McHenrys Rescue 8/11/22

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susanjoypaul
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Re: McHenrys Rescue 8/11/22

Post by susanjoypaul »

Jeez, glad you're okay. Thanks for sharing your story, mistakes and all. We all make'em. (Six hours on a ledge? Yikes. I cannot imagine.)

I was in the park that day and got stormed off a little class 2 8er. Too much rain and lightning for my taste, even on that tiny bump. Nothing as exciting as your story. Noticed they had a road closed off in the middle of the day (to Upper Beaver Meadows?) and we saw the chopper from our campsite.

The next day (Friday) was a much better weather day.

Climbing mountains is risky business and we never want to ask for help, but despite our experience and best-laid plans, sometimes we have to. Thank goodness for the National Guard, Rocky Mountain Rescue, and the National Park Service. Colorado sure has some amazing emergency resources. Glad it all turned out okay for you and good luck with the rest of your peaks.
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Re: McHenrys Rescue 8/11/22

Post by TomPierce »

I'll echo Kiefer, don't beat yourself up. After I read your account I thought afterwards that you made the right decision. I read accident reports whenever I can (good learning opportunity) and if you'd tried to downclimb when you were sketched out/tired it very possibly could have been an unchecked fall on steep terrain, possibly fatal. You climbed above your downclimbing ability but you know that, mistakes happen. IMO any active climber who doesn't have at least a few "I f'ed up there but I made it out, oops..." stories probably is either ultra-conservative or not being truthful. I have my small share of such stories, you just learn from it and move on. I carry a beacon and a few emergency things, e.g. a signalling device, etc. and wouldn't hesitate to use them if things hit the fan and I was immobilized. If couseling helps, great, use it.

-Tom
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Re: McHenrys Rescue 8/11/22

Post by justiner »

McHenry's seems like a sticking point for Walks in the Park. I've witnessed a rescue similar to yours, as I was reconning my own trip from Milner Pass to points south (including McHenry's)
rescue.jpg
rescue.jpg (113.68 KiB) Viewed 3404 times
Here's another accident report,

http://publications.americanalpineclub. ... 3201216061
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bdloftin77
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Re: McHenrys Rescue 8/11/22

Post by bdloftin77 »

Wow, that is incredibly scary! I'm glad you made it out safely. I would definitely feel the same flood of emotions being stuck on a 8"x3' ledge for 6 hours. I carry an SOS device on my hikes as well. A few times I've retrospectively thought, "I probably shouldn't have taken that route," but fortunately I haven't had to use it yet.

Echoing Kiefer and Tom, thank you for having the humility and the guts to post this. I agree that you made the right call in requesting SAR - it might have saved your life. As Kiefer mentioned, if more people carried SOS devices and used them when needed, countless lives could have been saved. They aren't the "end all be all" as they need a signal, usually a conscious operator (though shared tracks could possibly be used), a rescue team, cooperating conditions, etc etc, but they do add an extra layer of safety. Though route-finding could have been different (as you know), you weren't an "unprepared idiot" or whatever other lies the stigma might hold. This could have happened to many people on this forum, myself included.

Not sure how much beta there was for that McHenrys climb, but some peaks have little to no beta for certain routes, or even no established routes. This is a good reminder for my own adventuring to continue to carry my SOS device, to use it if need be, and to carefully consider what routes I take, especially if they are class 4+. (as well as to do research and sift out whatever beta there is)

Ben
Last edited by bdloftin77 on Tue Aug 16, 2022 8:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: McHenrys Rescue 8/11/22

Post by nunns »

I believe that SAR would rather respond to a call like yours was than to have you attempt to downclimb something out of your range, fall and break your leg, and then have to hauled out under much more pressing circumstances. You made the right choice.

Sean Nunn
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Re: McHenrys Rescue 8/11/22

Post by Skimo95 »

I’m glad you are ok “ClimbingFool”
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Re: McHenrys Rescue 8/11/22

Post by Tornadoman »

Wow, that is a scary story, I recall a young man died in that area a couple years ago. I think this type of post is VERY important to the community; we don't tend to hear a lot of first hand accounts of 'near misses,' with actual details as opposed to the speculation that is inevitable in fatal accidents.

Best luck with your mental recovery and glad that you are ok!

