Rescue in the Sandias

 

Rescue on the Shield, Rainbow Dancer, 5.11 R Sandia Mountains, NM.

When working as a PA in the CCU/ICU, and there were few patients in-house (in the hospital), I used to say "wow, it's slow." The nurses would then "psssst" me, or say "oh great, now you blew it," meaning I somehow jinxed the "calm" and soon the floor would be overloaded. I never witnessed bad luck coming to fruition immediately, but it eventually happens. We can only hold our breath for so long. Such is the case with rescue work. This summer is starting to remind me of the 1996 season in the Sandias when there were 11 total fallen climbers where rescues were called and only 4 survived.

I've been on rescues on nearly every rock face in the Sandias, and have pondered where a worst nightmare case scenario might be. I still have those locked up under my hat because I don't want to "jinx" anyone. But this week one of those events came to fruition. A 26 year old female fell while lead climbing on the second pitch of Rainbow Dancer on the Shield, the Sandia's most formidable face that stands more than 1000 feet tall, rivaling some of the biggest faces in United States. She had climbed up and apparently pulled on a piece of rock that broke from the wall. It is unknown exactly how far she fell, but she hit the ledge below and became an instant critical trauma patient.

Her friend rappelled her from the ledge to the ground, then made a brief attempt of carrying her out, but only made it a few meters before realizing that it would not be possible, nor ideal to continue. He then ran for help. He eventually found someone far below on the Piedra Lisa Trail and asked them for a first aid kit and to call for 911 for help. The climbers had neither a first aid kit nor a phone. We actually got none of the information above, we only knew that there was a fallen climber with a broken leg on the Shield. The the BCFD and NMSP Incident Commanders had sparse information and could only guess as how to respond, but sent crews out with the hope of success of finding her and begin to effect a rescue. People watched like "Eiger Birds" through spotting scopes, but seeing someone on the Shield from Albuquerque is next to impossible.

Only some of the ground team of rescuers were able to reach her since the way to the base of the Shield is difficult terrain. She was actually more critical than what was thought and the clock was ticking for her. Radio communications from Justin Spain came through my headset in the Blackhawk helicopter that she was unstable and had poor lung sounds. We flew around the cliff faces waiting for the final packaging and preparation to have the patient hoisted up.  The hoist mandated that the pilot hover close to the face of the Shield and with the tail rotor nearing the trees on the steep ramp at the base.

 Preparing for hoist up against the Shield

The New Mexico National Guard has several premiere flight teams and medics. Today, they helped civilian rescuers help others. I've been fortunate to have worked with them on many missions like this one over the past 30 years while doing rescue work. Long story short, their medic administered pain medicine to her and was hoisted back up with the patient. She was wrapped up in multiple splints and secured into a litter.

I won't go into the details of the patient's injuries, but we had to perform life-saving measures by decompressing her lungs with large bore catheters and administering 2 units of blood in conjunction with her IV fluid once she was loaded into the Blackhawk. Myself and Drew Harroll, MD attended her into the ambulance and then into the trauma room at UNMH where we passed off care to a 20 person trauma team quietly awaiting our arrival.

Although I've run 1000's of trauma calls, I find that my heart is being able to provide care to mountaineers where few others can. Most mountaineers don't help others. They don't have time for it in their personal pursuits.

The very fast hoist and transfer to Johnson Field at UNM. The Blackhawk flew in at about 200 m.p.h. and lost nearly 3500' in elevation to get this patient to the trauma room.

On another note, I've been publicly accused of putting in too many bolts in the Sandias on the web site Mountain Project. Perhaps my style or ethic rubs some people the wrong way. I've scraped up enough people to know that bolts save lives. I now publicly challenge those who condemn me to come out and take my place and rescue their friends, family, and climbing partners. The same holds for anyone who prefers to slander rather than resolve issues. In Albuquerque, the rescue community is bonded together with a focus rather than scattered.

I hope that this climber will be able to recover. I know from my experience that had we not been able to get to her that she would have died within a couple more hours at best. This is the most critical trauma patient that I have brought out of the wilderness that has survived...but she's not out of the woods yet.

I love to climb and ski and I love medicine. Bad things happen, no doubt. But mitigating risk is part of the game. Preparing for a consequence is also part of that game. Everyone is involved, whether you like it or not. I'm happy to be a part of Strike Rescue as well as Albuquerque Mountain Rescue and to offer my abilities to those who need it when things go wrong.