Wow. I just looked at this thread for the first time in nearly a week. The tears I had been holding back just let loose. Brad has generously been taking reports and offering his take away from our daily conversations throughout the week. I would have had a hard time trying to type last week so now I offer a summary of the events on that monday afternoon.
Brad, Lars and Myself were traversing into a narrow slot that lead to the base of a large flake that marked the start of a project of Lars from the late 80's. I entered the slot first followed by Lars, then Brad. This was a standard, off trail 2nd class approach. Loose scree and the standard bushwhacking was involved. I came to a very large headwall boulder, I stood up on a few holds at the base of the wall and reached out right to steady myself against the wall. I then grabbed the right edge of the headwall boulder with my left hand in an effort to step up onto a shelf.
The boulder cut loose. Falling backward, I was under the right portion of the rushing boulder, my left arm was caught between lars and the boulder. He Pushed my arm or shoulder with his right arm, exposing his entire right side to the boulder.
All I saw after that was a huge boulder rolling down the chute, Brad diving to the left into a tree at the base of a slab and a cloud of dust.
I looked at brads eyes and where they were focused, which lead me to believe that Lars was not fully entrapped. I moved down the hill and saw that he was pinned to the thigh of his right leg, and the left was trapped by its clothing under the boulder. Our first worry was the stability of the boulder, which we tied off to a shrub with Brad's rope. It was not confidence inspiring but the best we could do.
I immediately put my shoulder against the boulder, counted off to Brad and and moved it enough for Brad to get the left leg free. I think we moved it a total of 2 inches before we gave up after many tries. Lars leg was buried, knee to the ground, up to the thigh.
Lars was in a desperate position, head downhill, face down in the yolk of a tree. He had regained conciousness and was telling us that he had broke his shoulder, and to get his leg free. Brad looked at me and gave me that "Dude, I don't want to leave but Now is the time to go" look. Grabbed his pack, tossed me a water and took off down the trail, I yelled at him " Get a Helo Man!".
I used our bags to support his frame then I Started digging like a terrier. His trekking poles had stayed next to his leg and created a void under the boulder which I started enlarging.
I was shoulder deep pulling out pebbles. Eventually I had used the pole and broken out the back side of the boulder. I ran around and went to work there, found his shoe and had a moment of clarity override my desperation to rush the extraction. I removed his shoe carefully, and positioned his foot so that I could slide the leg out without any snags. As I moved around to lars, he was already moving his upper body, and his leg was out 6 inches. I made the decision to support his spine and head with my left arm, and use my right to pull the his legs around and get him into a sitting/reclining position. Painfully, he shouted which was the last time I heard lars speak until the CHP chopper showed up when he said "Get me outta here".
His BP was rising and shock was setting in. I could not move him into a position for shock treatment so I did the best I could with our jackets and the hat I had. I splinted his right compound fracture with the rope and my hammer leash. This allowed me to adjust the height when he moved.
I monitored his vitals, palpated him head to toe, revealing his broken ribs, shoulder and legs. Brad had managed to direct 3 or 4 teams of rescue personel to our location, which was way off the grid, and hopelessly loose. I began to think about how we were going to manage a litter in our tight notch. I started to trundle all of the boulders near us I could down the chute. Breaking branches off and smashing the sharp points near the trunks. I was trying to prep the area not knowing how large the effort was below me on the approach.
Mark, Head Ranger and EMT, and Tim were the first responders, The Litter was 30 min behind them, the CALTECH chopper was already deployed. A Flight nurse and Paramedic were dropped in the summit saddle, and had traversed to our position. I supported lars while they tried to run a line on him, which was not possible. Lars was Critical and It was made know to CHP we needed to short haul. A trail was cut to allow the 20 personel from all local agencies who were present to lower the litter to a hillside for extraction. Chp performed the short haul and lars was off into the sunset.
The portion of time when rescue personel started showing up is clear as day. But trying to write more than i did above is impossible. The gaps between radio communication, trail orders, vitals, rigging, rotorwash, etc were filled with blank stares. At lars, at the boulder, at the faces of the people present. My time with lars, in the beginning, is what replays over and over, then we are all looking up at him and the Helo.
I don't know the timing of everything, It did seem very fast from start to finish. So much so that I found myself walking back to the parking lot at dusk, just like every other time I had climbed on the west side. The parking lot was empty as usual and I could not take it anymore. I fell down and start crying. Brad was there with a rescuer. They got me back on track and I shook it off, knowing the uncertainty of rescue was abolished, now focusing on Lars survival while transport took him to the Trauma center.
Lars is one tough cookie. This past september, 5 months after cancer surgery, he joined his longtime friend Steve and me on a New big wall route in Yosemite. We spent 7 days up there and it was our greatest adventure together. It was hard for him, I could see it in his eyes throughout the climb. Yet he never complained, never sniveled, never let a negative emotion or word escape him. We were all pushing it to the max. At 62 years of age, he is still gettin it done! That was to be his coup de gras, the big finish to a great climbing career that took him all over the world.
Our trip that weekend was a chance for lars to hand over his old projects to me. He knows how much I care about the history of adventure at pinnacles and that I have the highest respect for his boldness on pinnacles First ascents, in areas that are as wild as the day he first found them. For that he entrusted Brad and I with areas that only he has ever ventured.
Lars is alive, and due to every single person involved in his rescue. We needed everyone that day. I don't remember names, just the faces of so many who were there. I see that line of people, with outreached arms waiting for the litter every night. They are like you and me. Good people who did everything they could to save a life.
It all boiled down to 15 minutes, Darkness would have negated a short haul had anything delayed us 15 min. All efforts, on all fronts meant nothing in the wake of time. Time is your enemy during a critical rescue. That day time slowed down just enough to let the bird pluck my friend from harm.
I would like to personally thank, Brad for his amazing effort and olympic speed in getting a swift turnaround for the teams on the approach. His direction and orientation were key to lars survival.
I wish I knew all of the crew, a few are familiar faces, a few are friends, but most were strangers helping some strangers. I give thanks for them every night.
My friend lars is going to heal, he is the most resilient person I know.
Josh Mucci
I know I have missed some things, but the rest will come out with time.
