First I want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ever touched that damned rock that hit you. I was attempting to be careful and take precautions, but I failed. I've seen a number of accidents now in the mountains where people were badly hurt, but this was the worst and the scariest. It's changed the way I look at what we do. I've had to re-asses my list of goals and let go of a number of them.
From now on I don't care to climb loose steep terrain. Sometimes that might mean choosing a different peak. So be it. Furthermore I don't ever want to be responsible again for triggering a rock that injures someone I care about. Even if that means that I'm always the guy below everyone else where rockfall is a potential. So be it.
Your ability to stay positive through much of this ideal was amazing to me. I'm relieved now to see you well on your way to recovery. I'm still hoping that the pinky returns to partial mobility. Don't give up hope on that. Amputation is not the solution.
This has got to be tough for you too, man. I would feel just awful, but I'm sure it was simply an accident and not much you could have done differently. I've set off a rock just as you described one... set off like it was on a hair trigger. Mine was on the Big Gully route on Castle Peak, ID and it turned into a massive series of rock fall down the route. Fortunately I was going first as anyone below me on the route wouldn't have stood a chance. It certainly has made me extra careful. Don't be too hard on yourself though, experiences like these shape the people we are and you and Josh will both come out of it better people and better mountaineers. :)
That's wild. I hope you're well soon Josh! Glad you were there to help Gimpilator! I've only skimmed this a bit, I'll have to come back to read it more.
Two things... 1. Took a bad fall almost 20 years ago. My doctor told me I'd probably limp the rest of my life. I told him to screw himself and was walking without a limp in 6 months. Think positive and work hard (and see a PT) and it will go a long ways towards mobility in your fingers.
2. $12K is a lot of money but it's not something you can't pay off (most people pay double that for a new car). Work with someone you trust who can help you set up a payment plan and you'll eventually be able to put that chapter behind you.
Good luck!
And one other thing... If you don't have money find a PT who is willing to meet with you and give you a list of exercises that you can do on your own. I met with my PT and explained I couldn't pay for more than 1 consultation and he gave me a list of things I could do without having to go see him. It saved me a lot of money.
It's nice to have the story, thanks for sharing Josh, and I'm glad you're on the road to recovery and even hiking again! I've been sending you good vibes. Don't stress about the money, it will come. 12K sounds like a bargain to me! At an american hospital I bet that would be closer to 100K if not more for all you had to get fixed up. Keep working on your recovery and most important keep a positive attitude! I'll be in touch. :)
Josh
We all know that bad things can happen, but never to us, right? This write-up is a confirmation that we all are highly vulnerable up "in the hills". So happy you will get to climb again. Stay positive, work hard on you recovery and good luck to you.
Alois.
Excellent narrative. Thanks for writing it. It will help many other people get a more realistic picture of mountaineering and be able to better evaluate the RISKS as well as the rewards of the sport. So many reports just talk about the glory and fun, but we need information like this to get a more balanced picture. Best wishes for a full recovery.
P.S. Super photos by the way.
You are dealing with the aftermath of this accident in the right way. You are healing physically and emotionally and we are grateful for that.
Thank you for sharing the story and know that you have earned my respect and admiration.
Thank you for taking the time to give us all this great account of your terrible accident. This will be a memento to many climbers who have perhaps become overconfident because nothing ever happened to them. It also makes me realize how fortunate my wife and I have been in that we have never had any injuries in the mountains through many years of climbing. (We came pretty close to being killed by lightning once, but of course that left no permanent marks on us).
I'm also impressed with how you reacted to this whole ordeal, I think you have been very brave during all your suffering. I feel sorry for you that you had to experience a seemingly quite sloppy treatment at the hospital, and that you are now left with a huge debt for hospital treatment. If something like that had happened to one of us while we lived in France it wouldn't have cost us a cent (nor would it in Denmark, but there are no mountains here).
I hope you will continue to recover, and that you will still have many beautiful experiences in the mountains. Taking it a bit more relaxed and being more careful, avoiding loose rocks (I personally hate the stuff) will not prevent this.
I want to wish you a full recovery as much as possible. Thank you for sharing this experience.
