Boulder pinned my partner hiking out of the Serria after bailing from the Evolution Traverse

Full story can be found here with photos but I'll copy paste here as well.

 This past Thursday the 28th of September I was involved in a major hiking/scrambling accident and subsequent rescue effort involving my close friend Lars. 

The short story - he was pinned under a larger boulder while hiking/scrambling 5 miles from the nearest road in the Sierra Mountains. We were able to free him and with the help of SAR (Search and Rescue), the US Army and local police, got him out and choppered to a hospital. He is going to be ok. The long story below.

On this trip we planned to do the “Evolution Traverse” a technical climb located in Kings Canyon National Park in the heart of California’s Sierra Nevada. On day one we got off route and wasted a lot of time, a setback we knew we wouldn’t be able to recover from with an incoming snowstorm forecasted for two days later. With a full week of planned climbing ahead of us in Yosemite Valley we decided to do the right thing and bail from the traverse. The approach hike to the start of the climb was a little over 8 miles on mostly clear trail. Only one small section at the top of Lamarck Col gave us pause on the way in. The Col itself was still full of snow that had hardened in the cooler Sept temps making kicking decent steps in our trail runners almost impossible. A pair of micro spikes or even an ice axe would have been a great help but without those tools we picked the shortest section of snow that led to steeper rocks below the top. This made for some class 3-4 scrambling and even one move that I would call low 5th. On the hike out I was dreading going back down this way and was determined to find an easier path.

When I arrived at the top of Lamarck Col I quickly spotted what I thought would be an easier way down but before I could get started I heard someone yelling. I figured this was Lars who had been hiking a lot faster than me and was yelling to hurry my slow ass up. Looking around the large bowl of the Col I couldn’t spot him and he continued to yell over and over. Something was wrong, this wasn’t normal yelling, he was hurt but where was he? Not seeing him at the bottom of the snow field I decided he must be where we had come up the day prior. As I headed back to the top of the col and toward his cries, they started to grow louder and I knew for sure that an accident had occurred. I started yelling back, “I’m coming Lars, hold on buddy!”. When I was directly above I could hear him yelling clearly, “I’m stuck! There’s a rock on me! Help! Jake! Please Help!”. With this information I hit the SOS button on my Garmin InReach and slowly started climbing down being careful not to fall myself. When I made it to him I quickly accessed the scene and started asking questions. Of course he was in incredible distress and pain and started pleading with me to move the boulder. “Please Jake, you have to get this rock off me, please hurry, I’m going to lose my leg! Get it off me Jake!”

In order to avoid the hard snow covered 5th class move I mentioned earlier he had tried to climb down a short slot/cave in the rocks. Somehow a large boulder around the size of a city trashcan had come loose and fell on top of him, plugging the slot and pinning him against the mountain. (See Image 2) The rock was angled and sharp so his leg was pinned just below his groin. With the boulder in the way, I couldn't see what injuries he had sustained and had to rely on what Lars could tell me. There was no blood but he told me he thought he was internally bleeding and could not feel his leg anymore. He was cold and shaking. I did my best to drape a puffy over him.

I started trying to move the boulder first near the front where I could get the most leverage but this only made things worse causing him to scream out in pain. The back of the rock was the obvious place to move it but reaching down left me in an awkward position with zero leverage and little to grasp onto. I quickly realized this boulder wasn’t going to move just by hand. Plus, another frying pan sized rock was blocking the top of the boulder from fully moving and had to be dealt with first.

I told Lars I was going to try and use the climbing rope and gear we had brought to assist in moving the boulder. He pleaded with me to just try by hand again thinking any other method would only waste time. I did my best to console him and assure him the rope would be the better method as I frantically unpacked my gear and started flaking out the rope. I jammed a cam into the nearest crack above us, wrapped the rope around the front of the boulder and set up a 1:1 hauling system with two micro traxions we had brought for simul climbing. This method did not work right away due to the smaller rock blocking the boulder so I retied the the rope around the smaller rock and it blasted out immediately sending me flying down the snow field but I managed to catch myself.

Now with the smaller rock out the way we tied the rope back around the larger boulder nearer to Lar’s body. This was not easy as I had to reach very far down into the slot to grab the other side of the rope. All while balancing on what I would hardly call a ledge. My right foot was on top of another sloping boulder and my left in a small kicked out foothold of sloping snow. Again I jumped down the slope trying to haul the boulder but it was not budging. The next hour was a blur as Lars and I tried multiple configurations of the rope tied around the boulder and hauling methods. Nothing was working beyond a small amount of movement before everything would halt. One method from the side caused Lars to cry out in pain “Stop! Stop! You’re making it worse!” Between all my attempts poor Lars begged me to keep trying. Every now and then I made eye contact with him and could see  the horror and pain in his eyes. I’d exhausted myself and started needing longer breaks between tries. My hand was bleeding somehow and I wrapped it quickly with climbers tape. The systems I’d set up and reset have led to the rope being cut multiple times to more quickly fix jams. Everything is failing. We need to switch gears.

