Introduction Project Bold (PB) is an outdoor adventure experience designed to allow participants opportunities to challenge themselves physically, emotionally and socially. This past summer marked the 49th Project Bold. I was a participant during the summer of 2000. I loved and enjoyed the program and its results so much that I wanted the opportunity to help others in their experience. So, I applied as a crew instructor. There are two types of instructors used for PB. There is the crew instructor. Crews are made up of ten participants with two crew instructors. The crew instructors are with the participants 24/7. The other type of instructor is part of the technical crew. There are three technical crew instructors. Well, technically, there are two tech crew instructors and one assistant instructor. I was hired as the latter. Since I felt that I work well with students, I had applied to be a crew instructor. The decision for me to be a part of the tech crew was based on my relative weakness in the technical aspects of PB, a fact that I readily admit. Once I had the technical skills under my belt, I would be a great crew instructor. After I found out that I would be a part of the tech crew, I had to change mental gears. Learning how to set up multi-pitch climbs, rappelling sites, numerous knots, etc. were all going to be a challenge. But that is the theme of Project Bold. By the time I headed out the door of my home in Italy, I was a little anxious about learning it all but mostly I was stoked about the learning experiences the next few weeks would bring. The Technical Crew assisted the crews (four crews altogether) in, duh, the technical aspects of the PB experience. In the beginning, participants go through a high ropes course. As part of this course, each attends a belay school. Here they learn about climbing equipment such as carabiners, grigris, figure eights, etc. They also learn the commands in belaying a person. Safety of the person climbing and for the people belaying is constantly stressed. Several days later, during the PB experience, the technical crew moves to an alpine hut. The hut is actually a youth hostel type environment capable of bedding over one hundred people. We hauled our equipment up to the hut and stored it in an old shed. The elevation of the hut is 1680 meters. This hut, Blaueis Hutte, is owned and run by the Hang family. The tech crew instructors consisted of Brant, Vince and myself. Brant is a strong man with ten-plus years as a PB instructor as well as a previous NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) glacier participant. Vince, a well-seasoned outdoor educator with twenty-plus years, was the other tech crew instructor. Both of these guys have a great love for people and for the outdoors. The Food It was always a huge treat to come in from working the morning on the multi-pitch climb and get a piece of cake baked from scratch by Frau Hang. There are two things about this almost daily piece of cake. First, it was absolutely the most awesome tasting cake in Europe. My favorites were apple and poppy seed. Man, oh man, my mouth is watering as I think about them. As most people who spend any time outdoors know, working outside makes food taste better. These cakes are baked in a wood fired stove. Frau Hang has a talent in baking like no other. If I was dying of thirst in the Sahara and had the choice of a tall glass of crystal clear water or a piece of Frau Hang's cake, I know that I would choose a piece of her cake. The second thing about a piece of cake from the Blaueis hutte kitchen is that it is huge. I mean gigantic! Well, how huge are they, you ask? OK, let me see if I can describe a scrumptious piece of apple cake to you. It's cut in a triangular shape and is about 5 inches high, without the homemade whipped cream. With the whipped cream, it averages nine inches. If you get there early enough so that it's still warm from the oven, the whipped cream begins to melt down into the cake itself. Man, oh man! This cake is not like a box cake in that it's one big sponge-looking thing. I believe the best way to get an idea of what it is like is to say that it is a combination cake, apple pie and coffee cake. The bottom layer is cake. The next layer is made of fresh apples and then it has some crumbly stuff on top. If you multiply times eight the amount of whipped cream you usually put on your piece of Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, that is how much is placed ever so skillfully on your piece of apple pie. When you go back up to the counter where you ordered it and first look at it (and this is no matter how many pieces you've had previously), you say one of two things: "There is no way I can eat all that by myself;" or you ask yourself, "Who can I get to help me eat that?" But by the time you take it back to your seat, your mouth is watering like Victoria Falls and you are thinking about how to attack such a huge mass of awesome tasting dessert. The Climb As previously mentioned, there are four crews who pass through the Blaueis hutte so that they may experience the risks and perceived risks of rock climbing and hiking on a glacier and some steep snow fields. The tech crew and participant instructors' responsibilities for climbing the glacier and on up to the Blaueis peak were as follows: Vince would begin an ascent to the Bergshrum. This is a pivotal spot in the climb because it is here, primarily, that the snow can be melted away from the rock enough that we could not climb any further. So, he begins about 20-30 minutes ahead of the rest of the group. We are divided into four ropes. Each instructor is at the lead of one of the ropes. The rope is twenty meters long. At each end the climber is tied in with the figure nine knot. For the two inner climbers a butterfly knot is used. For each of the three previous crews, Brant took the lead rope in climbing. I was able to observe his path and his expertise in leading the participants over the rock band. I knew from previous experience that this was a lot of hard work. Why? Generally because the first person must make footsteps in the snow in which the remaining participants follow. The steps must be the correct distance apart. They can't be too close together or you don't get up the glacier before sunset. But, they can't be too far apart or the short-legged folks feel they are doing the splits each time they