Enjoy the new trekking poles. ;-)
As for the hospital costs, I agree with an earlier comment that you got a bargain. You are an American who got injured in a mountaineering accident on foreign soil. Canada wants foreigners (especially foreign hikers) to have travel medical insurance. If the situation was reversed (Canadian injured in USA), I would guess that the cost could be well over $100K. That is the unfortunate side of the medical industry. Nothing is free but the value of your life is priceless. With that said, $12K is still a lot of money and I hope you find some assistance.
Your report does a really good job of demonstrating different aspects of risks and decision-making involved with mountaineering. This report will be very helpful to others.
I am so thankful you are still alive to share the story and learn from the experience.
I feel very fortunate to have got away with it over a sporadic 40 year climbing career - but I have had some situations which could so easily have ended the way yours did.
So sorry to hear about what you went through - and still going through.
Hope you heal quickly - one good thing about being your age is that things generally heal well.
Also good luck with the insurance.
best wishes, Mark
...for telling us your story in such detail and with so much openness, Josh! What happened to you is, of course, one of those things one can never forget as long as one lives...And it's nobody's fault - it was a gruesomely unlucky moment, for both you and Adam...But I can feel that you're strong, and also objective-minded, as to what you can do from now on and what not. And that's very good. Main thing: Keep on living - don't give up the spirit! But I don't think I need to say this to you - I can feel by the way you wrote your story that you won't let this incident and the changes it brought along bring you down. And there are so many ways to happiness - and so many ways to be in close touch with the mountains - that no matter what the odds, one can always find a way. And I think you see it that way, too.
Best wishes to you, Josh, and also with the insurance and the whole financial side!
Eric
Some of the other SP members pointed out the necessity of speaking about this side of mountaineering as well, about what can happen to any one of us if we are not careful, and oftentimes even if we ARE careful! I would like to second that by quoting a sentence I read from a German mountaineer: ""A mountain is only yours when you are safely back down in the valley, because before that, you are the mountain's possession!"
Thanks for sharing such a scary and personal story.
Though nowhere near as experienced a climber as you or others on SummitPost, I had my own ordeal after completing a failed attempt on Rainier in 2008. After I returned to my then-home city of Chicago, my lung collapsed, twice, and I had to have surgery. Nothing happened to me on the mountain other than the climb seeming even harder than I had imagined -- which makes me wonder if my lung had already collapsed on the way up, or if the climb is really that hard. Instead, it was just apparently my bad luck as being a thin young male in his early 30s (but not tall, another trait that makes one susceptible to spontaneous pneumothoraxes) and the dramatic change in pressure caused by traveling to high attitude. The lung collapses scared me off of all high-altitude hiking and climbing for some time. My surgeon told me I was fine to go to high altitudes after the surgery, but I was naturally frightened. It is only now that that I am getting the courage and enthusiasm to slowly, and I mean slowly, try hiking again while gradually easing up to higher altitudes. Thus my username "Starting Over."
I love mountains but will almost certainly stick to Class 1 walkups or have guides for all future mountaineering activity.
Sorry to make this comment about me. What happened to you is far scarier and I'm sure you are going through a lot of psychological torment right now. But please don't worry. You'll get through it. The mountains will always be there for you, regardless of what routes you chose to climb them.
The total altitude gain of Rainier catches many people unaware. It's not the peak altitude it's the total gain that gets you. Many come from 14K peaks like those in Colorado, with 6K high valleys, so only 8K gain. Then they climb Rainier where you start from near sea level, with 14K gain. The human body doesn't acclimatize that fast, anything above 11K on the 2nd day is pushing it. You especially don't want to sleep that high that early.
Accidents --- can't live with them and can't live without them !
Accidents will always happen ... to somebody. Survival and the strength to survive them are dependent upon each individual ... and the power to choose one's ultimate destiny.
Josh, you already know so. Best wishes for your recovery !
"For everything - turn, turn, turn ...
There is a season - turn, turn, turn ...
Josh, Thanks for the report. I broke my back many years ago in a fall. shattered four vertebrae and spent over a year on my parents couch recovering. Before surgery I was told I'd be lucky to walk again let alone climb again. after physical therapy I am back to playing in the mountains again full time. you will feel some aches and soreness but it will get better. the recovery part is the most difficult, I guess that's where the term patient comes from. I hated the lack of water thing as well and remember allot about my surgery that I had forgotten about. best of luck healing and PM me if I can help.
