Vail / Fang Colapse?!

My best wishes for the climber.

Get better, bro!!!!!

Crag Dweller wrote:i'm guessing he survived b/c he landed on his balls. if he was willing to climb the fang when it was that thin, they're huge and would've cushioned his fall. best wishes for a speedy recovery.

matt~ best wishes'n huggs & kishes to all yer parts for a full & speedy recovery (:

kirra

During the accident on Tuesday at Vail there was some gear left up on the designator. A dozen carabiners, some draws, and about 6 or 7 ice screws. Not a big deal but if anyone out there has any info for us that would be great. Thanks again for all the support and Matty is going to recover.

Just wanted to say,I meet Matt in Jackson Hole in 2007. Working with our friend T Dog.Matt I've been praying for you and wont stop till your better.When I first heard all I though was He's a tough one he will be fine. Get well cause who's going to pull me outta the Snake river when I get to deep? Stevo

Hey Brodie,
I was there on Tuesday and helped with getting Matt down out of the amphitheatre. Just wanted to let you know my roomate, who was also there, was back up there the next day guiding and got your screws and draws off the Designator. Don't know if you talked to him or not about getting it back yet. Get in touch and we'll get that stuff back to ya. Tell Matt I wish him the best and we'll see you all out climbing again soon.

ya my friends were the first responders/ pick thru arm and crushed laranex oww atleast vail gets cell reception and medics met them at road that guy got lucky best of wishes to him

Hey Daniel.....maybe you should have your "first responder" recap their story! None of that is true! Since the accident there has been alot of rumors flying out there...and this one is by far the most ridiculous..and I'm speaking from my heart. So please keep all the POSITIVE thoughts coming for the climber, his family and friends.

Kendall Miller-Tang wrote:Hey Daniel.....maybe you should have your "first responder" recap their story! None of that is true! Since the accident there has been alot of rumors flying out there...and this one is by far the most ridiculous..and I'm speaking from my heart. So please keep all the POSITIVE thoughts coming for the climber, his family and friends.

Easy Kendall. Why not just set the record straight yourself? I'd think we'd all like to know what happened and how the climber is doing.

BEsides what is contained in this thread, I would like if any warning signs, like condition of the ice, was ignored. Im a newbie ice climber and would liek to hear. Best wishes on the recovery!

Matt must have some huge stones. I hope he makes a full recovery.

pasto wrote:BEsides what is contained in this thread, I would like if any warning signs, like condition of the ice, was ignored. Im a newbie ice climber and would liek to hear. Best wishes on the recovery!

I wasn't there, but it was warm for 2 days...that's often a pretty good sign that a free standing pillar may not be the best bet. Good for forming ice, but maybe not the best time for the Fang. I probably wouldn't even want to belay someone near that when it's in the 40's.

At least I personally wouldn't, but I'm sure he's a way stouter climber than me. Maybe he was thinking he could get up and off quickly?? Plus I guess anytime you sack up and get on a 100 ft. free standing icicle you are taking some chances.

Get well soon...

Is he alive? On a ventilator still?

pasto wrote:BEsides what is contained in this thread, I would like if any warning signs, like condition of the ice, was ignored. Im a newbie ice climber and would liek to hear. Best wishes on the recovery!

Pasto: this is not meant to denigrate you, I applaud your desire to learn; free hanging pillars are in a class all by themselves, you need to know it's very dangerous right from the start. I saw The Fang the day before it fell and it had a fair amount of running water and it looked like unconsolidated chandelier ice. All this amounts to very dangerous conditions. Having said that, a guy put the route "up" that day. Did he get lucky?? My 20+ years of experience says: yes, very much so!!! In my opinion The Fang was not a reasonable risk that day......so I watched. Live to climb another day!!!

Does anyone have any information about Matt's recovery?? Thanks!!

does anyone know what exactly happened? I am hearing about five different stories

@daniel brown

If that's the case, your friends are in danger of serious HIPAA violations and the subsequent legal consequences.

S. F. Pitman wrote:@daniel brown If that's the case, your friends are in danger of serious HIPAA violations and the subsequent legal consequences.

I don't think you understand HIPAA as well as you think you do.

I climbed the Fang on Sat, 3 days before it fell down, and I believe I was the second ascent of the line this year. Friend Stanley led it 2 days prior to me. It was as solid as I could see from the deck and had it not been, I would not have headed up there. I climb Vail at least 3 days a week and there were not real unusual conditional factors like temps or excessive water, to cause the failure of the pillar. I think this is one of theose "100 year" events that has no true explaination. When I climbed it, it had the usual fracture across the entire base of the pillar, atop the cone. Higher up, where the pillar failed at the rock, there was no apparent fracture or weakness. The Fang typically fractures at the top and resets itself, often bonding from within. The water flow was out over the side of the pillar, instead of inside (the straw) which is more common. My theory is that it's possible that the left side grew too heavy and when tapped on just right, failed under the shitty structure of the ice holding the pillar. I've climbed stuff that looked/was scarier than that day on the Fang, it somewhat eludes me. Sobering indeed. I was pushing 22cm screws in, maybe getting a half-dozen turns out of them in some quality air. It was pretty much a WI6 solo.
My best to Matt and his recovery. To have jumped on the Fang that early took some thought and skill.

Just wondered:..as I've only been on the Fang once, in April of 85'. Does it form back up very quickly after total collapse, or is it most likely done for the whole season now?

I would say it has the potential to reform. Colorado is having one of the worst seasons on record for snow totals. If we get some big dumps in spring and some days bellow freezing It might happen.