Climber Rescued After Four Days

By The News Team
Jul 13, 2009

A helicopter rescued climber Jason Schilling after he spent four nights on Mt. Terror in Washington's North Cascades National Park. On July 5, Schilling was with a team of four when one partner fractured his femur and suffered head trauma after a 60-foot fall. Once the injured climber was stabilized, Schilling stayed with the victim while two climbers headed toward cell phone service near the summit and called 911. A helicopter transported the victim from Mt. Terror on the evening of July 5, just before heavy weather sat on the peak. Schilling was left behind with the warning that he may be there for almost a week. It was four nights before the weather cleared. He slept in a small cave on the wall. On July 9, he was extracted via helicopter. The victim is in stable condition. Watch this interview with Schilling or read the full report from Steph Abegg, the climber who called 911, below.

--Kyle Dickman

Climbing Accident on Mt. Terror
July 5, 2009

On July 5, a climbing accident occurred on the Stoddard buttress of Mt. Terror in the Southern Pickets. There were four of us in the party: Donn Venema, Jason Schilling, Steve Trent, and me (Steph Abegg). We were on Day 4 of a 6-day trip into the Southern Pickets. Over the previous few days, we had climbed the South Face of Inspiration, Degenhardt, and The Pyramid. Terror was to be our last major climb of our trip. (We had planned on climbing Wild Hair Crack on Day 5, but now we doubted this would happen given a forecast for a weather system moving in July 6.) We were excited to tackle the classic Stoddard Buttress on the last day of good weather on July 5.

We left our camp in Crescent Creek at dawn, traversed through the Ottohorn-Himmelhorn col, and reached the base of Mt. Terror at around 8am. It was not long before we began simulclimbing up the buttress, taking a relaxed pace to enjoy what promised to be a sunny and warm summer day in the Pickets. Donn and Jason formed one rope team, and Steve and I formed the other rope team. Steve and I were the leading team.

The accident occurred at 10:30am, shortly after we had traversed around The Prow about 1/3 of the way up the route. Steve and I had switched leads, and Steve was leading the way up low fifth class ledges back onto the buttress crest. I had just left the belay and begun simulclimbing when I heard a yell above me. I looked up. I think the first thing I saw was a climbing shoe flying through the air. Then, I saw the giant rock and Steve silhouetted against the sky. The next thing I knew I was jerked upwards as Steve hit the end of the rope. He had fallen about 60 feet. Unhurt and surprised, I immediately began calling out to Steve asking him if he was okay. He did not answer me. He was hanging head down at the end of the rope, and I was shocked to see quite a bit of blood running down the rock. I yelled to Donn and Jason below. They heard me and began to climb up towards us.

I was able to lower Steve to a ledge and climb up to him. I noticed that the rope attached to Steve was frayed to the core. I was afraid of the potential for the rope to break or slip loose at any time, so I set up additional anchors on some nearby horns. I then maneuvered over to Steve and somehow flipped him so that his head was up. He was still unresponsive, but moaning. His left leg was clearly fractured and he had lost quite a bit of blood from a head wound.

Donn and Jason reached our precarious perch about 15 minutes after the fall. They anchored in and helped to situate Steve to a better position on the small ledge. With his head now fully upright, Steve began to drift in and out of consciousness. Of the three of us, Jason had the strongest first aid skills, and he stepped up to the challenge, taking control of addressing Steve's injuries. Under Jason's calm directions, we bandaged Steve's head wound and created a makeshift split for his left leg using the aluminum stay from Donn's pack. Steve began to shiver and display signs of shock, so we layered him with our extra coats. We were encouraged by the fact that Steve tried to help put his arms into the sleeves as we told him what we were doing. He began to be responsive enough to complain of the pain in his leg, and asked repeatedly what had happened.

