Old Chief

Spencer wrote the following regarding the boys hike up Old Chief on July 2, 2012

As most of you either experienced directly or have heard, we had quite an adventure yesterday climbing Chief Mountain. While most of the group summitted and had a wonderful time on a perfect sunny day, the climb down offered some misfortune for our Jarom who took a near 20m repetitive head over heels tumble down the upper most section of hard block-like scree.

Jarom’s fall high on the mountain required immediate first aid. He appeared to have no broken bones and was entirely coherent after the fall, although very panicked. He suffered obvious and severe lacerations to the hand and knee which were luckily not bleeding out and entirely controllable. Shock was quickly setting in quickly as you would expect. With the fortune of having brought radios, I was able to report his condition up to Cameron until he came down to us and then relay the radio down to the rest of the group via my nephew Ethan going alone on the same high degree scree. With communication now available to the waiting group at the bottom, we organized ourselves quickly as others made their second climb of the slope up to us to assist. Having now treated him with first aid we next faced the daunting task of getting him off the high mountain and navigating kilometers of boulder fields and wash out areas and other terrain obstacles down to treeline and to our waiting vehicles.

His condition consistently improved after a priesthood blessing in a small cirque with most of the group present. Additional fluids and an improvised snow/ice pack to his knee and hand helped comfort him and keep his shock at bay. The collective assistance of the group came into full effect. It was evident we could continue to assist and carry him down the mountain and perform a team rescue. Using various 2 man and on-the-back carries involving several volunteers, we negotiated the terrain down through the immense boulder field obstacle and around the mountain to lower wash out/slide areas eventually dropping below treeline. In a matter of three and a half hours we were off the mountain. We were equally lucky no one else suffered an injury performing this carry-out. Over that period, Jarom’s demeanor actually returned to the point where he was nearly walking out unassisted. I even heard him whistling and telling knock-knock jokes.

We are very fortunate that he didn’t suffer greater injuries that would have required making contact for a chopper rescue. We had phones and radios. I think the size of our group and general preparation for such a potential event helped us immensely. Most of all, I could see the Lord’s tender mercies in every step for not only Jarom, but also in the protection of our group. From the near miss of the falls true impacts, or the re-energized legs of many climbers carrying an 85 lb. boy off the mountain, to Canadian customs advancing us past the deep line-up of cars to Denise being able to meet us at the Emergency and the careful hands of the doctor suturing him back together (Regan Steed). Jarom had good spirits through the whole process, but ultimately sustained a deep gash to the outside of his knee exposing muscle and other tissue requiring 16 stitches to his knee and another 6 in the palm of his hand, with only minor abrasions and cuts and bruising over his body. A small lump on the head and no broken bones was all he sustained which could have easily been a much more severe outcome. Our climbing day began at 8am but ended around midnight, starting up again around 4:30am dealing with the wave of pain now setting through his body. While we are monitoring Jarom closely he appears to have no permanent injuries (and still enjoys slurpees and popsicles with humor intact). Jarom is expectedly in a lot of pain, and the bruises are all appearing in full force now, but he is doing very well.

I recall Jarom commenting on the way up how he would ‘beat this mountain’ uttering those words on the same scree field that led to his fall. His determination to meet his objective was really quite amazing. I did not have to prod or convince him of anything. He just climbed looking at the mountain before him. He knew he could do it. He kissed the survey marker on top. I think in the end he met all his planned and unplanned challenges and beat the mountain as he said he would. The photo album more or less tells the triumphs, brave confrontations and great fortunes of the climb:

Angela and I want to expressly thank all those involved in his rescue off Chief Mountain. I am very sore today, as I suspect you are. It pushed all our limits.