Photos: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=210697800/a=38054161/t_=38054161
Saturday 2/23:
I have started to work towards becoming a member of the Rocky Mountain Rescue group. I've done some volunteer Rescue work in the past, and thought it would be a good way to give back to the outdoor community. Nice to help others whenever we can. Also figured it was a good place to meet more outdoorsy folks; and likely can get more vertical rescue experience since they are one of the most active rescue organizations. This weekend was going to be an overnight snow shelter weekend, with practice building snow anchors and a practice rescue both Saturday and Sunday.
I picked up Jonas at 7:30am, and we headed over to the meeting spot. Here, we went over the plans, and the trip leader, Les, showed us the gear he was taking. Didn't need to make much of an adjustment to my gear afterwards; basically, just left my crampons in the car and solidified my decision to use my double plastic mountaineering boots. I had done plenty of trips like this in the past; both on my own, and while teaching winter backpacking and winter survival back in Michigan.
The plan was to hike up towards Bald Mountain, scouting the terrain to see which way would be the best for the evacuation route. There were several teams, and each would explore their own route. We would coordinate with radios, and meet up on Bald Mountain. They also went over precautions about terrain and avalanches, then some folks needed to sign out gear.
We then drove up to the Caribou trailhead, and did last minute gear prep there - including testing each person's avalanche beacon. Everyone was on either skis or snowshoes. The weather was awesome. It's usually very windy near here, but there was only a sporadic gentle breeze. Nice. This whole process took a bit of time, and we didn't leave the trailhead until around 11:30am.
Our team chatted, and decided to take an Eastern ascent route. We knew some other teams were going more West, so this would give us a better idea on terrain of the area. We could pretty much follow pre-existing trails (some of which were 4WD roads in the summer.) At around 10,600, we started to contour to the North. In an open area, the wind started whipping up. Probably, 10mph constant with gusts to 20; definitely cooled things down, quite quickly. Here, Les started the rescue mission for today; around 2:15pm. I was picked as the injured person; broken ankle, getting hypothermic. The hypothermic wasn't an issue; I was still only wearing just a long sleeve shirt and my wind shell on top; and only my Sahara pants on the bottom. Not wanting to make it a real rescue situation, I added a fleece layer to my top and bottom; and put on my down coat. Since I had to take off my boots and pants to add the bottom thin fleece layer, my fingers got a bit chilled, so I got out my mittens and used a pack of hand warmers. Love those things!
Now I could safely play victim. Our small team of five worked on the scenario; with me as the victim and the other four as the rescuers. Frank worked on medical, and the others worked the radio and using our gear to try to keep me (the patient) warm; and we all brainstormed on options due to the severe weather and exposed location. A leg splint was secured with hiking poles and a Thermarest; much like our team used on Rainier. During this practice, a real rescue call came through, and some folks from the other teams headed out to work it; and others coordinated on the radio for a bit.
When we resumed, we discussed options of movement, and direction. Due to the other teams not being able to reach us very soon, we decided to use two people to move the patient, with the patient helping. Essentially, a rescuer on each side of the patient, with the patient's arms over each rescuer's shoulders. This works, but is a lot of effort for both the rescuers and the patient. Lots of jarring as the patient hops along too; so the patient better have some good pain tolerance and/or medication; especially if it was a serious leg injury.
We made our way up and over a bit, but then due to time, we decided to cut the practice today shorter as we still had to build our snow shelters. We made our way over to where one of the groups found a good spot to dig snow shelters. Jonas had already started digging a snow cave, so I teamed up with him and started to help him out. Pretty soon, we hit ground though. This wasn't really a great spot for a snow cave. We could have chosen another spot, but since it was now around 5:45pm and we found ground, we just decided to dig a kitchen (our stove could then be on the ground) and then we each dug a shallow open trench and decided we would just sleep outside tonight. Quite an easy solution (only took us about 10 minutes to dig.) Although, since it doesn't have a roof, there is no insulation. While it blocks a direct wind, it still allows the wind to strip the heat away pretty quickly. So far, the weather still didn't seem all that bad. It was probably in the upper 20's, and the wind was milder here since there were some trees.