We agreed that the quickest way to get help was to find a spot where we could get reception on Jason's cell phone. On the previous days, we had been able to get service from the summits of both Inspiration and Degenhardt. The quickest way to get to a location of cell service would be to continue climbing the buttress to the summit of Terror. We formed a plan. Jason would stay with Steve. Donn and I would continue up towards the summit as quickly (and safely) as we could and try to initiate a helicopter rescue before the night set in. Making the phone call in time was crucial, as Steve's chances of survival would decrease if he had to spend the night on the mountain, especially considering that the deteriorating weather forecast for the coming days.

Donn and I left the accident scene at 12pm to simulcimb the rest of the Stoddard buttress to the false summit. When we passed the location of Steve's fall, we saw a large dihedral-shaped fresh gash. It is likely Steve had been standing on this section when a sizable chunk of what had appeared to be solid rock tore loose below him. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Every climber's nightmare.

As Donn and I simulclimbed towards the summit, we checked repeatedly for cell phone service, but to no avail. When we made it to the false summit, we were discouraged that we still could not find a signal. It looked as if we would have to take precious time and climb to the true summit and make one last effort at finding a signal. Then, in a final effort before continuing upwards, Donn found a signal on the far south end of the false summit. At 4pm, we established contact with 911 and initiated a rescue operation out of Marblemount.

By the time we started down the west ridge an hour later, we could hear a chopper flying in the vicinity of the north buttress. The chopper would have to make several fly-bys of the buttress to locate the injured party, to test wind speeds and gauge overhead clearance, and to survey the terrain on which to land the rescue personnel. Once this was done, the chopper would land in Crescent Creek Basin, attach a rescue personnel to a long line, and fly above the north buttress to literally pluck Steve from the mountain. This would be a tricky and dangerous maneuver and require a lot of skill by the chopper's pilot. The windy conditions made the maneuver even more difficult.

At 8:30pm, Steve was successfully plucked from the route. Donn and I cheered when we saw Steve on the end of the line flying high above Crescent Creek Basin on his way to the drop-off point in Concrete (WA). From Concrete, a Lifeflight chopper took him to Bellingham. Steve was treated for a femur fracture, broken heal, and head wound. As of July 7, his condition has improved greatly. He is out of climbing commission for the season, but doing fine.

By the time Steve was successfully transferred to Concrete on July 5, dusk had set in and it was too late to airlift Jason off of the mountain. Jason was unhurt, but was not prepared to descend or ascend the route alone, especially not in the dark. When the helicopter had picked up Steve, they had dropped off a bivy supply and several days worth of food and water for Jason. They also left him with a radio. The plan was to airlift Jason off the mountain early the next morning. It was difficult to sleep that night knowing Jason was still high up on the mountain.

However, rain and winds and clouds moved into the Pickets during the night of July 5. This made it impossible for the helicopter to safely airlift Jason off of the route on July 6 as had been planned. Jason was able to descend about 200 feet to an overhanging ledge system in order to get some protection from the elements. Unfortunately, throughout the day on July 6, the weather continued to deteriorate, and via radio Jason reported that it had began to snow at his location on the mountain. This made even a ground rescue (by Donn and I or a Search and Rescue team) quite hazardous. Feeling as though we were abandoning our friend Jason but realizing that we would be better positioned in Marblemount, Donn and I hiked out of Crescent Creek basin on the afternoon of July 6.

Donn and I spent much of July 7 (today) discussing the situation with the rescue team located in Marblemount. In every way, Donn stepped up to the challenge of communicating with the rescue party while I mostly sat back and listened, occasionally contributing photos I had taken of the accident scene. Given the weather and conditions, it has been decided that our best option is to try to wait for a window to airlift Jason off of the route. Currently, he is in a safe spot underneath a ledge, has bivy gear and a supply of food and water, and is in contact with the rescue team via radio. He is hanging in there, and despite his situation maintains high spirits and a calm head. He truly is a hero, as his first aid skills and willingness to stay with Steve likely saved Steve's life. Few people have the mental toughness and selflessness Jason is currently displaying.

There is hope for a break in the weather within the next few days, which will allow Jason to be airlifted off of the route.

Please keep Jason in your thoughts and prayers. He is a true hero and is facing a situation no climber ever wants to endure.

(This is the current status of the situation as of 6:40pm on July 7.)