Seems strange to give a story of pain, sorrow and despair a 10 out of 10. I had the chance to meet Josh and Adam (gimpilator) under these unfortunate circumstances. Gimpilator and I have been discussing the opportunity to climb together for some time, and when I learned he was heading up to Alberta with Josh I had high hopes for a couple of cool climbs with the boys. I feel bad the boys had such a hard time at the border, and such a scary situation with their camping site.
Gimpilator had sent me a text about the accident when Josh was first in the hospital, I was having a hectic day at the office and when I first read the text I didn’t understand from whom it came, but when I replied I eventually understood it was Gimpilator and Josh; I felt sick and instantly very worried.
I was able to visit the boys in the hospital and give some comfort and aid to Josh. Poor guy was such a mess and all drugged up from his hand surgery. Considering the pain and dread that poor Josh was in, us three had a great visit, and of course, lots of talk of climbing.
Josh, I wish a strong and steady recovery. Take your time coming back to climbing; you are young and have many decades of adventure ahead of you, rest, recuperate and heal up.
gimpilator - Nov 3, 2014 12:28 am - Voted 10/10
CoryFirst I want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ever touched that damned rock that hit you. I was attempting to be careful and take precautions, but I failed. I've seen a number of accidents now in the mountains where people were badly hurt, but this was the worst and the scariest. It's changed the way I look at what we do. I've had to re-asses my list of goals and let go of a number of them.
From now on I don't care to climb loose steep terrain. Sometimes that might mean choosing a different peak. So be it. Furthermore I don't ever want to be responsible again for triggering a rock that injures someone I care about. Even if that means that I'm always the guy below everyone else where rockfall is a potential. So be it.
Your ability to stay positive through much of this ideal was amazing to me. I'm relieved now to see you well on your way to recovery. I'm still hoping that the pinky returns to partial mobility. Don't give up hope on that. Amputation is not the solution.
awilsondc - Nov 3, 2014 10:32 am - Voted 10/10
Re: CoryThis has got to be tough for you too, man. I would feel just awful, but I'm sure it was simply an accident and not much you could have done differently. I've set off a rock just as you described one... set off like it was on a hair trigger. Mine was on the Big Gully route on Castle Peak, ID and it turned into a massive series of rock fall down the route. Fortunately I was going first as anyone below me on the route wouldn't have stood a chance. It certainly has made me extra careful. Don't be too hard on yourself though, experiences like these shape the people we are and you and Josh will both come out of it better people and better mountaineers. :)
albanberg - Nov 3, 2014 12:48 am - Voted 10/10
Yikes!That's wild. I hope you're well soon Josh! Glad you were there to help Gimpilator! I've only skimmed this a bit, I'll have to come back to read it more.
wfinley - Nov 3, 2014 1:48 am - Hasn't voted
2 thingsTwo things... 1. Took a bad fall almost 20 years ago. My doctor told me I'd probably limp the rest of my life. I told him to screw himself and was walking without a limp in 6 months. Think positive and work hard (and see a PT) and it will go a long ways towards mobility in your fingers.
2. $12K is a lot of money but it's not something you can't pay off (most people pay double that for a new car). Work with someone you trust who can help you set up a payment plan and you'll eventually be able to put that chapter behind you.
Good luck!
And one other thing... If you don't have money find a PT who is willing to meet with you and give you a list of exercises that you can do on your own. I met with my PT and explained I couldn't pay for more than 1 consultation and he gave me a list of things I could do without having to go see him. It saved me a lot of money.
awilsondc - Nov 3, 2014 10:27 am - Voted 10/10
What an ordeal!It's nice to have the story, thanks for sharing Josh, and I'm glad you're on the road to recovery and even hiking again! I've been sending you good vibes. Don't stress about the money, it will come. 12K sounds like a bargain to me! At an american hospital I bet that would be closer to 100K if not more for all you had to get fixed up. Keep working on your recovery and most important keep a positive attitude! I'll be in touch. :)
asmrz - Nov 3, 2014 11:16 am - Voted 10/10
Get wellJosh
We all know that bad things can happen, but never to us, right? This write-up is a confirmation that we all are highly vulnerable up "in the hills". So happy you will get to climb again. Stay positive, work hard on you recovery and good luck to you.