At some point I realize my phone has been getting messages. I have service and I call 911. 911 is a little difficult to deal with but I relay the information needed and they get in contact with the local SAR team. I never stop trying to move the boulder while I’m on the phone. Lars is screaming at me to keep trying, he doesn’t believe help is going to come fast enough and part of me believes him so I do my best to talk on the phone and work on the boulder at the same time. At some point someone from the Inyo SAR team calls me back and I send them photos of the scene and the exact coordinates. They assure me they’re on the way and will be there soon. We beg them, please send a helicopter.

With almost 2 hours since I found Lars and 3 since the boulder fell on him I was beginning to lose hope. We would have to wait for SAR to come and assist but I kept trying regardless. Every failed attempt was devastating. I was feeling weak, bleeding from my hands and my hips were raw and bruised from the harness. Then with one adrenaline fueled attempt, with my harness clipped directly to the rope around the boulder via a sling in a side pulling direction, the boulder started to move. My foot gained a new bit of leverage and it moved more. Lars began yelling that he was able to move. “Just a little more Jake!” Keep going! I’m almost free Jake!” I find a hold in the back of the wall and pull as hard as I can, screaming out from the pain in my waist hoping it will give me just a bit more strength to do this. “Lars are you free!” “Are you free Lars! Did you get out!”

Lars had managed to slip down and behind the boulder through the gap to the larger ledge below. “I’m out! Help! Jake help me! I’m out!” He was free and I was ecstatic. I used the rope to swing down and around to him on the big ledge below. He was shaking and telling me how cold he was. He couldn’t feel his leg. I got him flat and started pulling out every layer of clothing we had. I got him bundled up, with both of our sleeping bags around him and an air mattress underneath his body. I propped up his legs and made him as comfortable as I could. He was still shaking and in and out of consciousness but his breathing remained stable. I checked his wound and to my astonishment it didn’t look worse than a large bruise. Of course I had no idea what was happening internally but the fact that there was no external blood was promising. Lars was still in a bad place but with the boulder off I knew he was going to make it. I was still terrified but couldn't help feeling joy that we had freed him. SAR was in contact with me over the next hour and half and assured me a helicopter was on the way. I did my best to keep Lars warm, holding him close to my body nervous about hypothermia and we waited. The helicopter appeared over the horizon and I felt a massive sigh of relief. The US Army had been flying training missions in the area and the SAR team was able to use their Chinook Helicopter to reach us. Because the lake bed below was dry they were able to land at the bottom of the snow field where a team of 6 Inyo SAR volunteers jumped out and reached in minutes. An hour more and they had Lars down from the snowfield and in the chopper heading for Fresno. 

We made it to the hospital a little over an hour later and as of today he is doing well. He suffered major impact trauma, nerve damage and experienced some internal bleeding that has stopped. We think he will make a full recovery. Obviously I’m not his doctor and can’t say for certain but it seems promising. We love you Lars get well soon.

Massive shout out and thanks to everyone involved in the rescue. The Inyo SAR team: Dan, Ariana, McKenzie, Jon, Matt and Rick who were onsight plus Ed & Jolie from the hut. Jake with the Inyo County Sheriff's Office and the members of the US Army with the chinook helicopter. The Fresno Community Hospital. As well as Kat back at home relaying to Garmin our last tracking coordinates from the InReach. Seeing these organizations come together so quickly for this rescue effort was inspiring. You’re all heroes and forever have our gratitude for what you’ve done for us and continue to do for others everyday.

Of course I have takeaways and thoughts on what went wrong and what we could have done better but for the most part this felt like really bad luck. Wrong place, wrong time.

Gnarly story. Great job getting that boulder off of Lars in trying circumstances!

Glad your buddy made it out. Sounds like if there’s anything to learn from this incident it’d be appropriate traction/footwear choices. A pair of lightweight aluminum pons & short axe might have been a good choice to get up or down that hard snow. Then your buddy could’ve avoided the loose boulder on the steep rock section. A huge snow year in the Sierra plus recent cold temps could be plenty of reason to pack them along. 

Michael Rushwrote:

Glad your buddy made it out. Sounds like if there’s anything to learn from this incident it’d be appropriate traction/footwear choices. A pair of lightweight aluminum pons & short axe might have been a good choice to get up or down that hard snow. Then your buddy could’ve avoided the loose boulder on the steep rock section. A huge snow year in the Sierra plus recent cold temps could be plenty of reason to pack them along. 

