Helicopter Rescue in the Enchantments

This post is linked to from my Enchantments Birthday Trip post. To see how it all began, go there first! To catch you up: I was hiking into the Enchantment Lakes region of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness near Leavenworth, WA, when I came across a gal in the woods with an injured ankle.

Colchuck Lake viewed from Aasgard Pass

note: i took all these pics in high-resolution; click images for more detail!

Turns out Anne had come into the Enchantment Lakes area over Aasgard Pass from the Colchuck Lake side (opposite direction from where I came in), had lost the trail, and while slogging down through the snowy trees, had fallen and hurt her ankle. She’d called 911 on her Blackberry, and even though she had no call reception, it had actually hooked her up with the local rescue folks. She’d bivied out overnight on a big flat rock in the woods, and was waiting patiently for the rescue crew to whisk her away.

Well. Having had a Wilderness First Responder certification for many years, I decided to give her foot a look. I examined and taped up her ankle to give it some more support since she said it felt unstable just sitting there. No bruising, but really swollen; sometimes a break can look more innocuous than a sprain from the outside, so it’s good to assume it’s a fracture. Knowing the rescue guys would be there soonish, I didn’t splint it. I knew they’d have better tools, and the less it got messed with, the better. I offered her some ibuprofen to help with the inflammation, and she declined. I hung out with her for a while, talking with her to get a sense of her mental state (when someone falls alone, you must suspect the possibility they’ve hit their head).

Soon after I found Anne, two guys came hiking up the trail on their way up to climb Prusik Peak (no, I wasn’t jealous AT ALL…). They headed on after they realized she was in okay shape.

After a while, against my best judgment, I decided to continue up the trail. I stupidly rationalized it this way: She had already spent a successful night out, exhibited no symptoms of shock, had all the right gear to stay warm and safe, was right on the trail and easy to find, and knew the rescue was in process (they’d assured her by phone that her rescue would be coming in that day).

I started up the trail, the entire time second-guessing my choice to move on, and not three minutes later, heard the helicopter coming up the basin. I threw my pack down, and ripped out my big red tarp to flag the heli down (its color was just a coincidence; now, I will always carry a red tarp… read on!). Aside from realizing it was a dumb move to leave her alone, I realized the heli crew would never spot her in the trees and this would make things go much slower.

I wish I had a video of the next five minutes. It was comical. I’m scrambling back and forth on this 45° open slope of uneven bedrock, snow and bushes, waving a ground tarp in a desperate attempt to catch the attention of the helicopter, the entire time thinking, “Oh god, I hope I don’t catch a foot and fall down this slope while the rescue heli flies overhead…”. I’m flipping the tarp back and forth… silver side, red side, silver side, red side, wondering which side will catch their attention better (they told me later – red or another bright color is best – silver can mimic snow or water and isn’t as easy to pick out from the air). I caught their attention, so when they circled back around, I threw the tarp down and started this mad two-arm pointing back down the hill into the woods where she was located. I’m down there thinking, “Either this is really effective, or they’re up there laughing their asses off.” They told me later it was just the right thing. Phew!

I ran down the hill to let Anne know I got their attention, and as they circled again, I realized they wouldn’t be able to see my red tarp where she was hidden in the trees. Then I remembered that 100 feet downhill there was a large open spot where the bedrock leveled out. I ran out there and did my desperate tarp waggling act again, caught their attention, and they came in real close. At that point I knew they’d seen the ledge, so I laid the tarp out flat with rocks on top to keep it secure, and went back in the woods to help Anne clamber out there so she could wait in the sun in comfort. We managed it by each having a pole in one hand, with her arm around my shoulders and my arm around her waist.

