Mountain Project Logo

Climber fatality on Little Bear Sunday 7/2/2006

Original Post
Theo Barker · · Loveland, CO · Joined Jan 2002 · Points: 125

A climber was killed from a fall taken from the upper headwall (just below the Blanca-Little Bear ridge) of the Northwest Face route on Little Bear yesterday. He was an experienced climber. The party had been using gear prior to the accident. They were not tied in at the time. He tried to move on a large rock that appeared to be solid. It came off on top of him. The initial fall was about 20ft, but he continued to tumble down for about 300-400ft. He died during the fall/tumble from multiple head contusions (in spite of the Petzl Ecrin Rock helmet he was wearing), severe internal injuries, and severely broken extremities (including neck). It occurred about 10 AM. The rescue-turned-recovery operation began almost immediately due to radio communications available in the area. His partners reached him about 20 minutes before assistance arrived. A nurse and an experienced SAR member concurred that he had deceased. The recovery operation began immediately. The body was lowered 700-800 ft. to the scree field below the lower headwall where the county SAR team took over from the climbers. Sleet & rain hampered the operation, in particular over the waterfall in the gully north of the "black hand". The body was then driven out by one of the SAR team members. The operation was wrapped up at about 10pm. His partners were uninjured.

How do I know this? I was rigging the ropes all the way off the mountain. My wife was the nurse confirming his death. We arrived at the body shortly after his partners arrived.

d-know · · electric lady land · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 45

sad news.
good on you and your wife to helpout.

dino

Rick S · · Denver, CO · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 0

Hi Theo,

My climbing partner and I were watching the recovery op from Lake Como also, and listening to the mother of one of the climbers (not injured) give us and some others info. It's my understanding the deceased was from Wichita, KS. Do you know if this is true? We watched until 3:00pm when we had to head down mountain to our vehicle. We had watched with binoculars from the lake, but it seemed that the climbers and SAR didn't move very far down the mountain in that time, maybe 100ft. It wasn't raining yet, but we heard an air horn blast, then a large rock(s) fall. This was at about 2:45. Do you have any details on that, or why the movement down for the surviving climbers was so slow? We were also very concerned for all with the impending storms pressing them, and wondered why a helicopter wasn't used to fly in SAR personnel instead of taking so much time driving up that road in ATVs?

I'm sorry if I've bombarded you with too many questions that you may not have the answers to, but we were very concerned for everyone involved and there hasn't been even a casual mention in any of the local media which is surprising, and sad.

Thanks for any info you can offer.

Jerome Stiller · · Golden CO · Joined May 2005 · Points: 20

Hi all,

My sympathies to the climber's family, friends, and partners. And much gratitude to Theo & his wife for rendering assistance, especially in such difficult circumstances.

I'm a longtime member of SAR and wish to make a comment on Rick's post: its a common misconception among members of the public that SAR can just "get" a helicopter at any time. Aside from the physical considerations of weather and daylight and altitude and so forth, requesting (and getting) a chopper is never a given. There are many considerations, such as availability of specific equipment and prioritization, that are simply out of any SAR organization's hands. Getting a chopper is seen as a privilege that we often get afforded but cannot rely on. That being said, we have excellent relationships with and are very very grateful to the men and women of Flight for Life, the military (I rode on a National Guard Blackhawk just yesterday in a SAR operation) and the local TV stations for their help and support.

I hope this may answer why the SAR team did not have a chopper fly but rather used ATV's to access the subject. It also may have been a simple matter of the weather (i.e. impending storms) preventing a chopper from flying.

have fun & play safe.
Jerome

Theo Barker · · Loveland, CO · Joined Jan 2002 · Points: 125

Rick,

I appreciate your questions and your concern for us! They are good questions that I would be asking given the information that you had. That was my mother you conversed with, so remember that what you got from her was a bit biased ;-). She is also not a climber and doesn't understand a lot about climbing.

