Ice Climbers Rescued On Mt. Washington

[Jasonst]

Glad everything worked out. Any idea what was happening with the body?

 

[Puck]

I am glad that everything turned out ok for you. Your post is very valuable. You are humble and analytical. It reminded me of an account I read by Guy Waterman about a winter trip he made with many blunders and mistakes. It was full of analysis and hard learned lessons.

Getting back to the original thread, however, the couple involved showed no such self reflection. She went as far as to dispute the comment made by the member of the observetory.

So Jack what did you eat at the diner?

 

[SherpaKroto]

Panama Jack: thanks for the honest account of your near mishap. First hand accounts really push the point home. I am very happy that you made it out safely, with no severe consequences.

 

[Jim lombard]

Very well written Panama Jack, glad you are OK.

It was nice to meet you on Saturday after the film

 

[KayakDan]

Chris,I'm glad to hear that this had a good ending. Sounds like you just "hit the wall" with only a couple of hours of sleep,and maybe you had other issues like a "bug" pulling you down. It's tough to just pull the plug on a hike in progress,and nobody likes to admit "defeat",especially with a group. Much to your credit,you kept your head together,and did what you could to fix the problem.
Isn't it amazing how fast things can deteriorate????
Glad your OK,and thanks for Saturday night.

 

[spider solo]

Glad things worked out ok. We all "hit the wall" from time to time.
Of course for reassurance if nothing else...if you felt like a "truck with the fuel injectors cloged" you might want to check with your doc to see if you need a "tune up" in any way. Just a thought, it has worked for me on occasion.

 

[Maddy]

Thank you so much for your incredible post. You did a nice job and were able to get yourself out of there.
I had become very ill with absolutely no warning backpacking with a friend in the Pharaoh wilderness. It was truly amazing how fast it happened and how I had positively no control over it. I could not stand up. It was an effort to breathe. I have never been sicker in my entire life. By morning I could sit up and take fluids.It finally ran it's course and we were able to hike out two days later.
IT's so important not to panic. The book Deep Survival really emphasizes many of the things you discussed and I often review it. He has a nice section in the back of his book that summarizes what you should/should not due when you find yourself in a big mess.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Happy that you are OK.

 

[Bjarni]

After years of hiking with no problems including frequent death marches in NH, I hit the wall a few years ago on a hike on the island of Dominica. Billed as the best hike in the Caribbean, the 8 mile round trip was to go through the rainforest and up and down a small 3,500 ft mountain to see The Valley of Desolation (a place with volcanic vents, multi-colored hot streams, and sulfur crystals on the ground) and then The Boiling Lake (which is what it sounds like, the largest one in the world). Total vertical (up and down) was only around 5,000 feet.

The hike is infamous for beating people up - wet, muddy, steep, slippery, etc. After only a couple of hours, I knew it was going to be a huge struggle for me, and the worst part was that I had never experienced this before and had never slowed a group down to wait for me. I was dying for a good 8 hours. I presumed it was dehydration but really have no good explanation. I do know that when we got back to the first decent-sized river I threw myself in it and drank and drank (there is, reportedly, no problem doing this on Dominica).

The point is that even the most experienced among us can without warning encounter a situation for which in some cases the only solution is to struggle through it as well as possible. Weather conditions, terrain, etc., had little to do with how I felt that day, and yet I don't know that I would have done anything differently feling as good as I did at the beginning. I did get a lesson in humility, though, which has certainly stayed with me.