Accident at Darkside sat.

[Mack5]

News that i last heard was that there was a very serious accident at the darkside this past weekend. All of my sources have just been what i have heard from miguals is that the climber was on Elephant Man, and fell 40ft, due to unknown reasons was the last i heard, also the belayer was using a Sinch and possibilty of belay failure..... if of faith please pray for his conditions as he was helocoptered out of there and taken to Lex. and was in critical condition. If you have any news of what happened please let the climbing community know as so we can learn from what happened. Hope that the family and freinds can get threw this rough time....also thank those who helped out in the rescue such as Anticlmber (JR) and tell them we appreciate how much they do, taking time from there lives to help a serious injured climber.....if any news it would be nice to know ofwhat happened to prevent it from happening agian. Best of wishes to everyone involved. All of this was jsut from word kinda going around.

[Mack5]

Mike Tucker is his full name

[flashmaster]

Ray the link brings you to the app page you have to copy and paste the link.

[flashmaster]

so last we herd here at the shop is that he had a couple surgeries last night and this morning to clear some clots and bleeding in the brain so he really need us to do what ever it is we do either pray or whatever!! Mike is a stellar dude and needs us right now so keep it up.

[SCIN]

Trying again:
http://snipurl.com/vlndb

[THB]

I'm sorry to hear of this accident, and I hope that Mike is able to recover fully...

Since the belayer was using a Cinch, they should get in touch with Malcolm Daly at Trango... mdaly@trango.com

[DriskellHR]

Okay so I'll give my "report" enough people are asking and I'm tired of saying no.

I was not there at the time of the accident, along with anti and pete we were at solar collector when a runner came up from the darkside to get us. I did not go directly to the top of the hill. I waited to be a relay for the men bringing the stretcher and equipment. I eventually made it to the top of the hill before EMS did and stayed out of the way untill they had him back boarded and ready to move. During that time I looked at the gear involved (which was still attached to the lead line he fell from. The cinch was loaded properly and nothing looked incorrect at all. I did observe that the cinch was almost new and still had most of the anodized coating on it. The draws were clean and clipped properly. I only counted 3 that had been clipped (I may have missed counted but i really dont think i did. But it was busy up there at the time)

when Mike was ready to Evac every climber present busted their balls carrying mike down to saftey. My hats go off to all the folks that were there and helped. My hats off to Anti, the man with the cool head. He will definatly make it far in the medical world. I'm very thankful he was there. We got him down in about 2 hours from accident to ambulance doors (this is what i was told I did not check myself so I may be a little off). He was a fighter and occasionally would squeeze my had when we were talking to him,thats a very good sign. He seemed to be very stong and healthy. I have no doubt we will get to climb togather in the future.

This is what I witnessed I will not speak of any other details yet. Its too early and not really that important. Whats important is that we learn from this and watch out for eachother when we are doing what we do.

Be safe folks and pay attention to your rope work!!!

[anticlmber]

...........................................................

[Boonda]

I'm so sorry to hear what happened. My thoughts go out to Mike and his family. All I can really say is thank goodness such experienced/well trained/level headed climbers were there to help out. Good job to everyone involved in the evac!!

[Kostik]

I only counted 3 that had been clipped (I may have missed counted but i really dont think i did. But it was busy up there at the time)

I heard that Mike was above bolt 4 when he fell. Did he skip a clip or the rope unclipped itself from the 4th draw?

[DriskellHR]

I only counted 3 that had been clipped (I may have missed counted but i really dont think i did. But it was busy up there at the time)

I heard that Mike was above bolt 4 when he fell. Did he skip a clip or the rope unclipped itself from the 4th draw?

good question. I doubt he skipped a bolt he seemed much smarter than that. I also could be mistaken as I said before. The scene was tense.....

[shotwell]

I only counted 3 that had been clipped (I may have missed counted but i really dont think i did. But it was busy up there at the time)

I heard that Mike was above bolt 4 when he fell. Did he skip a clip or the rope unclipped itself from the 4th draw?

good question. I doubt he skipped a bolt he seemed much smarter than that. I also could be mistaken as I said before. The scene was tense.....

Yes, the scene was tense. I also recall three bolts being clipped, no draw on the fourth. The report of fall distance given to the paramedic was 'from where the rope is,' which the paramedic assumed to mean the third bolt. Distance estimate at the scene was 30 feet.

[lena_chita]

I only counted 3 that had been clipped (I may have missed counted but i really dont think i did. But it was busy up there at the time)

I heard that Mike was above bolt 4 when he fell. Did he skip a clip or the rope unclipped itself from the 4th draw?

Since I was the source of your information, and my information was second-hand hearsay, while DriskellHR was actually on the scene, I think it would be best to stop and wait for other people who were at the scene and had time to count draws, inspect the setup, etc. before taking this any farther.

I hope to hear more in due course, from bystander witnesses and the belayer, when he is ready, because this hits so close to home for me, and the urge to speculate and to figure out what went wrong is so strong. But getting multiple rumors circulating won't help.


MY thoughts go out to Mike and his family. And thank you to everybody who helped out with the rescue. The Darkside trail is not exactly easy to navigate, let alone when carrying a litter, and when time is of essence. If anything can be said to be lucky about that day, it is the fact that there were so many people to assist with the rescue. Thank you again!

[clif]

Best wishes Mike. My thoughts are with you and the good souls that help you through this time.

And to all of you who quietly, anonymously, and time after time make the best of hard situations, rescue moments of loss- I wish I knew all your names, and thanks for the help, personally.

[anticlmber]

brent perkins, johnny knowles, driskell, pete mcd, james, tom, tyler, donny from c&s and the leeco sar, ems, aajay, mike, and a few others i din't get to thank personally and some i forgot, thank you very much. i hope this community is always this good.