Emergency - Kevin8020

[Wardsgirl]

So sorry to hear about Kevin. Prayers go out to his family, Travis, the SAR folks and his community of 14ers.

[tenpins]

Wow, so according to this article, SAR was only able to evacuate Kevin at around 5:30 today (Wednesday)

http://www.alamosanews.com/v2_news_arti ... 34&page=72

Even though it has been over 24 hours since I was glued to my computer refreshing the forum, reading comments, and searching for updates, I'm still deeply saddened by all of this -- yet comforted by the degree of support being given by my peers. It makes me proud to be a member of this community (sorry -- it's late, I'm tired).

alamosa valley sar had a good plan to go in as soon as they were alerted - a chinook helicopter and a ground team as the backup. I hear that the pilots thought they saw movement, so were tryign to inch closer so they could perform a rescue. They struck the mountain with their rotor and made an emergency landing. This set off a whole other chain of events. The ground team did reach kevin that night and confirmed that he had passed from his injuries. It was too late to begin moving him. In the meantime the Incident Commander is faced with handling 14 additional injuries. That Chinook pilot is really something else to have landed as well as he/she did. If you can understand, since Kevin had passed, the priority shifts to rescuer safety. The IC had a few folks on the ground on scene, they figured they needed 24 to do the evac. A lot of people here can speak to the gnarly terrain on that traverse.

Most of other teams were only paged about 0345-0400 yesterday morning. They arrived at the command post around 0800-0830, got briefed, and started the long shuttle up to Lake Como. One there, we actually made good time, getting in place under the hourglass in 2-2.5 hours. Moving kevin down into the valley was a smooth operation. It was 1700 by the time we got him there. In the absence of helicopters, our plan was to uphaul him to the notch, and then lower him down to Como Lake. There was no way we could have done that 1000 foot uphaul in class 4 terrain, and in night, with acceptable risk. we would have stopped for the night and continued as early as possible today. We also dodged the bullet by having perfect weather, with zero lightning danger.

But the Blackhawks were able to come in, we loaded him and rode out. It took about 9-10 hours to do all of this, with about 18 rescuers. That may seem like a long time and alot of folks, but nothing about mountain rescue is easy.

[cbauer10]

tenpins,

Don't worry, your efforts do not go unnoticed. Thank you for the sacrifices you make to help those of us that are unlucky enough to need your assistance. Thank you for all that you do!!!

[Matt]

alamosa valley sar had a good plan to go in as soon as they were alerted - a chinook helicopter and a ground team as the backup. I hear that the pilots thought they saw movement, so were tryign to inch closer so they could perform a rescue. They struck the mountain with their rotor and made an emergency landing. This set off a whole other chain of events. The ground team did reach kevin that night and confirmed that he had passed from his injuries. It was too late to begin moving him. In the meantime the Incident Commander is faced with handling 14 additional injuries. That Chinook pilot is really something else to have landed as well as he/she did. If you can understand, since Kevin had passed, the priority shifts to rescuer safety. The IC had a few folks on the ground on scene, they figured they needed 24 to do the evac. A lot of people here can speak to the gnarly terrain on that traverse.

Most of other teams were only paged about 0345-0400 yesterday morning. They arrived at the command post around 0800-0830, got briefed, and started the long shuttle up to Lake Como. One there, we actually made good time, getting in place under the hourglass in 2-2.5 hours. Moving kevin down into the valley was a smooth operation. It was 1700 by the time we got him there. In the absence of helicopters, our plan was to uphaul him to the notch, and then lower him down to Como Lake. There was no way we could have done that 1000 foot uphaul in class 4 terrain, and in night, with acceptable risk. we would have stopped for the night and continued as early as possible today. We also dodged the bullet by having perfect weather, with zero lightning danger.

But the Blackhawks were able to come in, we loaded him and rode out. It took about 9-10 hours to do all of this, with about 18 rescuers. That may seem like a long time and alot of folks, but nothing about mountain rescue is easy.

My favorite post of this thread.
Your candid account of the nuts and bolts of this effort really shines.
Thanks for everything, Team Tenpins.

[BaronVonBergschrund]

RIP Kevin.