take a step. For this climb, I would be taking the lead. Since I had been watching Brant and some other instructors lead in placing the kick-steps and had done them on my own, I felt I was ready to take on the challenge. Plus, I was in pretty good shape. The day before, I had run/walked from the parking lot up to the Blaueis hutte in one hour and six minutes. I talked with Brant and he suggested I head toward a specific place across the bowl to use for a marking point so that I could zig and zag so that we would end up at just the right spot to cross through an open channel in the rock band. I knew that zig-zagging was important especially to the lead guy otherwise the uphill leg would tire to the point of rubbery exhaustion. It was also our routine to practice a member of the rope crew falling so that the other rope members would then go into self-arrest. I explained to my rope that I would call out a member's name, he or she would then run downhill while yelling, "falling!" Those not "falling" would go into self-arrest with butts in the air, feet wide apart, ice axe in and helmet in the snow. So, up we started. Once we were ahead of the other crews a safe distance I yelled out one of my rope crew's name. She ran down the hill yelling, "falling!" The others went into self-arrest perfectly. We saved her, and us, from sliding in the snow. Yeah!! Unbeknownst to us, just a couple hours later this would be put to the real test. But, this is why we practiced. Just in case. So many applications can be made to life and the closing of one's life. At different times I yelled out each participant's name so that all were experienced with the routine. I was extremely proud of how my rope performed on these tests. It was a great rope to be on. A comforting thought as you climb. I was told a few times that my steps were flat and well-formed. I zigzagged a couple of times and Brant called out to let me know that the channel through the rock band was straight across from me to my left. We went through the rock band perfectly. A thick bank of fog was quickly rolling in at this time. About every thirty meters we took a break. We stopped once, stuck our ice axes and tied a clove hitch around the shaft for safety. Brant's rope caught up with us in a couple of minutes and we shared thoughts about the climb among the members of the two ropes. I shared my own stash of gorp with those on my rope. My gorp contained a couple of chocolate-covered candies, which the participants thought were truly the best thing they had tasted in many days. The fog had, by now, found its way down to us and was pretty dense. After the ten-minute break, we started out with me at the front. I remember thinking, " I thought I was supposed to be more tired by now," but I felt great. From the break point I started by going to the right, toward the Hochkalter. I went this direction just for a little way and zigged to my left. At this point, the incline was fairly steep. I came upon a rock face so I zagged to my right. (Based on previous trips up the glacier I knew that if Vince had found the Bergshrum impassable he would soon, if not already, be on his way back down to let us know that we couldn't go all the way.) The snow had melted enough so that there were a couple of feet between the rock face and the snow. Since it was so steep I slowed the pace and let my crew know that I was going to go at a slower pace. I was told that I fell when I was informing them of this. So it went like this, "It's a little steeper here so I'm going to go a little slllllllllllllooo, FALLING!!!" The Fall I don't know if I slipped on a patch of ice or didn't kickstep correctly, but I know I was down in a flash. I mean it was quick, quantum mechanics quick. I immediately went into self-arrest, as we had practiced. I slid for approximately fourteen feet. It was 12:07. I remember thinking, "Man, this is taking a long time to stop." Just as I completed that thought I realized my feet were no longer touching the side of the mountain. Then my whole body was falling through the air. It was like the freaky nightmares you have sometimes. Falling through the air, I thought I was going to die. This quote from Louis L'Amour's Last of the Breed provides a further description: He seemed to fall for a long time, and then he struck with a moment of stabbing agony and then brutal, unendurable pain. He lay on the rocks, half in the icy water, and stared up at the feeble light far above and knew his back was broken. I hadn't remembered that I was tied into rope with three other people who were very capable of stopping me by going into the self-arrest positions with their ice axes. A second after that, I landed flat on my back. I thought, "How could I be flat on my back when the mountain went almost straight down?" Immediately, the pain raped my brain. The raping didn't stop, but kept coming and coming. As I gasped for air I heard Brant's voice coming from somewhere behind the top of my head saying, "Mark, Mark, you're doing fine, just stay where you are, don't move." He continued, "Mark, I'm about twenty feet away from you. Stay there. Don't move." I was still in a ton of excruciating pain. Brant's voice came again, "Mark, you're doing great. I'm almost to you. Stay where you are." I was thinking two things: "Why in the world does he want me to stay right here?" and, "With the way my back feels, I'm not going anywhere." I told my brain to feel if my toes worked. They did. I said a prayer of thanks. I was so happy that I was, first, alive and, second, not going to be without feeling in my feet. I still wondered how I could be lying horizontally when the mountain was pretty close to vertical. The rope never did tighten up so that Shari, the next in line on my rope, felt any pull from my fall. I was glad of that. The Rescue Brant reached me, knelt by me on my right side and asked some important questions. "Can you feel your toes? Your legs?" He squeezed my calf, then my thigh. I could feel both and told him so. He offered words of encouragement all the time that he was checking me out. I'm not sure how soon after this, although it couldn't have been too long, two crew instructors arrived, Jim Campbell and Sandy Stilatto. They were encouraging as well. Jim called the lodge on the radio informing them that there had been an accident, there was an instructor down and that he was immobile. I thought it was