We made dinner, then checked out some of the other team member's snow caves; there was quite a range. From a trench with a branch and then snow roof, to a trench with a tarp roof, all the way to the Taj Mahal of snow caves where five people were sitting in there having dinner. Quite the variety. Jonas and I would definitely have the coldest of conditions; especially because it started to snow, and then the wind picked up. I only had a 20F sleeping bag, and it was pretty old, so it was probably more like a 30F bag. I did have a Z-Rest and a light Thermarest though, so good insulation from the snowy ground. I also had a very light bivvy sack; so it would block against some snow. The temperature dropped to likely low 20's or upper teens, and the snow did continue through the night. This made it a challenge to keep my head sideways, with the bivvy sack zipped up enough and positioned so I could still breathe out, but not get hit by too much snow which would wake me up. I was actually pretty warm up until around 2am, that was the turning point. By 4am, I wasn't cold or shivering, but I wasn't warm anymore either. Still tolerable. Was able to get back to sleep and woke up again around 6:45am.
Sunday 2/24:
There had been about 2 inches of snow accumulation through the night, with the high winds depositing some good drifts. My gear was pretty well covered, and I had a good drift around my head and upper body. That definitely contributed to me getting colder around 2am I'm sure. Although, if I had gotten too cold, I could have just gotten up, moved around, went for a hike, etc to warm up, and then gone back to bed. There was also room in two of the snow caves, in case we couldn't warm back up; so it was quite safe. That, and the fact that there were 20 something rescuers within 100 feet of us. I knew I wouldn't need the snow cave or rescuers though; had done this more than a few times before. Jonas was actually too hot at night. He had a much warmer bag, and had to take off a few layers in the night, so he didn't sweat too much.
We started to make breakfast, and boil water to fill our bottles. Everyone started moving around 8am; and also making breakfast. Jonas was already mostly packed up as he woke up before me. I got everything packed, and then helped melt snow for other people's water bottles. We called in another practice rescue at 9:15am, as people were still packing up. Around 9:45am, everyone was pretty much packed up so we discussed the mission. Another broken ankle, patient is moderately hypothermic. Scott was chosen as today's victim; so he bundled up, and got into one of the snow caves.
I worked on the top snow anchor. We buried three pickets laterally for increased strength. We got the system all dug out, and then headed down to a steeper slope, and rigged a haul line to pull up gear. The rescue team started arriving around 10:30am, and we hauled up the litter and other group gear. One group did a medical assessment, one group assembled the litter, another group scouted and flagged our evacuation route, another group added a few directional anchors, and we finished setting up the top snow anchor now that we had the rest of the gear and ropes.
Scott was loaded up, and we started lowering him around noon. The plan was to lower him a few pitches to a snowmobile; which would pull him in the litter, as well as a skier, back out to the lot. When we got to the bottom, the snowmobile had run into an issue and wasn't going to be available. Two people went off to help the snowmobile, and we continued to carry and slide the patient out. I took the first spot, and was "rope boy". I had most of the rope, and would be the first person in line pulling the patient out. Wasn't too much pulling weight as there were plenty of people on the line sharing the load, it was more rope management. However, I still had my thermals on and my down jacket; which was nice while we were mostly stationary in the morning and working the first lowering system, but now I was roasting and sweating as we were hiking out with the patient. No worries, we were on our way out, and I didn't need to stop the rescue; would be able to make it out fine for sure.
We had to rotate the sled a couple of times to have Scott's head upwards down some steeper hills, and lift him up over some dry and rocky sections. We made it back to the exit gate around 1:45pm. Not bad timing since we did three pitches lowering and around 1.5 to 2 miles out. Everyone got together for a debrief where each aspect of the rescue was discussed; so lessons could be learned. Scott had stayed warm through the entire trip; almost too warm he said. They tested out some gear designed to keep the patient warm, and Scott said they definitely worked.
Overall, it was a fun weekend. Definitely capable folks. I like how they discuss each aspect of every operation, and everyone learns from it. Doing the practices like they do is also a great opportunity to hone skills, share knowledge, and test gear. Personally, I'm just worried about the time commitment; as I usually keep a pretty busy schedule. It usually takes about a year to become a member (Jonas and I are prospective members currently.) I'm not worried about the knowledge. Definitely have a good base there, mostly just learning a few different knots that they use (which I've already done) as well as getting to know the team and the communications/protocols/specific gear/techniques they use.
The other item for me to think about is the pace. My trips are usually a pretty good pace, which is definitely not the case in a rescue situation (which is the way it should be.) I do remember that same item from my previous rescue work. Still feeling out the possibilities, but enjoying it so far. Only time will tell.
We then headed down, unpacked and put away all the rescue gear back at the current headquarters; and then a bunch of folks went out to eat at Wahoos. Again, definitely a good group and a fun weekend.
Hope you enjoy the photos!
A.J.
Photos: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=210697800/a=38054161/t_=38054161
Group Room (multiple albums): http://ajoutdoors.snapfish.com/snapfish