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Pinned by 2 boulders...

Tricia

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Wow, that is something.
Glad that the people who found him were the sort to know how to help him and keep him stable.
Heal well Dick!
 

Wilhelmson

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Must be a tough dude. He spent 15 hours under a boulder and still enjoyed the helicopter ride.
 

Fishbowl

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Great survival story but......

Is an ottoman the best object you could find for boulder size comparison
 
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coskigirl

coskigirl

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Great survival story but......

Is an ottoman the best object you could find for boulder size comparison

Hmmmm. I'm not sure who described the size, it could have been Dick, one of the 4 hikers, or a rescuer. I'll have to ask my sister next time we talk. What would you have used as an alternative?

My sister and I are pretty lucky with dads that both are quite fit and healthy. For Dick's 70th last year he and my sister did a multi-day Olympic coastline hike.
 

Monique

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Must be a tough dude. He spent 15 hours under a boulder and still enjoyed the helicopter ride.

If they gave him pain killers, that wouldn't be surprising.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
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Oof, that sucks.

A few general observations for travel in the backcountry, in no way meant to comment on this particular incident -

Having a cell phone on hand *might* be useful, because you never know where you might get a small patch of connectivity. If you go into nature to get away from all that, that's fine - just leave the phone off unless you need it.

In the backcountry, changing a plan by splitting off solo increases risk.

Devices such as the Spot or InReach are too expensive - until you need one.

Anyone can be in an accident, no matter how experienced or fit you might be. (Yes, YOU! And me. Anyone and everyone.)

I consider it mandatory to tell someone back home that I expect to be back by X day/time, and that they should be concerned / get help if I'm not back by Y day/time.
 
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coskigirl

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Absolutely agree. In fact, it's been driving my sister nuts that the doesn't use his cell phone. She's hoping this will motivate him to use it more.
 

Monique

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Absolutely agree. In fact, it's been driving my sister nuts that the doesn't use his cell phone. She's hoping this will motivate him to use it more.

*sigh*

I hope there's no lasting damage. It's hard to recover at that age! But I know a guy who was at least in his late 60s when he fell from the top of a climbing wall and broke tons of bones, and he's back to climbing the way he did before.
 

graham418

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He's lucky that he was rescued soon enough and didn't have to cut his own arm off like Aaron Ralston.
 

oldschoolskier

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Oof, that sucks.

A few general observations for travel in the backcountry, in no way meant to comment on this particular incident -

Having a cell phone on hand *might* be useful, because you never know where you might get a small patch of connectivity. If you go into nature to get away from all that, that's fine - just leave the phone off unless you need it.

In the backcountry, changing a plan by splitting off solo increases risk.

Devices such as the Spot or InReach are too expensive - until you need one.

Anyone can be in an accident, no matter how experienced or fit you might be. (Yes, YOU! And me. Anyone and everyone.)

I consider it mandatory to tell someone back home that I expect to be back by X day/time, and that they should be concerned / get help if I'm not back by Y day/time.
Very well said.

I’ve been in the Bush for years (over 40 yrs) by myself both hunting and hiking. As you gain experience, awareness and actions that cause dangerous situations you occasionally have lapses (not often) of complacency. These are to one that most likely get you. The other big unforeseen danger is bad random luck and there is no protection or actions that can prevent that one. Having both at the same time is guaranteed an incident.

@coskigirl best wishes to him and his recovery. Would be interesting to hear (based on his prior experience) was it his error, bad luck or a combination of both that lead to his situation, primarily as a teaching tool for us fools that venture out (either alone or in groups). His wise words of hind sight helps all of us to be aware of future traps and errors so that we increase our chances of avoiding them without having to experience them first hand.

:beercheer:
 

Bad Bob

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WOW, He is fortunate to be alive. Those rocks would not have to have been to far from where they pinned him to result in a much more tragic outcome. Not his time.

Think back over a lifetime of solo traveling in backcountry, boulder scampering, river running and other questionable behavior like that all of us have probably experienced. There but by the grace of God .....
 

kimmyt

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Jaysus. That's crazy. How could they not know that was dangerous?

You would be surprised at the things people do that they don't ever think about the consequences of. I've had people chuck rocks off cliffs I was climbing on, usually kids (not that its an excuse), but its super scary and dangerous. I have personally witnessed someones leg get completely destroyed by a cooler sized rock that was accidentally trundled off a cliff above us, and it was terrifying. I'm glad your friend's dad is ok- thats some scary stuff!!
 

Monique

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You would be surprised at the things people do that they don't ever think about the consequences of. I've had people chuck rocks off cliffs I was climbing on, usually kids (not that its an excuse), but its super scary and dangerous. I have personally witnessed someones leg get completely destroyed by a cooler sized rock that was accidentally trundled off a cliff above us, and it was terrifying. I'm glad your friend's dad is ok- thats some scary stuff!!

Ugh. That reminds me of when Cooper dislodged that rotten rock and it hit Eric. That was bad enough.
 
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coskigirl

coskigirl

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A bit of an update. Dick has been moved to rehab after 3 surgeries; they expect him to be there 1-2 weeks. My sister was able to go see him which is good. The below is a picture (from the inter webs) of the area where it occurred. There is no snow currently. He was located at the saddle between the peaks. Apparently he was choosing his footing carefully as to not dislodge any rocks and really has no idea what happened.

382CE003-5733-439C-A9FB-2379EC7A128C.jpeg
 

Monique

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Best wishes for a full recovery!
 

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