Well I almost died

A friend and I went for a planned camp/hike/summit three days ago. The hike in was great. Warm, sunny and clear. I had obsessively checked the forecast for the area on weather.com which was mistake number one. I’ve since learned to check it on mountain forecast.com.

The next morning the weather was pleasant enough, mix of sun and cloud with occasional sprinkles. We decided it was a go and headed up the mountain which was going to be a good three hours to the summit. There was snow on the ground fairly soon but we had microspikes and I had extra layers in my daypack. It was still warm enough for shorts and a tshirt at this point. Mistake number two was my friend did not have any extra clothes other than a light wind breaker.

After about an hour, with the snow cover, it got harder and harder to see the trail but we had alltrails which we kept checking. Mistake number three is we should have turned back then. But at this point it was just kind of funny to us. We were still warm, weather was ok. Then we had to so some fairly significant scrambling up for a bit and then the weather started to change. The rain became heavy and the wind started picking up.

But by now we were past the half way point and decided it would be better to keep going (we were doing a loop rather than an in and out) By now it had been about four hours. The fog, rain and wind got really, really bad. I’ve since learned that the gusts were about 100km/h. At this point navigation became very difficult and we had to keep checking gps every minute or so.

Then my friend said “my hands aren’t working, you’ll have to do all the trail checking”. Honestly I thought he was being a little dramatic because by this point I had put on all my layers and was mostly ok except for trying to not get blown off the mountain. Then we stopped for a minute to eat and he sort of collapsed on the ground into a little ball. Then I knew he was not doing well but it was so crazy windy I knew that a helicopter wouldn’t be able to land so I made him get up and keep moving forward.

I just hoped that if I could get us over the mountain and onto the other side that the wind would be less and we’d be able to get down. But then he couldn’t go on any more and when I looked up at the final peak I just decided that if we went up there, we would die. So we called for help on his garmin.

They transferred me to the local SARS and they said they were going to send a helicopter to us after giving them our location. After about an hour we could hear the helicopter but the wind/rain/fog was so thick we couldn’t see it. Then they called us and said it couldn’t land in the weather and a ground crew was on their way. After another hour they called and said the helicopter would be there in fifteen minutes. We were so happy.

We’d been just marching in place for two hours trying to not die. My friend fell asleep standing up at one point and he was shivering like crazy. Fifteen minutes came and went, then another fifteen minutes. They called back and said the helicopter still couldn’t land and the ground crew was making their way to us. That’s when I started to lose hope and worried that we were in serious danger. My hands weren’t working properly at this point and the sustained wind and rain was making me really cold. My friend was in really bad shape. My speech was starting to slur a bit and he just wasn’t talking anymore.

Then, after about three hours since calling for help we heard a sound in the distance that we thought sounded like a person calling so I started blowing my airhorn and he started blowing his whistle. Finally we saw two heads pop up over the snow.

They immediately started helping my friend, warming him up. They said the helicopter was going to try again to get us and we heard it so close but it just couldn’t land. So the only option was to hike out. Then another two rescuers came from the opposite direction and joined us. By this time the wind was dying down and the rain had slowed down as well. They were super efficient and just started taking us back down but in a different direction. We had to do a lot of bushwhacking and they set up ropes to get down the steep parts. It took about another three hours to get down with them. Very quickly, after starting to move again, my hands warmed up and I was ok.

Honestly the way down was kind of fun for me. At one point two others joined us from a different direction. They had multiple teams coming from different ways to find us. They said it’s the best outcome for them, to have people who are able to walk themselves out and not have to carry them in a stretcher. They were laughing and joking with each other which helped me to relax. They were so kind and knowledgeable. There was no judgment but they got me to think about what I did wrong and how to not get in that situation again. My friend was doing ok as well but he did fall a few times. But some of the rescuers fell as well because it was quite difficult terrain.

Finally we made it to the base, way the heck far away on logging roads where three vehicles met us and drove us all back to civilization. Once at headquarters I was able to change into dry clothes. I hadn’t noticed how completely soaked I was till that point because I had to ring out my underwear in the sink.

I’ve been ravenously hungry and thirsty since. Yesterday I couldn’t really think clearly so all I did was lay my gear out to dry then went to bed. Today I feel a lot better but I’m still pretty foggy so this is likely just a blather. In total we were on the mountain for 15 hours.

Wow, what a story. Glad you’re okay. How is your friend?

If anyone ever wondered how this happens … That’s exactly how this happens.

Glad you’re both alive. It was close.

Oh I forgot an amazing detail. They sent another team to our camping spot and they packed up our stuff and hiked it out. That’s when I started to cry a bit. Here were six strong men, hiking up a mountain to find two lost people and another group went to get our stuff. I was overwhelmed and very humbled by them.

I can never repay them for what they did. I am making a donation of $1000 to them but that’s only a fraction of the cost of what they did for us.

My friend is doing ok, he’s home and just resting. I know I’m going to take a few days off work to recover and try to process it all.

So glad you both survived that without major injury.

Of course you were hungry - your body was burning a lot of reserves not only for the hike but to keep you warm.

Don’t worry about your donation being “inadequate” - many people are either unable or unwilling to give them anything at all.

I truly respect your willingness to reflect on how things went off the rails and learn from this experience.

I made so many mistakes in hindsight. Things that I thought I was doing right, like checking the forecast over and over. Right idea, wrong forecast. As soon as we were having difficulty finding the trail, even though we were still warm and having fun, I should have turned back. I had extra layers but I didn’t check that my friend did because he’s an adult and the thought didn’t cross my mind to check his supplies. I had my water filter and at one point we stopped to resupply and he didn’t have his. I should have turned back then.

Hard lesson learned. I will never get myself into that situation again.

At least you’re still here to learn it and pass it on.