In answer to some of your questions:

Yes, he was from Wichita (see obits in Kansas.com, last one listed for July 4), climbing with two friends. They had (good) gear and used it in several places on the route. He was not attached at the time of his fall. He came to rest at approx. 13300 ft. which is a difficult altitude to reach for most helicopters. As it turned out, from what anyone involved could ascertain, he was dead before anyone arrived where he stopped tumbling. All other climbers & SAR personnel involved descended safely, in spite of the eminent dangers of lightening & very large rockfall (my wife was rappelling down the gully when the large rock exploded into the gully below her). (I don't recall the air horn blast.)

We were at about 12200 when we got the call regarding an emergency situation on the route we were starting up. As the climbers closest to the accident and my wife's medical training, we thought we could help an injured climber. At the bottom of the "black hand" a member of the local SAR team, who happened to be in the area but had no gear, joined us.

Unlike Jerome, it appeared that most of the SAR team that eventually arrived there were NOT technical climbers, just willing volunteers. We were extremely nervous about the lightning in the area and the sleet, sitting at the top of what became a waterfall before we got down. We do not know what the cause of the delays were in clearing the body and team members out of the gully so we could rappel w/o knocking rocks on top of them.

Ryan from Colorado Springs is a paramedic and was at the base of the headwall at the top of the scree field with his partners (all climbers) ready to help (Thanks Ryan & friends for your help!!)

Rick, did you climb the Northwest Face route on Little Bear? If you have, I'm sure you are familiar with the black hand headwall. The gully we were lowering the body down to the north (left) of the hand has a drop (black streak) that is longer than the hand headwall and is overhung in places. It is almost 200ft. down that drop. The gully continues another 200ft or so before the angle eases up more. Above the drop was a couple more 10-30 ft. drops. The entire route is quite steep, and I (with my limited knowledge) would doubt that a helicopter would be able to fly close enough to the mountain to be able to pick anyone up anywhere along the descent path that we took until we reached the SAR team in the scree field at the bottom of the face.

Other than that extremely brief obit, we have not found any reporting on this tragedy in any media outlet.

We were challenged to find good anchor points to lower/belay/rappel from. The rock here is poor quality and does not make for good hiking or climbing due to angle and lack of quality protection.

Joel Larner · · Fort Collins, CO · Joined Jul 2004 · Points: 161

I'll offer some additional information to Rick's question about a helicopter. I am a 20+ year member of Civil Air Patrol as a mountain search pilot. We use fixed wing aircraft for search, and will also get access to helicopters if the search operation warrants it (CAP is a branch of the Air Force, thus has access to military support when needed). In addition to the details Jerome explained, another key factor that often goes into the decision to use a helicopter is whether there is a life threatening need. If the injured party has already been confirmed deceased and it is a known recovery operation, then there is no immediately life threatening need. Helicopters are expensive and not plentiful. They won't be called in unless they are needed.

If the recovery operation would be dangerous to the SAR team and the safety of the operation would require a helicopter, one might be requested for the benefit of the SAR team. But if the team can safely reach the individual, and safely recover the body with a ground operation, a helicopter won't be used.

Even beyond cost, another consideration - why take a Flight For Life helicopter out of availability for other emergencies for something that is not life threatening. That rare asset needs to be available on short notice for life threatening situations.

I want to reiterate Jerome's recognition of all the helicopter operators. They are wonderful to have available to us when needed. By the nature of our operations, being searches of large areas for missing parties, the television helicopters will often be hanging around for the news story. They will gladly assist when requested. I have seen the TV choppers pick up medical personnel and place them into the target quickly when requested. Great folks and very professional. Besides, they get the up close and personal scoop on the news story.

Climb safe ...

Joel

Rick S · · Denver, CO · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 0

First and foremost I want to thank you guys for explaining so much information to me, and anyone else who reads this. I have done 43 of the 14ers, but consider myself a moderate level climber/hiker. I haven't climbed with rope equipment yet.

My partner and I took the standard route up Little Bear on Saturday. That was intense enough for me, the NW face is still beyond my ability level. I was made even more certain of this when 3 guys joined us at the summit who had come up the route where the fallen climber was. They were very scared and glad to be off that face. They said the rock was so rotten they couldn't find solid places to anchor safely for ropes and ended up doing the entire route free. Knowing that made us really concerned for you guys up there and wondered if that was one of the things slowing the descent. We were however, able to identify the black hand and the entire climbing route there from other climbers pointing it out to us. Your description certainly helped me understand that even more. When we first sighted people on the face, it appeared there were about 6 people standing on a very small ledge just above the black hand area. They (you?) were there a very long time which made us worry there was something wrong.

