An Unexpectedly Long Day on Mt. Ellinor

by Christine Troy

The weather was forecast to be beautiful and sunny, perfect for my first provisional lead, an A-level climb up the SE Chute of Mt. Ellinor in the Olympic Mountains. Our team of eleven had two recent BCEP grads and nine experienced climbers including a PMR member, backcountry ski patroller, nurse, doctor, and Wilderness First Responder (WFR). As we met at the Lower Trailhead, I was a tad self-conscious about the amount of gear I was carrying. Would I really need two puffy jackets, an insulated pad, bivy bag, shovel, and huge amount of food for this straight-forward climb on a gorgeous spring day with a highly capable team?

The climb to the top was fun and uneventful in nearly perfect snow conditions. We enjoyed the views from the summit, took pictures, admired the mountain goats, then prepared to descend. Two short glissades got us to the top of the main chute which was the last technical section before the two-mile trail back to the cars. It was just after twelve o’clock.

There were rocks in the top of the glissade chute so we opted to plunge step down below the rocks before attempting to glissade again. It was at this point that one of the experienced climbers slipped. While attempting to self-arrest, one of their feet hit something in the snow, resulting in a severely broken ankle.

The climber slid to a safe stop on a flatter section, and the team sprang into action to assess the patient and make a plan. Due to the nature of the injury and the fact that we still had about 600 vertical feet of steep snow slopes to descend, we realized fairly quickly that we would need outside assistance to evacuate the patient. Cell phone service was spotty but we were able to call 911 at 12:17 p.m. and inform them that our patient was stable but would need a rescue to get them out of the mountains.

At that point, it became a waiting game—and waiting, and waiting. We used the shovel to make a flat platform and lay the patient onto an insulated pad. Eventually, the wind kicked up a bit and clouds rolled up from the valley below. We all put on extra clothing and covered the patient with the bivy sack and their emergency blanket. With a frustrating sense of irony, we watched a parade of people in gym shoes and cotton t-shirts— without ice axes, helmets, or even trekking poles—ascend the mountain and then “glissade” back down. Some of them seemed out of control—sliding head first, getting air time, etc.—I was sure we were going to end up with additional patients.

Since we were fairly close to the trailhead we considered splitting up and taking the majority of the team back to the cars. We set 7 p.m. as a deadline to make this decision. Ultimately, because the weather was nice, we kept the team together to have additional people to help with the evacuation.

Just after 6 p.m. Olympic Mountain Rescue (OMR) made it to our location. Their preference was to evacuate the patient via helicopter but due to another incident on The Brothers elsewhere in the Olympics it was not available. This meant using ropes and anchors to lower the patient in a litter down the steep snow slopes then carrying them out along the trail.

The location of the accident was less than 1 mile and 1,000 vertical feet from the Upper Trailhead yet it took just shy of 11 hours from the time we called 911 until the patient was in the care of the ambulance crew. The evacuation itself took 4–5 hours. We started our descent around 7 p.m. and made it back to the Upper Trailhead and waiting ambulance in the dark around 11:30 p.m. By the time we made it back to our cars at the Lower Trailhead, it was well after midnight. The injured climber required surgery and faces a lengthy healing process, but expects to make a full recovery.

For me, the key takeaway from this experience was that even on "easy" routes with good weather, steep snow

can be treacherous. Properly equipped, experienced climbers can slip and be injured, and a relatively benign slip can result in serious injury. I hope that by sharing this story, gear list, and additional observations that you consider evaluating what gear you carry to respond to an emergency and unexpected lengthy stay in the backcountry.

Thanks to the entire climb team for their collaborative efforts during the rescue, especially Marc Milobinski, Thomas Clarke, and Tom Shi for their medical and rescue expertise. A huge thanks also to Olympic Mountain Rescue for their technical evacuation expertise. GEAR WE USED IN RESPONSE TO THE INCIDENT ■ Insulated inflatable pad ■ Emergency bivy (SOL Thermal Bivy, heavier duty than the light mylar version) ■ Heavy duty emergency blanket (more like a tarp than a mylar space blanket) ■ Snow shovel ■ All our extra clothing layers, including heavy mittens ■ All our extra food and water ■ Cell phones (we had spotty signal; we also had an inReach) ■ Sit pads (for splinting) ■ Ace bandages (for splinting) ■ Tylenol and ibuprofen (enough for multiple doses) ■ External battery and charger cord for phones ■ Printed copy of SOAP Note and Mazama

Emergency Call Protocol and a pen

ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN USEFUL ■ More clothing layers—this was a key take away for all of us. I had my typical spring climbing layering system including two puffies, a softshell, a base layer, my rain gear, hat, and heavy mittens and was still getting cold. Thankfully the weather was dry and mild with only light wind. We got uncomfortably cold, but not dangerously cold. If the weather was worse, we may have to have had to contend with hypothermia. ■ All climbers carrying an extra battery for their cell phone—most people’s phones were dead by the end of the day unless they had access to an external battery. I will add this to the gear list for my future climbs. ■ A plug adaptor to be able to charge different brands of cell phones—different phones had cell service at different times. If you don’t have an extra battery for your phone, at least bring a charging cable. ■ More extra food—all the extra food we brought as part of the Ten Essentials was eaten. If we were out longer, we would have gotten very hungry. ■ A spare headlamp as part of group gear—it is likely someone will forget to pack one and it makes hiking out in the dark much safer if everyone has one. ■ A stove—while we didn’t strictly need a stove, having one would have helped keep people warm with hot water bottles or possibly tea/cocoa and would have given people something to do during our long hours waiting. This would have been much more important if the weather was worse.

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS: ■ Not every 911 dispatcher/SAR coordinator/rescuer I spoke to was familiar with UTM coordinates. Best practice is to give both UTM and latitude/longitude then confirm that the person has found your location on a map (see the next point). Also give your altitude if possible. ■ During my initial call to 911, in addition to the coordinates mentioned above

I also provided a verbal description of our location that was accidentally incorrect. Despite the specific (and accurate) UTM coordinates, this description was what was passed along to the SAR team, resulting in the rescue team bringing shorter than ideal ropes.

Communication between the multiple groups involved in a rescue is confusing.

It is not enough to assume the rescuers will plot your UTM coordinates on a map to identify where you are. Be mindful that verbal descriptions can be misunderstood, and be especially diligent about making sure everyone is aware of the correct information. ■ Carry your ID, health insurance info, a little cash, and a debit/credit card in your pack in case you are evacuated off the mountain and taken straight to the hospital without stopping by your car. ■ Take a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) or

WFR class if you haven’t already!