For sure. This was also an issue for us on the traverse, spikes would have been nice. I think we could have stuck together better too.

Wow. Intense. Thanks for writing that up; I read every word.

That’s terrifying. Nice work to the both of you. Glad it wasn’t worse. 

Impressive job getting that boulder off - moving those things is non joke.

It is also a reminder that shit can happen anywhere ... I've probably been up&down Lamark col ~15 times.

Thanks for the detailed write-up & best wishes to Lars for a full recovery.

Everyone involved in this story is a hero. It’s miraculous.  

Holy cow, great story and great job.   Glad everything worked out well.

Crush injuries are extremely difficult to manage and assess in the field.   It sounds like this one was more on the “positive” end of the spectrum (considering) and avoided extensive damage to the lower extremities. 

A few considerations for others that may find themselves in a similar circumstance in the future….especially if it is determined the injury is more severe (greater crushing of tissues and broken bones, etc) 

• Hydrate the victim with as much as you got/can get.  Ideally with normal balance of electrolytes 
• Generally, If trapped for > 1 hr, do not release victim without consultation with medical direction.  Victim “prep” is important before releasing, and extraction to definitive care is already on site.        
• If field release is only option (No comms with advanced med support), consider a tourniquet above the injury and continue hydration 
• Edit add:  forgot to mention that it is also a good idea to avoid administering any NSAID pain meds due to them likely exacerbating the risks to kidneys and hyperkalemia (too much potassium — adversely affecting the heart)

the issue is preventing the effects and byproducts of rhabdomyolysis (cellular death) suddenly causing heart and kidney failure after the pressure is released and those items suddenly start flowing in high concentration in the bloodstream. 

Jacob, this was intense and really well written. I commend you, by the way, for being an excellent partner in a scary and fucked up situation and handling it with whatever you had available. Glad your buddy is OK, and mucho credit to the SAR team, but you are also a badass for getting that rock off your friend! 

Wow! Excellent job by everyone involved. Glad this ended the way it did.

Reminds me of another boulder trapping incident, also involving a climber named Lars.

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1685591&msg=1691754#msg1691754

Jacob- outstanding work. 

Wow. Nightmare scenario. So many things could have gone wrong. I'm glad it all ended up okay. Great job staying cool headed and present with the tasks at hand. 

Fantastic rescue Jacob.  I'm reminded of similar heroics many years ago on the Salathe-Steck, when a massive boulder pinned a climber.  His partner, Joe Faint, placed bolts in the boulder and nearby rock (it wasn't all that unusual to carry an emergency bolt kit BITD), ran a bunch of webbing between them, inserted the handle of his piton hammer, and twisted until the rock was raised a few inches, enough to extract the pinned person,  Of course, there were no cell phones or any good way of calling for a rescue, so Joe soloed the upper pitches (some 5.9) and descended to the Valley floor to get help.

Really glad things worked out for you guys and help was near by, great job on keeping your head in the game in this situation and keeping Lars as calm as possible. Lars is fortunate  to have such a great friend.

Thanks for all well wishes and good info! 

Stoked for your good outcome! Type 3 Fun survived!

Ive never understood how partners let themselves get so far apart.  The dude was pinned for two hrs before his partner got to him!  Why not just stay together car to car?  Even if one person is faster than the other.  The safety aspect of staying together is hard to over emphasize, especially in these backcountry/ alpine environments.  What if he was knocked unconscious?  How would you find him then?    Look out for each other out there and stay together.

Ranger Mattwrote:

Ive never understood how partners let themselves get so far apart.  The dude was pinned for two hrs before his partner got to him!  Why not just stay together car to car?  Even if one person is faster than the other.  The safety aspect of staying together is hard to over emphasize, especially in these backcountry/ alpine environments.  What if he was knocked unconscious?  How would you find him then?    Look out for each other out there and stay together.

1 hr before his partner got to him.. but I concur with  the sentiment. 

Ranger Mattwrote:

Ive never understood how partners let themselves get so far apart.  The dude was pinned for two hrs before his partner got to him!  Why not just stay together car to car?  Even if one person is faster than the other.  The safety aspect of staying together is hard to over emphasize, especially in these backcountry/ alpine environments.  What if he was knocked unconscious?  How would you find him then?    Look out for each other out there and stay together.

I agree as well. I was in scouts growing up and still bring up the concept of the buddy system frequently. My partner is young, a lot more in shape than me and likes to hike fast. He's out in the Sierra doing similar hiking all the time alone so I'm not surprised he didn't wait up. He got ahead of me naturally in an easier section of trail and cruised the up hill to the top of the "pass/col". I was sucking wind myself and going very slow. I wish he had waited for me there but he made the choice not to. Obviously it was a bad choice. Hopefully we have learned from this mistake and won't make it again. Buddy system ftw.