Tag Archive for 'disaster'

Staying safe in the mountains is something that I always take seriously. Because of that, I try to learn from the experiences of others, which can be a wonderful thing where many life experiences are concerned. As such, I feel that there is a lot more to be learned from mistakes and accidents than from successes where every last detail went off flawlessly. In other words, disasters teach a much greater sense of perspective than successes. That in mind, a friend gave me a copy of Joe Simpson’s book, This Game of Ghosts, which details the less-than-auspicious number of incidents, accidents, and tragedies which have befallen one man during a lengthy mountain career. It is a perplexing mystery that he has survived several of his adventures. Admittedly, there’s something about the repeated individual tragedy that has kept me from reading the book to this point.

I have read up on many other accidents and the rescues involved from around the globe, as well as watching some re-enactments of well-known catastrophes. But there are few times that I’ve seen a rescue from the more poignant first-person point of view of those involved. That’s why I thought this clip of Michelle Smith’s rescue from the Valhalla Traverse on the Grand Teton from Ungrounded.com was different – it details some of the pain, time, fear, patience, and effort involved in both rescuing, and being rescued from, a severe alpine setting. It has obviously been edited to skip many key moments, but it presents an interesting aspect anyway.

When asked what happened, Michelle’s response is simply, ‘I slipped, and then I fell.’ It can happen to anyone at any time. Learn from the video what you can – it portrays a rescue where everything seems to have gone well. The gear held for starters, bad weather wasn’t an issue, a heli was readily available, and skilled operators were involved. I’ve read of Michelle Smith’s desire to be the first woman to snowboard the Grand Teton – a title since earned by Dani Deruyter – and I know she gets after it on many Teton lines. Hopefully she recovers well and is able to get back at it soon.