Fast forward two hours: Prusik Peak climber guys had bailed, come back down, and ended up hanging out with us for a while. I shared some of my snacks with them, since they were short on food. They raved about my sage maple beef jerky and coconut date bliss balls. Anne and I sat there for a couple hours, soaking up sun, eating snacks, and generally having a good ol’ time; taking attention off the discomfort goes a long way. I took her backpack raincover, filled it with snow, and wrapped it gently around her elevated foot to help keep the swelling down. Meanwhile, the heli kept doing laps… and laps… and more laps up and down the valley: Circle the basin; cruise up and disappear over the lip leading into the high basin; retreat down to the lake below us and make landing sounds; disappear down valley out of sight and sound; rinse, repeat. And we’re just sitting there watching the show, wondering WTH they were doing. Anne had heard there was another guy in the area who’d broken his leg, so we thought maybe they were trying to coordinate two rescues at once.

waiting with the guys who’d gone up to climb Prusik Peak. we had a jolly time getting to know each other! I think Anne was numb from the pain. she smiled and laughed a lot! pretty stout – turns out she had a broken tibia at the ankle, and a couple more breaks in her foot!

The awesome, friendly and professional paramedics arrive to check out Anne’s foot

Prusik Peak guys took off, thankfully lightening my load by relieving me of some of the over-abundance of food I had packed (more on that in an upcoming post). All they had left was two Snickers bars, and they were super psyched to get a bag of goodies from me!

A while later, two paramedics hiked up from Snow Lake where they’d been dropped off by the heli. Ben and Jared did an assessment, and hung out with us while Will and Jonah, the two Mountain Rescue guys, hiked down from where they’d been dropped above treeline. The Paramedics asked Anne right off if she’d had any ibuprofen, and she said no. Um… I’d offered earlier, and her answer seemed to indicate she’d had some. The guys gave her a small lecture on that! Ibu is very helpful in reducing swelling and pain, and she’d gone the night with a potentially broken ankle, with no anti-inflammatories! Hard core. The Paramedics only carry the heavy stuff, and said they aren’t allowed to give ibu anyhow (it’s an NSAID, blah blah). When I waggled my eyebrows and asked, “Am I allowed to give it to her?” they cheerfully said, “YES!” So I gave her two.

I asked the rescue team if I could photo/video the rescue, and surprisingly they gave me the go-ahead. I’ve taken some screenshots from the video footage to post here; I hope to get the video up at some point. It’s pretty awesome!

the small heli running laps… and laps… and laps!

We found out the chopper had been running laps for two reasons which had nothing to do with aforementioned broken leg guy: First, to shuttle everyone in: two paramedics to Snow Lake below us in order to hike up, and two Mountain Rescue guys into the basin above, to hike down. The second reason was that to land on the small flat spot we’d located ourselves on (the best spot around, and luckily really close to where she fell), the heli had to blow fuel to make itself lighter; landing a small, light chopper on a small spot surrounded by trees, you need to be light enough to lift off suddenly if a wind comes up – or it can blow the heli into the trees.

After a while, the heli decided it was too risky to actually land, and it was not set up for a winch lift, so they called Seattle and we waited another hour for the big winch heli to come out. The rescue guys totally geeked out when they found out the big chopper was on the way. Chuff chuff. One of them actually giggled.

the big heli radios that they’re five minutes out! everyone scramble!

During the actual rescue, I hung back in the trees on order from the rescue team. The heli made a LOT of wind, and we were all at risk for branches blowing off some dead trees nearby, not to mention stuff from the ground blowing around and getting hit in the face and eyes with it. My fabulous red tarp got trashed, blowing around with the rocks still holding it down. Note to self: Next time, pack up tarp once heli knows where you are!

It was really cool watching the process. The heli came straight in toward us a few times from out above the valley, to test the wind direction and strength. Finally, it hovered about 60 feet up right above us. They weren’t kidding when they told us it would be really windy! And loud, wow! This was a big helicopter. It lowered a guy in a fabulous orange jumpsuit and helmet, to come down and get Anne set up for the lift. She had to wear a vest-like contraption that also came up between the legs, which then attached to the hoist line via a connection in the front. They gave her earplugs, because the noise was pretty loud. Jumpsuit guy hooked her in, and up she went; I was so geeked out I let out a little ‘Whoop!” as she went up. I doubt she felt as psyched!

Anne being lifted up. Fabulous jumpsuit guy has her on a tether from below to control her ascent.

Anne nearing the helicopter

Jared going up!

