Fall on Capitol
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Please be respectful when posting - family and friends of fallen climbers might be reading this forum.
Please be respectful when posting - family and friends of fallen climbers might be reading this forum.
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cheeseburglar
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Re: Fall on Capitol
Glad he is going to be ok. I've gone that way over K2 several times.
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REVIS
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Re: Fall on Capitol
mtn_nut wrote:A photo of the evacuation yesterday for proof of my story. I'm in green and Justin is in Red.
My life long friend is now Lt. Colonel of the HAATS operation out of Gypsum. These guys are such bad asses. Laughed with him this summer reminiscing about being 5 years old running around playing Army soldiers all summer long saving the neighborhood from invaders. This guy was flat born to do it and pictures like this make me so proud of him and the focus he's had his entire life to be Heli pilot. Very cool picture but I hate the circumstances for you guys. Wishing Justin a speedy recovery.
Re: Fall on Capitol
Oh snap, I've messaged Justin (Hobbes301) a few times about climbing in the Aspen area. He's an awesome guy, I will definitely donate to help offset his bills.
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climbnowworklater
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Re: Fall on Capitol
What!? This is the "Justin" aka Hobbes301?? He and I just did the Maroon traverse a few weeks ago. I was thankful to have him join me and he followed me up every crux without a complaint. Damn, this guy is solid and I will send what I can to help him out. Keep us in the loop.jrs1965 wrote:Oh snap, I've messaged Justin (Hobbes301) a few times about climbing in the Aspen area. He's an awesome guy, I will definitely donate to help offset his bills.
"The best climber in the world, is the one having the most fun!" Alex Lowe
"In the mountains there is a strange market where you can barter the vortex of life for boundless bliss." Milarepa
"In the mountains there is a strange market where you can barter the vortex of life for boundless bliss." Milarepa
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AlexeyD
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Re: Fall on Capitol
What a terrifying story!
We were there on Sunday. As others have already stated, the standard traverse around K2 on the north side was covered in snow and ice, and everyone seemed to be going up and over K2 along the ridge and then downclimbing off the right side. From the "big cairn" on the ridge, there was a short 4th class scramble where (if looking up) the rock was pretty solid if you went left, but rather unstable near the top if you went right. When going up that section, I first went up the right side and then, realizing that some of the blocks on the right near the top were suspect, backed off and traversed over to the right side. I wonder if this is where the rockfall and accident happened?
Regardless, glad to hear the climber is OK!
We were there on Sunday. As others have already stated, the standard traverse around K2 on the north side was covered in snow and ice, and everyone seemed to be going up and over K2 along the ridge and then downclimbing off the right side. From the "big cairn" on the ridge, there was a short 4th class scramble where (if looking up) the rock was pretty solid if you went left, but rather unstable near the top if you went right. When going up that section, I first went up the right side and then, realizing that some of the blocks on the right near the top were suspect, backed off and traversed over to the right side. I wonder if this is where the rockfall and accident happened?
Regardless, glad to hear the climber is OK!
Re: Fall on Capitol
I originally didn't want to post his last name or his handle on here, but that is the correct Justin.climbnowworklater wrote:What!? This is the "Justin" aka Hobbes301?? He and I just did the Maroon traverse a few weeks ago. I was thankful to have him join me and he followed me up every crux without a complaint. Damn, this guy is solid and I will send what I can to help him out. Keep us in the loop.jrs1965 wrote:Oh snap, I've messaged Justin (Hobbes301) a few times about climbing in the Aspen area. He's an awesome guy, I will definitely donate to help offset his bills.
Re: Fall on Capitol
That was his location. However, it was not the obvious rocks that you describe (though I believe those fell later). As people have stated above in this forum, the entire section of wall underneath his feet started moving. If you are suggesting that the accident occurred due to a misplacement of his hands or feet, it did not. Six climbers had just gone down the ridge in the preceding minutes without incident, at least 3 on that exact same line. I was the climber descending before him, not on the exact same line but if the geologic incident had occurred 60 seconds earlier, I would have gone down. If it had happened a few minutes earlier, 3 people would have fallen. The timing was pure chance.AlexeyD wrote:What a terrifying story!