Alois.
ROSENCLIMBER - Nov 3, 2014 11:49 am - Voted 10/10
Good JobExcellent narrative. Thanks for writing it. It will help many other people get a more realistic picture of mountaineering and be able to better evaluate the RISKS as well as the rewards of the sport. So many reports just talk about the glory and fun, but we need information like this to get a more balanced picture. Best wishes for a full recovery.
P.S. Super photos by the way.
Bark Eater - Nov 3, 2014 12:48 pm - Voted 10/10
RecoveryJosh,
So glad that you continue to recover. Hang in there!
Marcsoltan - Nov 3, 2014 1:37 pm - Voted 10/10
Josh,You are dealing with the aftermath of this accident in the right way. You are healing physically and emotionally and we are grateful for that.
Thank you for sharing the story and know that you have earned my respect and admiration.
Ejnar Fjerdingstad - Nov 3, 2014 2:07 pm - Voted 10/10
Josh,Thank you for taking the time to give us all this great account of your terrible accident. This will be a memento to many climbers who have perhaps become overconfident because nothing ever happened to them. It also makes me realize how fortunate my wife and I have been in that we have never had any injuries in the mountains through many years of climbing. (We came pretty close to being killed by lightning once, but of course that left no permanent marks on us).
I'm also impressed with how you reacted to this whole ordeal, I think you have been very brave during all your suffering. I feel sorry for you that you had to experience a seemingly quite sloppy treatment at the hospital, and that you are now left with a huge debt for hospital treatment. If something like that had happened to one of us while we lived in France it wouldn't have cost us a cent (nor would it in Denmark, but there are no mountains here).
I hope you will continue to recover, and that you will still have many beautiful experiences in the mountains. Taking it a bit more relaxed and being more careful, avoiding loose rocks (I personally hate the stuff) will not prevent this.
All the best!
Ejnar
Redwic - Nov 3, 2014 2:19 pm - Voted 10/10
Wishing you the best.I want to wish you a full recovery as much as possible. Thank you for sharing this experience.
Enjoy the new trekking poles. ;-)
As for the hospital costs, I agree with an earlier comment that you got a bargain. You are an American who got injured in a mountaineering accident on foreign soil. Canada wants foreigners (especially foreign hikers) to have travel medical insurance. If the situation was reversed (Canadian injured in USA), I would guess that the cost could be well over $100K. That is the unfortunate side of the medical industry. Nothing is free but the value of your life is priceless. With that said, $12K is still a lot of money and I hope you find some assistance.
Your report does a really good job of demonstrating different aspects of risks and decision-making involved with mountaineering. This report will be very helpful to others.
I am so thankful you are still alive to share the story and learn from the experience.
markhallam - Nov 3, 2014 2:35 pm - Voted 10/10
There but for the grace of God...I feel very fortunate to have got away with it over a sporadic 40 year climbing career - but I have had some situations which could so easily have ended the way yours did.
So sorry to hear about what you went through - and still going through.
Hope you heal quickly - one good thing about being your age is that things generally heal well.
Also good luck with the insurance.
best wishes, Mark
EricChu - Nov 3, 2014 7:12 pm - Voted 10/10
Thanks......for telling us your story in such detail and with so much openness, Josh! What happened to you is, of course, one of those things one can never forget as long as one lives...And it's nobody's fault - it was a gruesomely unlucky moment, for both you and Adam...But I can feel that you're strong, and also objective-minded, as to what you can do from now on and what not. And that's very good. Main thing: Keep on living - don't give up the spirit! But I don't think I need to say this to you - I can feel by the way you wrote your story that you won't let this incident and the changes it brought along bring you down. And there are so many ways to happiness - and so many ways to be in close touch with the mountains - that no matter what the odds, one can always find a way. And I think you see it that way, too.
Best wishes to you, Josh, and also with the insurance and the whole financial side!
Eric
EricChu - Nov 3, 2014 7:29 pm - Voted 10/10
P. S.:Some of the other SP members pointed out the necessity of speaking about this side of mountaineering as well, about what can happen to any one of us if we are not careful, and oftentimes even if we ARE careful! I would like to second that by quoting a sentence I read from a German mountaineer: ""A mountain is only yours when you are safely back down in the valley, because before that, you are the mountain's possession!"
