US man travels miles for help after 400-ft
fall in deadly accident
BBC News,
by
Max Matza
Original Article
Posted By: snakeoil,
5/14/2025 10:07:15 PM
A Seattle man travelled more than 60 miles to find help after falling 400ft off a mountain in an accident that killed his three companions. Authories say the protective equipment used by the group failed on Saturday in the northern Cascade mountain range, in an area called the Early Winter Spires. Officials say the group of four mountain climbers were abseiling down a steep gully after deciding to turn back due to an incoming storm. Connected to each other by ropes, the group fell about 200ft (60m) through the air, before tumbling another 200ft over rocks, dirt and snow.
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Reply 1 - Posted by:
Catherine 5/14/2025 11:25:41 PM (No. 1950037)
I've often thought there are a lot of things I wish I'd done, but mountain climbing is not one of them. Those piton things never looked secure enough to me anyway. Hope this guy survives. He made of tough stuff.
18 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
velirotta 5/14/2025 11:35:06 PM (No. 1950039)
It's interesting that rescuers suggest the failure of an anchoring piton led to the disaster. Pitons are rarely used these days because of more sophisticated anchoring devices. One might speculate that the climbers trusted in an old, rusty piton, which are rarely found these days. Just a speculation.
8 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
jalo1951 5/15/2025 12:29:05 AM (No. 1950051)
Why did the man climb the mountain? Because it was there. No thank you. Don't like heights and I am happy to commune with nature while my feet are touching the dirt. I am sorry his friends perished and I hope he recovers. It might take some extra therapy to get over the mental aspect of his accident. I also hate flying, boating, don't want to go into space, roller coasters (actually any park ride) etc. I am basically a sliced white bread, chicken sht who is boring and likes it that way. There are a lot of adventure seekers and more power to them. They are needed and I admire their true grit.
21 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
DVC 5/15/2025 12:50:11 AM (No. 1950060)
Pitons are very rarely used these days, although many have been left on mountains in decades past.
For the last thirty or forty years or more the 'mountain ethics' has pushed towards non-permanent, "noninvasive" protection anchors.
In the 70s and 80s we used "nuts", carefully forged aluminum irregular hexagons with high strength wire bridles as anchors, and aluminum wedges. The were wedged into cracks and could be usually be bumped backwards to be removed after use.
Later, complex and expensive mechanical "friends" camming devices were often used as anchor points for safety ropes.
But....and here comes this old mountain climber's theory; pitons, the standard safety anchors of the first 60-70 years of the 20th century were soft iron flattened "nails" with an integral ring or loop. These were hammered into a rock crack "until they ring" and once installed were generally irremoveable. Pitons clutter up climbing routes that are frequently used, so the removable devices gained favor.
I have heard of people using old, existing, in-place pitons, but after decades of rusting and freezing and thawing working in these mountain rock cracks, I'd never trust one with my life.
My bet is that they were in a tough spot, or just lazy, or cheap and didn't want to abandon an expensive "friends" , so decided to trust an old piton.
Four men falling on one point of protection is a hell of a load...and clearly the piton pulled out.
Since pitons are rarely used these days, I think that it was very likely an old one, potentially 50-60 years or more in place. It didn't hold.
15 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
DVC 5/15/2025 12:51:27 AM (No. 1950061)
I hadn't read #2's comment when I posted mine.
We came to the same conclusion.
6 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
jayjeti 5/15/2025 1:25:44 AM (No. 1950067)
Reminds me of the movie "Iger Sanction" starring Clint Eastwood where the whole team, except Clint, were pulled down one by one due to being connected with ropes. Eastwood cut his.
6 people like this.
I don’t think the piton failed. I think whoever placed it failed.
3 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Strike3 5/15/2025 6:49:47 AM (No. 1950096)
Scuba diving, flying and boating are just fine but you must know what you are doing. I draw the line at mountain climbing.
5 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Venturer 5/15/2025 7:36:41 AM (No. 1950121)
No cell phone I guess, maybe there is no reception there. still maybe if you are going to climb it would pay to have someone around to watch . Let someone know where you are.
5 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Californian 5/15/2025 9:06:26 AM (No. 1950174)
Chinese made equipment.
I have cheaply made Chinese climbing equipment (not used for climbing, just useful for some stuff around the house). There's no way I'd use that stuff for anything my life depended on but for hanging a plant or hammock, etc, some climbing gear can be very convenient.
They saved 20 bucks buying from China at the cost of 3 lives.
3 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
DVC 5/15/2025 10:50:49 AM (No. 1950267)
We'll probably eventually get the story, but I haven't seen a piton or piton hammer for sale in 40+ years in the climbing catalogs. I am pretty sure this had to be an old piton that they, for whatever reasons, chose to use. Perhaps there were no better options, sometimes the mountains are very unforgiving, and human errors are made.
We once were delayed by hail and snow, yet pushed on to the summit, getting there as we could see the sun about to set on the other side of the mountain. We started rappelling down, with 150 max rope length per rappell. The first two were fine, because we could see to rap down to a ledge below. When it was full dark, we had to 'blind rappell'. One the second one.....the middle of a blank rock wall, and we are getting cold, batteries will be dying in a few hours, multiple rappels to go. So, we found a large stone flake by penduluming to the side, and looped a nylon 'runner' loop over this flake. When I got there, second man, I went farther to the side and placed a large aluminum nut as backup to the flake that two of us were hanging on. Down came #3, and down came the rope, and re-rig for the next 150 blind rappell. Flashlight in teeth, many same color nylon runners, unclip from this one, clip onto the rappell rope, then go.....next person, clip onto the wrong thing and fall hundreds of feet. After the other two went, I retrieved the nut, cleaned up all the runners except the one we were on, after transferring to the rappell rope, then rapped down to a fortunate ledge. One more rap after that and we hit the top of the glacier. Only two miles hike over snow and ice to camp and dinner.
We screwed up, kept pushing, wanting the summit, pushed into darkness. We made no fatal errors, but cold hands, tired brains, different experience levels.....errors get made and sometimes people die.
I don't think they were driving their own pitons. I think they used an old one for some reason which they judged at the time to be reasonable. I wasn't there, but my general rule is 'never use some old piton'.
Might I do it if there were not other options? Maybe so.
0 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
JHHolliday 5/15/2025 11:39:20 AM (No. 1950300)
I am so afraid of heights that I can't even clean my gutters. That said, different things scare different people. I raced sports cars for seven years and saw three drivers killed but that never stopped me. The speed and danger just didn't bother me and I couldn't wait to get in the car again. No brag but we all have our serious, frightening fears. I saw a late friend, big, tough guy, who played in the NFL run through a screen door when his son brought a small garden snake in the house.
1 person likes this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
snakeoil 5/15/2025 3:00:08 PM (No. 1950398)
#12, The word for anyone terrified of reptiles is: intelligent.
0 people like this.
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I won't even climb ladders.