I wish I'd taken a picture of it.

Not too hijack this thread, but I am planning Killamanjaro for 2007 and was wondering how it was...hard? Easy? moderate? besides elevation was there anything else to worry about?

PM me if you don't want to continue this "hijakc"

M

 

[Jim lombard]

Not too hijack this thread, but I am planning Killamanjaro for 2007 and was wondering how it was...hard? Easy? moderate? besides elevation was there anything else to worry about?

PM me if you don't want to continue this "hijakc"

M

I PM'ed you

 

[sapblatt]

anyone know if he'll be charged for the rescue? Doesn't seem that its carelessness that caused this? I know there was some other post about VT changing laws on rescues...maybe it wasnt this board, but would stil like to know...

thanks..

M

My limited understanding of the search and rescue charging would lead me to believe that this case would not have incurred a charge. It does not appear that these folks were ill-equipped or wreckless. The person was injured and needed help to get out.

 

[Waumbek]

Here's the report from NH Fish & Game:

[start quote]
Rhode Island Man Carried Out of White Mountains Following Injury

CONCORD, N.H. -- A White Mountain rescue ended well for an injured 49-year-old hiker from Rhode Island on Monday, August 29. In an arduous 11-hour rescue operation, the man, David W. Pierce of Narragansett, R.I., was carried out on a litter by some 50 rescuers from the N.H. Fish and Game Department, White Mountain National Forest, Appalachian Mountain Club, Pemigewassett Valley Search and Rescue Team and the Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team.

Pierce was hiking with his son and friend in the Pemigewasset Wilderness of New Hampshire over the weekend. Late Sunday afternoon he suffered a knee injury and possibly mild hypothermia along a bushwhack trail which leads to the Twinway trail. Pierce's hiking companions set up a tent and supplies for him while they hiked nearly 10 miles out to the Lincoln-Woods Trailhead to alert officials.

Rescue crews hiked in and located Pierce along the rugged Bondcliff trail between Mount Bond and Bondcliff. There they began the litter carry back out to the trailhead, arriving after 7:00 p.m. Monday. Rescuers encountered rough trail conditions and rain during the rescue. Pierce was evaluated for his injuries and released. [end quote]

 

[SAR-EMT40]

Does anyone know if he had to be carried out by hand or if they use wheeled stretchers?

I assume that Waumbek didn't spot this question. Since he PM'ed me with some information I didn't feel right sharing the private info he sent me since it was a private message to me. Not that he said the info was top secret or anything, just that I consider private, to be private.

Now though, the SAR group I work with sent me a write up about the rescue even though I wasn't there for this rescue. I can tell you that they did use a litter wheel for a large part of the rescue according to the write up I received. I am hoping since I am posting this Waumbek will spot this in the thread and will give more details about the wheel. I have used them in the past and they allow you to basically balance the stretcher instead of bearing the full weight of the person, equipment, and stretcher. It can be a rough ride for the passenger sometimes though.

I will also say that it sounds like there were secondary medical issues not mentioned in the newspaper account that were the reason for the rescue in addition to the knee problems.

Keith

 

[kltilton]

Aren't wheeled vehichles in the Wilderness area against the Wilderness Act? Just Kidding.

 

[Eric Savage]

Bushwhacking to Bond?

Pierce was hiking with his son and friend in the Pemigewasset Wilderness of New Hampshire over the weekend. Late Sunday afternoon he suffered a knee injury and possibly mild hypothermia along a bushwhack trail which leads to the Twinway trail. Pierce's hiking companions set up a tent and supplies for him while they hiked nearly 10 miles out to the Lincoln-Woods Trailhead to alert officials.

Now I'm curious. Is this a misprint, are they referring to the Bondcliff trail as a bushwhack or did someone actually try to bushwhack onto the Bondcliff ridge?

 

[dug]

"...or did someone actually try to bushwhack onto the Bondcliff ridge?"

Dr. Wu's been talking about it...

 

[dr_wu002]

"...or did someone actually try to bushwhack onto the Bondcliff ridge?"

Dr. Wu's been talking about it...

My name comes up in an unrelated thread!

It wasn't me... also, I said that if I did it I wouldn't tell anyone so that when I got killed nobody would find me (except for the bone-picker birds).

-Dr. Wu

 

[dug]

Wu...Just razzin' ya'!

 

[sardog1]

The wheeled litter can be real helpful in the right trail conditions, but it can also present its own problems. Since the litter pivots fairly easily end-to-end on the wheel (think teeter-totter), it can be tough to maintain a level, semi-comfortable ride for the patient. Ditto for bouncing on the wheel in rough terrain. Also, when it comes to treefalls, boulders and narrow spots, there's still a fair amount of lifting to be done. Right when you need them, you often don't have all the helping hands on the litter that you'd have on a regular litter carry.

Last time I helped carry a wheeled litter up for a carry-out, the 91 year old (that's right, ninety-one) would-be patient declined the ride. It was midnight, there was ice on the trail, and this guy's biggest concern when found was that we not tell the press, so his son wouldn't find out he'd been out on the AT alone and unprepared for darkness. True story.