We did realize that a helicopter probably wouldn't be feasible to pull the climbers & body from the face, especially with the impending storm. I didn't understand though why take the time to drive ATV's from down by the highway up to the base of the peak which had to take an hour even on ATV's. I do understand now.

Again, I want to thank you guys very much for taking the time to educate me on SAR procedures, and details of this recovery. It's fascinating to me. I wish it hadn't been such a tragic event that allowed me to learn about this, but I now have a much better understanding of what I can expect, and the response times involved should I ever require assistance from good people like you. When we were watching, we wished there was something we could do to help out, but neither of use are technical climbers yet, and it appeared there were plenty of people there already. We were very concerned watching you on the face with the storm coming. We were hit by heavy rain before reaching my vehicle and all we could think about was the people on that face. Thanks for doing what you do but I'm hoping there won't be anyone in need of your services for the remainder of this climbing season.

Sincerely,

Rick Simkins
Littleton, CO

Ryan Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 0

Theo and Rick,

Hi, this is Ryan Johnson, the paramedic from Colorado Springs who assisted with the recovery. Although it ultimately ended in tragedy, I was and continue to be wowed by the selfless efforts of Jess, the SAR member, and you and your wife, Theo. It is truely people like you who make both the EMS profession and the hobby of climbing 14ers a true pleasure.

Rick, my two climbing buddies and I were the ones who met you on the summit on Saturday, and we are also the three who assisted at the base of the headwall. The whole experience has definitely affected my two friends and I as we were just on that route only 24 hrs before and know how exposed and dangerous it was. The fact that we had full climbing pro. and didn't use it and then this happened to someone who was is a testament to the unpredictable nature of that mountain and that specific route.

Once again, my thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Mr. Zimmer.

Ryan Johnson

Craig Quincy · · Louisville, CO · Joined Sep 2001 · Points: 306

My condolences to friends and family.

Kristi Herd · · Westminster, CO · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 30

Ryan,

I was in the party of three that met you (and Rick?) at the top of LB on Saturday and talked to you on the way out after the tragedy on Sunday. I just wanted to say thanks once again for letting us use your rappel down the hourglass.

Also, I feel really horrible about what happened, I've thought about it every day since, and my condolences goes out to the Zimmer family for their loss.

I commend you and everyone involved for helping out.

Kristi Herd

Rick S · · Denver, CO · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 0

Ryan, I thought I recognized you guys there at the top of the scree field. All I can say at this point is that I hope that's the last one at least for this summer. I've got the Crestones on my target list real soon. The last time I was there somebody had fallen from Kit Carson and didn't survive. That stuff shakes my nerves, but it makes me more careful as well. I hope I run into you guys again sometime. It was fun yukin' it up on the LB summit that day. Are you the one Eric said had... uh... gastro-intestinal issues? Haha. I just had to throw that in there! By the way, Eric told me his nickname for fourteenerworld.com but I forgot. Can you give tell me what it was? You can email me personally if you don't want to post it here. Send it to me at bumpsman@yahoo.com. I use that address to screen out the spam.

Kristi, were you one of the 3 climbers we saw going up above the hourglass when we were on our way down? Later you came by our camp and we talked for a while? There was a blonde girl in your group, was that you? Enjoyed talking to all of you there too.

Rick

Kristi Herd · · Westminster, CO · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 30

Yes, that was us Rick.

I am the brunette, (can't you tell from my pic?) :) and
my best friend is the blonde. Either you or your partner
told me to angle the other way towards the summit as you
were going down, so thanks for that.

Hope to see you around. Be safe.
-Kristi

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Colorado
Post a Reply to "Climber fatality on Little Bear Sunday 7/2/2006"

Log In to Reply

Join the Community

Create your FREE account today!
Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started.