[wildlobo71]

Tenpins, thanks for that account. Logistics of getting enough services and support to a remote location of any kind always take longer than most people expect - including me, let alone dealing with the added difficulties of such terrain. It's always the hope it can happen quicker, but with a debriefing like yours it illustrates the effort is there and the reality of coordinating and getting there is arduous. SAR-volunteers are not superhuman and can just as quickly become victims needing assistance too. Thanks for all you did in making the effort to get Kevin out. Just to place yourself in that position of being one of "the guys" who will accept an even higher level of risk to help others is - well, saying thanks just seems too shallow.

**edited to add the "including me" to the first sentence.**

[LTbear]

RIP Kevin.

[paully]

I'm so sorry to hear about this tragedy. My buddy and I had to make a similar route decision when we climbed it 2 years ago. The hourglass was all ice and we had to climb up 20 - 30 feet to the left. One move gave me some pause... that is a very dangerous route, and my heart goes out to Kevin, his family, and his friends.

[TXAggie2011]

RIP Kevin. I will keep all who knew him in my prayers.

[tenpins]

Tenpins, thanks for that account. Logistics of getting enough services and support to a remote location of any kind always take longer than most people expect - including me, let alone dealing with the added difficulties of such terrain. It's always the hope it can happen quicker, but with a debriefing like yours it illustrates the effort is there and the reality of coordinating and getting there is arduous. SAR-volunteers are not superhuman and can just as quickly become victims needing assistance too. Thanks for all you did in making the effort to get Kevin out. Just to place yourself in that position of being one of "the guys" who will accept an even higher level of risk to help others is - well, saying thanks just seems too shallow.

**edited to add the "including me" to the first sentence.**

The number of folks here who knew him is surprising. And how SAR stuff works isnt really well understood most times. I just wanted to paint as much of a picture as I could without getting into trouble myself And to make a point, this was a collaborative regional effort by at least 5 SAR teams, the CO Army National Guard, and I dont know how many other organizations represented at the Command Post. We're all glad we could help.

[travis19877]

Hey everyone, another update on the plaque. I have received numerous offers from people offering to pay for the plaque and i DO appreciate each and every one of them. After much thought i think the best way to handle this situation is to open up a donation site ( I have contacted one already,) and when it is up and running i will share the link with everyone. The money raised will go first to the plaque, and the remaining funds will be divided up between Kevin's family, 14ers.com, the CFI, and other things Kevin loved. Once these donations are completed, not a cent will be taken by myself or anyone else running the donations, it is taxfree and all donations go straight to a great cause.

Another update, the service may be held as early as Monday. Although still no date is set in stone. The Hayne family would like me to pass on that anyone wishing to visit them and talk with them is very welcome to. If you give me your contact info i will give you the necessary to either call/visit them. They REALLY appreciate visitors and friends at this time.

Lastly, i apologize to all those who are asking for a schedule for my hikes. I will not be participating in another climb until next week at the earliest, those of you who have sent me your dates are all on a list and i will keep in contact with you when i know more.

[travis19877]

Tenpins, thanks for that account. Logistics of getting enough services and support to a remote location of any kind always take longer than most people expect - including me, let alone dealing with the added difficulties of such terrain. It's always the hope it can happen quicker, but with a debriefing like yours it illustrates the effort is there and the reality of coordinating and getting there is arduous. SAR-volunteers are not superhuman and can just as quickly become victims needing assistance too. Thanks for all you did in making the effort to get Kevin out. Just to place yourself in that position of being one of "the guys" who will accept an even higher level of risk to help others is - well, saying thanks just seems too shallow.

**edited to add the "including me" to the first sentence.**

The number of folks here who knew him is surprising. And how SAR stuff works isnt really well understood most times. I just wanted to paint as much of a picture as I could without getting into trouble myself And to make a point, this was a collaborative regional effort by at least 5 SAR teams, the CO Army National Guard, and I dont know how many other organizations represented at the Command Post. We're all glad we could help.

Thank you for sharing the account. Your very right, it is not well understood how SAR normally operates and i appreciate you taking the time to share. If you can, be sure to thank every member that was involved in the recovery for me.