a good way to say what had happened. Vince arrived a little while after that. They then put a stretcher under me along with some extra clothes they had in their backpacks. Jim had made several calls by now providing the lodge, Ralph, the assistant director, Judy Markeson, the house manager, and Frank Huber, the general manager, with information about how the participants and I were doing. I started to shiver. The participants were safely tied into their ice axes and digging into their daypacks for extra warm clothes that was used to put around me. Brant, Jim and Vince decided it would be best to move me closer to the interior of the snow cave or melt out. This was just great with me because I didn't particularly want to slide anymore down this particular mountain. So, at the same time Brant lifted my shoulders, Vince lifted my middle and Jim lifted my legs. The move was painful but they got me closer to the back wall. As they lifted me they also put the extra clothing that the participants had volunteered, under and around me. They did this, of course, to keep my body temperature from falling, to prevent hypothermia. Even with all the precautions to keep me warm, I continued to shiver. Sandy, one of the crew instructors, lay down beside me. While there she fed me dried apple slices. They were sweet and tasty. Sandy was also pleasant company to have nearby. Once I was settled in, Brant and Vince led the participants down to the hut. They both returned to the accident site. I knew I had to talk so that I would not think about the pain and it would keep me a little more alert as well. So, I began to describe, in great detail, to Jim and Sandy the floor plan of my house. During the description I did go off on a tangent and told them about the time I had ankle surgery in Germany in 1991. I told them about my house for close to two hours. Jim kept in touch by calling the lodge staff with updates as to my condition and the weather situation. Jim made visual contact with Rafael Hang, the first member of the rescue team two and a half hours (approx. 14:30) after the accident occurred. Rafael is the son the managers of the Blaueis hut. Rafael is one cool-headed and intelligent dude. When he arrived, he immediately checked me out in much the same way that Brant had. He had his own radio, which he used to call in to the helicopter and his base. I could understand very little of what saying on the radio either because I was out of it or because he was speaking the Bavarian dialect. Those of you reading this who have experienced listening to this particular German dialect understand that outsiders have a very difficult time trying to pick any words that sound familiar. Ahh, but I'm going off on a tangent. A few minutes later another rescue squad member arrived, then another. A flurry of activity occurred. I had to be placed into an inflatable sleeping bag type contraption. The fleece clothes contributed by the participants and instructors were shoved into the bag as well. I was still shivering from the cold. The metal sled arrived. I think Brant brought it up by himself all the way from the rock band. The rock band was approximately 200 meters down from us. They put me in the sled, strapped me down and then slowly and carefully belayed me down. There were about four guys helping guide the sled with two to three belaying. The trip down to the rock band was fairly smooth, meaning that my back was only in constant pain, without spikes of excruciating pain. Going over the rock band required the belay anchor to be moved. The rescue squad actually found an anchor that had been placed in a slab of rock. From here I was belayed. I never did see the whole sled but others have told me that there was a wheel on the bottom side of it, directly below my back. When the wheel hit a rock or high place it would feel like someone taking a six pound sledge and burying it in the small of my back. There was some pain. Such is the nature of my body landing on something that doesn't give way. I guess it makes sense. I made it over the rock band, thank the Lord. Back on the snow it was easier going and smoother traveling. The doctor (later I asked for his name and he wouldn't give it to me) checked me much as the others had. He asked, "Would you like to have some morphine?" "Uh, morphine, yes please!" I quickly responded. I then asked if they could take me to the local sauna to warm me up. I didn't end up there so I guess I got voted down. From the accident site, it took from 12:07 until approximately 5:00 to get me down to the hut. I stayed in the hut for a while. I talked with Frau Hang, asking her if I could have some apple cake. She laughed and rubbed my cheek, which was the only exposed part of my body. King Tut wasn't mummified as well as I was! I was then carried down to the "road" where the rescue squad vehicle sat. The Care The quality of my care and medical treatment continued as I was placed on a gurney and rolled into the emergency room of the Berchtesgaden Hospital. I believe the first thing they did was take x-rays of my back. I remember opening my eyes and asking a guy that was standing there if he could tell if anything was broken. He told me that my spine was broken. I remember thinking, "Well, let's not sugar coat it or anything. Let's just come right out and say it." I was pretty worried as I thought about what a broken spine includes. Then the thought came to me that maybe his English wasn't that great and that was the only way he knew how to say it in English. I waited a little while. I think they took more x-rays. I asked someone else what was wrong with my back. They said it looked like a couple vertebrae were compressed and that I had two compression fractures in the lumbar area. I think I was shivering at this point, or maybe it was continuing from when I was on the mountain. Anyway, they put a fancy looking hair-dryer type thing under the sheets. The air it blew out was deliciously warm. I wanted to embrace it, eat it I believe it was about this time that Ralph, a.k.a. Tony, Judy, and Vince worked their way in to see me. They asked me how I was doing. Well, I think that is what they asked. TO BE CONTINUED... Please take a second to sign the guest book below. |
Wilkommen to Mark's Webpage What I did this summer... |
The Blaueis Hutte w/ the glacier in the center. The accident occurred above the rock band and to the left. |
