SAR comment on SPOT

Don't think I would plan any outings with this group but there are a few interesting comments about SPOT from the rescuers.

http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/pique/index.php?cat=C_News&content=Sar+on+wedge+1532

Hmmmm..... I haven't read anything anywhere that would make me rush out to buy a SPOT.

But... "Whistler SAR received another call at midnight saying that the situation had worsened for the injured climber — the caller said he was exhausted, cold and could not make it back to the injured climber."

If the hiker who was returning to the injured man couldn't GET back to the injured man, how did he know that the man's condition had worsened?

Yes, I would have my doubts about traveling with this group. Want to bet that they didn't have much stuff with them, traveling light?

Sue

It looks to me like Spot worked just as advertised but the RCMP didn't want to go out without knowing everything.

I'd think knowing the exact location would be a boon to these guys.

"Tough luck about your leg, buddy, but, well, no reason for us ALL to be cold and miserable, right? Great! We'll see you later, then. Oh - don't let the helicopter leave without us, ok?, that would be mean, dude."

Nice friends.

From the article, it sounds like the SPOT alert was not taken seriously. However, I'm starting to wonder if a PLB would have been much better. The excuse they gave was:

And a PLB is different how?

1) I wouldn't trust these so called friends to go with me to take the trash out.

2)Due to their blaze attitude, I suspect that they were not prepared for there journey.

3) Short of communication equipment, in proper operating order, all any SAR team is going to get is lat/lon. Which is a great deal more than the panicked phone call from a spouse declaring an overdue arrival.

On the contrary - they started a rare night rescue with an air/sea helicopter and crew, at a decent elevation of 8,200 feet, based on the SPOT-provided location and the hiker/climber provided sense of urgency. As it says flying at night is dangerous along the Coast Range. The context of 'all they do is submit a lat and long' is in response to the unstated question - why the heck did you go after these yahoos in the first place? Meaning, there was not information as to the *actual* status of the injured climber or his friends, the urgency was over-stated, and they appear to have just wanted to chopper out of the situation. Incredible:

"The rescue crew were later shocked to discover a lone person, the injured climber, lying on the glacier at a higher elevation. The rescue crew was able to access, stabilize and transport the injured hiker inside the helicopter.

The rest of his climbing party had to be woken from a “deep sleep” at Wedgemont Hut, according to Sills. Whistler SAR was surprised that the injured person would be left alone after a seemingly urgent request for help.

According to an e-mail from Sills, the threesome felt there was no point in them all being cold when a helicopter would pick them up in the morning.

However, when asked in an interview why the climber was left alone on the glacier, Sills said, “We don’t speculate on why people do things.”"

Its not the results with a PLB would be any different, the only possible difference is these climbers bought the SPOT for exactly this kind of 'emergency call for help.' Granted their climbing partner needed some help, but the rest of them didn't, and they abandoned him on the glacier for no known reason other than 'to keep from being cold when the helicopter picked them up.' Absolutely incredible.

"Broken leg huh, too bad. Well if you can't keep up we'll call SAR and let them know where to pick you up. Good thing too -- a couple years ago we'd have had to carry you off the mountain ourselves. . . or not. We'll be at the cabin having dinner out of the wind if anyone asks. See ya -- wouldn't want to be ya."


Oh yeah, know that type quite well.

It's a shame they don't use stocks in the public square anymore.

Just playing Devil's advocate here, but is it possible that staying overnight with the injured party would leave them too exposed to hypothermia or other danger? I wonder what, specifically, they could have done to help. Was the injured party conscious or unconscious? If he was with it, just being there through the night could have given him valuable moral support and decreased his odds of perishing.

Jeff

"the threesome felt there was no point in them all being cold when a helicopter would pick them up in the morning."

To get that kind of a reaction from a SAR spokesperson speaks louder than any you can dream up as devil's advocacy. If the lives of the injured climber's three friends would have been in danger by staying on the glacier then I think he would have said it, even given the benefit of the doubt while they abandoned their friend to the elements. Nothing of the kind though - and this took place at 8,200 feet, not 18,200 feet or even 28,200 feet where the real 'death zone' occurs.

My own devil's advocacy, what a bunch of wankers.

Yeah, probably. It's just that my experience with the press reportage of stories I've been personally a part of makes me suspicious that there's more to that story. One way or another, they invariably get it wrong.

Jeff

Maybe so. Except in cases of rescue, quoting SAR spokespeople, SAR tends to err on the side of the rescued, after all most really do need the help, they're glad to give it, risking their lives etc. And here, the person with a broken leg probably needed help. Not so much his friends evidently. I'm struggling to find a reason for three to descend while leaving your friend alone with a broken leg on a glacier - was he the only one experienced in snow travel, did he have the only bivvy, the only sleeping bag, would he have stayed comfortable through the night, the others ill prepared for it? Were they equipped to dig a trench or snow cave for warmth? Its hard, if I put myself in their place I stay with poor Harvey through the night, and improvise a shared shelter, but I'm not a climber any more and tend to carry enough on a mountain for that kind of stuff. Clearing a snow cave for four would be pretty tough if all you had were ice axes, but digging down shouldn't be too much of a bother, and waiting for dawn in your bivy sack.

Perhaps these guys who had left there colleage behind had watched some documentary on Everest climbers and thought this was the done thing to do.

I've got the same question. Other than a two way radio, there isn't anything out there that will do that.

But I thought that the SPOT had the ability to send a text message with your location for the regular mapping part of it. Does it not give you that if you have to send out a mayday?

As I understand it, the text messages have to be preprogrammed using their web portal.

There were three fit hikers. It sounds to me like two of them stayed with the injured one while the third went down the mountain to make the first call. Then the caller returned to the group, and then the first two returned to base while the caller stayed with the injured man. There was talk of the two going back up with sleeping bags etc, but maybe the caller guy was able to get what was needed at the place he phoned from. If this is right, the two who left were not leaving the injured man alone. With hindsight it would have been better if at least one more person had stayed on the mountain, but they probably didn't think it was necessary.

Then the injured man got worse. The chap with him made another journey down to make a second phone call. At this point the injured man was left alone, but the caller didn't have much choice about it given the apparent escalation of the situation, and there now being no-one else on the mountain to leave with him.

After making the second call, the caller was unable to return. I'm guessing he was knackered on account of having travelled up and down twice and couldn't face a third ascent. He could have sent one of the other two, but by now that would have meant getting them out of bed. Probably he thought it unnecessary given the helicopter was on its way. He may not have appreciated the difficulty of getting the helicopter out, nor realised it wouldn't arrive for another four and a half hours.

This is my reading based solely on the article. The hikers behaviour doesn't sound like what people experienced in similar disasters would do, but nor was it completely callous. They just didn't expect the injured hiker to get worse during the night, and so thought one person left with him would be enough.