Once Anne was in the heli, they lowered the line again and made two more lifts; first to get one of the paramedics and the packs, then to get the other paramedic and fabulous jumpsuit guy together into the machine. The Mountain Rescue guys were more geared up for hiking out, so they didn’t get to ride. However, they had a chance of getting picked up below at Snow Lake by the smaller chopper if they made it down there in time, so we quickly exchanged emails and they bolted down the trail. I hope they made it in time; it’s a long walk out from there! They asked me how long a hike it was to the lower end of the lake (they’d hiked in from above); I fear I may have sandbagged them with my estimate. If you’re out there reading this, Jonah and Will; I’m sorry if you missed your ride! I was counting on your obvious badassery to get you down there in no time flat.

Sooo, the rescue guys were all fabulous, and watching the heli winch Anne and the paramedics up was really cool. I admit, I hung out mainly to make sure she got packed out okay, but also because I didn’t want to miss the chance to watch a heli rescue in the mountains. We didn’t know if she’d be carried or helied out until the rescue team showed up and verified that the trail below was too dangerous to carry someone down (it’s steep, with large sections of ledgy rock one must use hands on to climb – easy “fourth class”). Ironic that for a simple ankle injury, there had to be a helicopter rescue (read: SPENDY!). This injury would have been an easy carry on a safe trail, but the danger of taking her out on foot made the lift necessary. Me, I’m jealous of fabulous jumpsuit guy and the rescue team. They have really cool jobs.

I spent ten years as a mountaineering and climbing instructor for Colorado Outward Bound School, and during my time out there, took part in a variety of rescues, but never a helicopter rescue. It was really neat to witness this one, and I’m thankful it was only for an ankle injury. I’m really glad I came back down the trail after I’d left Anne; even as I hiked away, I was questioning my choice to leave her – it just didn’t feel right.

THE TAKEAWAYS:

1. When you are injured, having company helps you keep a positive attitude, which makes the whole shebang easier. As we sat on that ledge eating snacks and waiting for the rescue, we laughed our asses off and had an amazing view. Way better than sitting in the woods alone, wondering when your rescue will arrive!

2. The experience you gain in a new situation may help you or someone else in the future; I learned that the red tarp was awesome – at the rescue, one of the Mountain Rescue guys said, “Your red tarp saved us!” – not that they couldn’t have done the rescue otherwise, but it made things go much faster for them. And I was reminded that I never should have even considered leaving her until the rescue was complete.

3. Most of all, trust your gut. Don’t let your own goals be the priority when someone else is injured. When you have a choice to make, consider the possibilities of each: If I stay, [____] could happen; if I go, [____] could happen. Your choice will be clear.

I got an email from Ben, one of the Paramedics, after the trip was over. Here’s part of what he wrote:

Though I know my role wasn’t a life-or-death one, I understand his meaning – had it been worse, my presence could have been life-saving. And for those amazing folks who make a living out there picking up the pieces when people get injured, it’s good to know there are people wandering about who are willing to lend a hand.

Good Samaritan Law

If you’re ever at the scene of an accident and wonder what the repercussions might be for helping someone, know that there may be a Good Samaritan Law that can protect you. The law differs from region to region, so I can’t make a pat statement here, but where the law applies, it generally says that a citizen without medical training who tries to help an injured or ill person is not liable for any detrimental effects of that help. If you have formal medical training (wilderness or not), different laws apply, but you’d know that anyhow if you are in those shoes.

Check out your region’s Good Samaritan Laws so you are comfortable with your choices. Personally, I’d help someone no matter what. We’d all want that in return, right?

Get Some Wilderness First Aid Training!

Be wise and safe out there, have proper wilderness medical training, and trust your gut! I believe nobody should go in the wild without solid wilderness first aid training. Would you want your partner to be clueless if you fell and broke an ankle? What if you had a head injury? Right. If you want to get some proper wilderness medical training, check out these organizations or google up one in your locale:

Wilderness Medical Associates:
http://www.wildmed.com/

NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute:
https://www.nols.edu/en/courses/wilderness-medicine/

Wilderness and Travel Medicine:
http://www.wilderness-medicine.com/default.asp

SOLO Wilderness Medicine:
http://soloschools.com/