We were there on Sunday. As others have already stated, the standard traverse around K2 on the north side was covered in snow and ice, and everyone seemed to be going up and over K2 along the ridge and then downclimbing off the right side. From the "big cairn" on the ridge, there was a short 4th class scramble where (if looking up) the rock was pretty solid if you went left, but rather unstable near the top if you went right. When going up that section, I first went up the right side and then, realizing that some of the blocks on the right near the top were suspect, backed off and traversed over to the right side. I wonder if this is where the rockfall and accident happened?
Regardless, glad to hear the climber is OK!
He is an incredible person and survivor, and the way he is handling his recovery is inspiring.
"The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need – if only we had the eyes to see." -Ed Abbey
"I get scared sometimes—lots of times—but it's not bad. You know? I feel close to myself. When I'm out there at night, I feel close to my own body, I can feel my blood moving, my skin and my fingernails, everything, it's like I'm full of electricity and I'm glowing in the dark—I'm on fire almost—I'm burning away into nothing—but it doesn't matter because I know exactly who I am." from The Things They Carried
"I get scared sometimes—lots of times—but it's not bad. You know? I feel close to myself. When I'm out there at night, I feel close to my own body, I can feel my blood moving, my skin and my fingernails, everything, it's like I'm full of electricity and I'm glowing in the dark—I'm on fire almost—I'm burning away into nothing—but it doesn't matter because I know exactly who I am." from The Things They Carried
Re: Fall on Capitol
For those interested, light red represents falling, dark red represents tumbling, green represents rescue (including the walk to the helicopter pick-up location) and blue other people. This is approximate based on my memory.
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- k2 capitol google earth edited1 small.JPG (182.64 KiB) Viewed 2802 times
"The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need – if only we had the eyes to see." -Ed Abbey
"I get scared sometimes—lots of times—but it's not bad. You know? I feel close to myself. When I'm out there at night, I feel close to my own body, I can feel my blood moving, my skin and my fingernails, everything, it's like I'm full of electricity and I'm glowing in the dark—I'm on fire almost—I'm burning away into nothing—but it doesn't matter because I know exactly who I am." from The Things They Carried
"I get scared sometimes—lots of times—but it's not bad. You know? I feel close to myself. When I'm out there at night, I feel close to my own body, I can feel my blood moving, my skin and my fingernails, everything, it's like I'm full of electricity and I'm glowing in the dark—I'm on fire almost—I'm burning away into nothing—but it doesn't matter because I know exactly who I am." from The Things They Carried
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polar
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Re: Fall on Capitol
I'm sure glad that Justin is recovering well, and the rock slide didn't take out more people. I'm totally scared of loose stuff. Sometimes even when you do everything right, bad things outside of your control can still happen. There is always a bit of risk in the mountains, we can reduce it, but not totally eliminate it. Glad to see the outcome in this case isn't worse.
"Getting to the bottom, OPTIONAL. Getting to the top, MANDATORY!" - The Wisest Trail Sign
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dillonsarnelli
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Re: Fall on Capitol
Justin, glad you're going to be ok man!
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AlexeyD
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Re: Fall on Capitol
I wasn't suggesting that at all, and I apologize if it came across that way. I was just trying to understand and visualize what happened and where. The diagram helps, thank you!AnnaG22 wrote:AlexeyD wrote:If you are suggesting that the accident occurred due to a misplacement of his hands or feet, it did not.
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kaiman
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Re: Fall on Capitol
Crazy story! Glad to hear it has an ok ending. I wish him the best on his recovery. I know exactly the spot in question, sometimes timing and luck are everything in this sport...
"I want to keep the mountains clean of racism, religion and politics. In the mountains this should play no role."
- Joe Stettner
"I haven't climbed Everest, skied to the poles, or sailed single-handed around the world. The goals I set out to accomplish aren't easily measured or quantified by world records or "firsts." The reasons I climb, and the climbs I do, are about more than distance or altitude, they are about breaking barriers within myself."
- Andy Kirkpatrick
- Joe Stettner
"I haven't climbed Everest, skied to the poles, or sailed single-handed around the world. The goals I set out to accomplish aren't easily measured or quantified by world records or "firsts." The reasons I climb, and the climbs I do, are about more than distance or altitude, they are about breaking barriers within myself."
- Andy Kirkpatrick
