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Shortly after starting on the Southwest Slopes route (North Halfmoon Creek TH), I came across a memorial to the four crew members of an Army Blackhawk helicopter that crashed on Mount Massive in 2009. I vaguely remember hearing about this on the news at the time, so stopped to read the laminated card that had info about the crash.
Photo taken on the descent when lighting was better
This affected me more than I expected, probably because there were a few bits of twisted metal wreckage at the base of the memorial that I'm guessing were left there by climbers who had collected it over time from the actual crash site further up the mountain. It stayed in the back of my mind until I neared the peak and came across a much larger piece of metal that just had to be a helicopter part too.
At this point on the mountain, seeing this really made me feel like I was on hallowed ground. None of the climbers at the top knew what the metal was, so I snapped a photo on the way down, then sent it to a military pilot friend. He immediately recognized it and explained it to me as a 'bifilar weight', which is a damper for soaking up vibrations from the blackhawk rotor blades. I found a pic online and attached it as a future reference for other curious climbers.
Blackhawk Helicopter Rotor System
I like to think that this metal part will never be removed, and to serve as a reminder of these service members' ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. It kind of gives new meaning to the phrase 'the freedom of the hills'. Mountains already hold a reverence for me, but this experience heightened the effect even more. An added bonus to another memorable climb.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Excellent post. I may be doing this route in August, so will certainly pay my respects along the way....
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