StartingOver - Nov 4, 2014 10:35 am - Voted 10/10
Scary StoryThanks for sharing such a scary and personal story.
Though nowhere near as experienced a climber as you or others on SummitPost, I had my own ordeal after completing a failed attempt on Rainier in 2008. After I returned to my then-home city of Chicago, my lung collapsed, twice, and I had to have surgery. Nothing happened to me on the mountain other than the climb seeming even harder than I had imagined -- which makes me wonder if my lung had already collapsed on the way up, or if the climb is really that hard. Instead, it was just apparently my bad luck as being a thin young male in his early 30s (but not tall, another trait that makes one susceptible to spontaneous pneumothoraxes) and the dramatic change in pressure caused by traveling to high attitude. The lung collapses scared me off of all high-altitude hiking and climbing for some time. My surgeon told me I was fine to go to high altitudes after the surgery, but I was naturally frightened. It is only now that that I am getting the courage and enthusiasm to slowly, and I mean slowly, try hiking again while gradually easing up to higher altitudes. Thus my username "Starting Over."
I love mountains but will almost certainly stick to Class 1 walkups or have guides for all future mountaineering activity.
Sorry to make this comment about me. What happened to you is far scarier and I'm sure you are going through a lot of psychological torment right now. But please don't worry. You'll get through it. The mountains will always be there for you, regardless of what routes you chose to climb them.
Buckaroo - Nov 9, 2014 12:35 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Scary StoryThe total altitude gain of Rainier catches many people unaware. It's not the peak altitude it's the total gain that gets you. Many come from 14K peaks like those in Colorado, with 6K high valleys, so only 8K gain. Then they climb Rainier where you start from near sea level, with 14K gain. The human body doesn't acclimatize that fast, anything above 11K on the 2nd day is pushing it. You especially don't want to sleep that high that early.
lcarreau - Nov 4, 2014 1:04 pm - Voted 10/10
Great true-life account ...Accidents --- can't live with them and can't live without them !
Accidents will always happen ... to somebody. Survival and the strength to survive them are dependent upon each individual ... and the power to choose one's ultimate destiny.
Josh, you already know so. Best wishes for your recovery !
"For everything - turn, turn, turn ...
There is a season - turn, turn, turn ...
And a time to every purpose under Heaven."
mfox79 - Nov 4, 2014 9:20 pm - Hasn't voted
It will get betterJosh, Thanks for the report. I broke my back many years ago in a fall. shattered four vertebrae and spent over a year on my parents couch recovering. Before surgery I was told I'd be lucky to walk again let alone climb again. after physical therapy I am back to playing in the mountains again full time. you will feel some aches and soreness but it will get better. the recovery part is the most difficult, I guess that's where the term patient comes from. I hated the lack of water thing as well and remember allot about my surgery that I had forgotten about. best of luck healing and PM me if I can help.
Thinuwan - Nov 4, 2014 11:51 pm - Hasn't voted
Get well soon!Glad to hear you are recovering!
Consider yourself lucky.. Could've been alot more worse..
Old School WB - Nov 5, 2014 12:09 pm - Voted 10/10
Rest, recuperate and heal up.Seems strange to give a story of pain, sorrow and despair a 10 out of 10. I had the chance to meet Josh and Adam (gimpilator) under these unfortunate circumstances. Gimpilator and I have been discussing the opportunity to climb together for some time, and when I learned he was heading up to Alberta with Josh I had high hopes for a couple of cool climbs with the boys. I feel bad the boys had such a hard time at the border, and such a scary situation with their camping site.
Gimpilator had sent me a text about the accident when Josh was first in the hospital, I was having a hectic day at the office and when I first read the text I didn’t understand from whom it came, but when I replied I eventually understood it was Gimpilator and Josh; I felt sick and instantly very worried.
I was able to visit the boys in the hospital and give some comfort and aid to Josh. Poor guy was such a mess and all drugged up from his hand surgery. Considering the pain and dread that poor Josh was in, us three had a great visit, and of course, lots of talk of climbing.
Josh, I wish a strong and steady recovery. Take your time coming back to climbing; you are young and have many decades of adventure ahead of you, rest, recuperate and heal up.
Kevin