-Andrew
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Re: McHenrys Rescue 8/11/22

Post by cougar »

Amazing story and really glad you survived it. That had to be scary on that ledge for hours. Too early to say if you'll do the Little Bear/Blanca traverse? Agree on the obscurity of the beta and not much consensus on the rating or line on that route. McHenrys Notch and Pagoda west ridge are the technical cruxes for sure. There's some scattered trip reports around but looks like a choice of gullies and ribs.

It seems like these SAR response times are typical in this situation. They have to mobilize ground rescuers and the helicopter doesn't instantly show up. Lucky they had a weather window to fly up there, and got the SAR team up on foot as fast as they could. Reminds me of that recent video of the helicopter lift off Crestone Needle that was a multiday ordeal.

Here's a pic of that face on McHenrys seen from Powell's summit. It looks pretty technical from there.
mchenrys
mchenrys
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Re: McHenrys Rescue 8/11/22

Post by HikesInGeologicTime »

I am so glad you got out of that situation and are here to tell the tale. Eight hours standing on a tiny ledge with hail coming down around you - that takes some serious guts to be able to stick that out and not give in to your most despairing impulses.

As a fellow SAR situation survivor, I think looking for therapy would be a great idea. It is not something I myself pursued, and I kind of wish I had (I'm aware I could look into it now, but it's not high on my current priority list for a whole mess of reasons).

It makes perfect sense to me if your own priorities change after going through that. I took some nasty physical damage in my last encounter with SAR, and I had enough time to lie around doing nothing while I was in recovery to decide that, while I was committed to seeing the fourteeners through, I no longer had any interest in pursuing the Centennials (I had 11 of the 13er Cents at that point, though LIDAR later re-tallied that to 9) or much of any other list that wasn't strictly of my own making.

I've lined up guides for all the rest of my fourteeners because my confidence is pretty well shot to the point that I'm fairly certain I'll never again be able to handle exposure the way I could a couple years ago, but I've been picking away at them for too long (imho) and am too close to finishing (also imho) to give up. That is in no way an attempt to pressure you into going for your last three if you're not up to it, just to offer a perspective from someone else who was stuck up on a high ledge for longer than seemed strictly necessary from my point of view (no hail for me, though, and at least I got to lie down), also to second what Kiefer said about how there's no shame in hiring an experienced pro who knows the route and knows how to get you through it as safely as possible.

I hope you have plenty of time to clear your mind in the immediate future.
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Re: McHenrys Rescue 8/11/22

Post by Wildernessjane »

I’m glad it all turned out okay in the end and that you made it home safely. It took a lot of courage to post your story on here and I think you have done this community a great service. Hopefully people will think twice before venturing solo into terrain they can’t bail out on. I hope you will some day return to Colorado and finish the 14ers.
Last edited by Wildernessjane on Mon Aug 15, 2022 8:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: McHenrys Rescue 8/11/22

Post by vegabond »

Every time we push that button We endanger the lives of 20 others. Play conservatively to our abilities, if you are knowingly entering class 5 terain carry a way off besides a beacon. Small rap line, few slings and nuts. We are loosing our decision making skills in the mountains. Let’s not risk others lives for our own pleasures. I am glad this situation turned out well, but let’s, as a community, learn from it. Refresh our decision making.
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Re: McHenrys Rescue 8/11/22

Post by daway8 »

Thanks for posting this in such an honest and informative way - what an ordeal! I'm glad you made it through ok.

Your background sounds pretty similar to mine in many ways in terms of skills and tendencies. This serves as an excellent reminder to double down on the old adage "don't climb up what you can't climb down" and vice versa.

I'm usually pretty conservative when I start hitting class 4/5 terrain but your story shows how pushing the envelope for even a few short moves can really lead to serious trouble.

And, yes, there's nothing wrong or shameful at all with using guides, counseling, calling for help, or any such things.

Anyone who thinks they're too good or too prepared to run into trouble just isn't thinking enough - sure we can mitigate risks with good gear and good decisions but even the best and most prepared sometimes run into problems beyond their control.

We as a community should strongly encourage the sharing of such accounts without beating up the author because they serve to portray the reality of the risks we all face and give opportunity for us to reflect on and evaluate our own decisions.
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