Holy smokes! What an ordeal! SO GLAD you and your friend are safe. Also glad all the rescuers were safe and, presumably, having a good time.

Where was this? If you don’t mind sharing. Were you dealing with altitude too?

I’m very glad you both made it, but had your friend never done any mountain hiking before? You knew enough to bring extra clothing no matter the forecast, but did he?

Oh wow! I’m so glad you made it. That’s quite a story.

This was on Vancouver Island and we were at approximately 6400 feet up.

I don’t know to be honest. I had my extra stuff in my day pack and I just assumed he did as well. The thought never crossed my mind to check that he had extra things. His mistake but mine too, for not checking.

It is really easy to get into a bad situation in backcountry, especially if you don’t realize that you are even a little bit beyond your experience. I often get some funny looks and even the occasional derisive comment about my non-lightweight loadout for even fairly heavily trafficked backcountry trails but I’ve been in enough sketchy situations and also participated in rescues (not formally part of a SAR team but I’ve been trained in several SAR modalities and certified WFR) to know the benefits of carrying certain items like emergency shelter, spare socks and gloves, additional layers suitable to the worst expected environment, extra food, water, and and electrolyte supplements as well as self-rescue gear, first aid/trauma kit, multiple sources of illumination and firestarting, a folding saw and fixed blade knife, paracord/tape/safety pins for field expedient repair, et cetera.

The SAR teams are always happy to go out and aid hikers, but they also have limited resources so it is good to try to prevent needing a rescue or evacuation. It’s good to hear that your situation resolved without any serious consequences and presumably you’ve learned to take more precautions and learn to be wary of adverse conditions. and especially how fast wind, fog, and other adverse conditions can arise in alpine environments.

One thing I’ve learned from a combination of adverse experience and WFR/TIR training is to check with everybody in a group as to what their experience is, what extra clothing/consumables/gear they are carrying, and if they have any medical issues that might arise during a hike like heart trouble, asthma, bee sting allergies, diabetes, et cetera, and to do so both at the trailhead and (if possible) the day before, so I can both advise them as to what to take and wear (no cotton in wet environments, well-worn boots or shoes, a waterproof shell layer even if rain isn’t predicted, et cetera) and be prepared for anything that might reasonably be expected to come up.

Stranger

Man, that’s a scary experience - I am glad you both made it out of there okay. I was wondering if you would be hit with a bill for your rescue, but then I see this occurred in Canada. Not sure what financial obligations the rescued have for this sort of thing, but I believe in the US you would have been on the hook for some of this cost, especially the helicopter would have been a big cost (not sure tho).

Fortunately there’s no charge for SAR. They don’t want people to not call for fear of the cost and then end up dead. I would be curious though, how much our rescue did cost. They did use the helicopter to get teams as close to us as they could. And the helicopter came up the mountain close enough for us to hear it multiple times. There were three vehicles, five teams in total including three that came to us, one that went for our gear and the team at headquarters.

The helicopter is likely gratis of the local sheriff’s department or (or if you were in a national park then maybe NPS or NFS), and operations of this nature are part of their normal operating budget (although some agencies will charge for rescues where the cause was egregious or there has been a glut of people doing stupid things to get into trouble). A large helicopter suitable for air rescue or medical transport has an operating cost of somewhere in the range of $700-$1000 per operating hour, and if you ever have to pay for a private rescue or evacuation the costs easily run into the five figure range.

SAR teams require regular training to maintain skills, and doing actual rescues is in essence part of that training, and SAR teams generally require members to participate in some fraction of rescues in addition to training to make sure that skills are current. That being said, a rescue effort is pulling volunteers away from their families, sometimes out of bed and into inclement conditions, and potentially putting them into risky situations to effect a rescue or evacuation, so it is good to be aware of the impacts and thankful for the effort. But people volunteer to work on SAR teams (often paying for training out of pocket an supplying their own gear and supplies to do so) because they want to help people in need, and as you experienced they are happy to do so.

Stranger

Just going to chime in with the crowd and say glad you made it through a harrowing experience. And just as glad that you’re learning from it. But I do want to take a moment to suggest that while it’s healthy to be chastened by the experience, and to acknowledge your failures, that spending too much time beating yourself up is also not good for you.

You made errors, caused some work for others, and took more risk than intended. You’ve acknowledged, reflected, and vowed to make changes, as well as passing help on to those who contributed to your safety. This is good and healthy. As long as you apply it going forward (which I have every confidence you will to be clear) don’t make yourself crazy about it.

I also worry that such SAR provided by volunteers is going to be hampered by lack of resources going forward with the cuts to NPS/NFS by the current administration. But that’s another thread.

This sort of pre-hike review is important regardless of experience level. Even the most seasoned hiker can have a memory lapse or become complacent.

Also @FloatyGimpy - let me chime in with the “don’t beat yourself up” crowd. You also did some things right - extra clothing, keeping the other person moving, you had something to signal to rescuers (your air horn) … Even if you weren’t perfect you got you and someone else through this ordeal because you were prepared enough to survive until help arrived. That’s no small thing.

I’m sorry this happened to you but honestly I am very impressed by how you handled it. You saved more than just your own life.

“Stranger_On_A_Train, post:13, topic:1020704”]
(no cotton in wet environments)
:+1:

No cotton period - wet or not …
Learned my lesson with that riding mcycle in late autumn in Pennsylvania.

Once you sweat a bit, the cotton just yanks warmth from you.
I ended up at a marina, stripped down and dried everything under those hand driers. Even tho I had good outer gear, cotton base layer had me hypothermic. :cold_face:

Quite the tale OP - glad you made it. Damp cold plus wind is the fastest way to hypothermia and without good base layers to hold the body heat you simply cannot get warm on your own without some heat source, a fire or another person’s heat.