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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 16, 2006 - 11:20am PT
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Peter’s accounts of Yosemite rescues reminded me of this one around 1975. A climber fell high on the Salathe and broker his leg. Gramicci© was lowered down and the climber was winched up with the litter guided by Mike.
That’s Richard Harrison reclining, Werner, John Dill?, Yabo and perhaps Mike behind the woman.
Another shot of the group waiting for the ride up. Help me out with the identity of the others?
I always enjoyed every minute of those rides. Helicopters are simply amazing.
An unusual perspective on the NA wall.
The sling load on top of the Salathe. This was the first time I had ever seen one of these French helicopters in action, an Alouette? I remember being very impressed with the power compared to the old Bells. Like a Ferrari compared to a VW van.
Months later, a silhouette shot of Mike and the rescued climber showed up on the cover of Mountain Magazine. Hey, Mike, you should post the cover to complete this story.
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WBraun
climber
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Sep 16, 2006 - 11:50am PT
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Rick
Richard Harrison reclining for sure.
Yabo sitting behind the guy in the yellow shirt (top photo). Tim Setnicka rummaging through something behind the red haul bags which hold the 1200 foot static lines. The guy in the green wool hat Jim Lee, LEO ranger (now retired). Dill is not in the photo. I don't know if that's me laying there on the grass could have already taken off on an earlier flight but then again it could (can't recognize from that view). The guy with the radio maybe, Summers?
I remember that SAR, the early years.
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 16, 2006 - 12:12pm PT
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Werner,
Thanks for the names. That is actually you standing in the first two pictures. The shots were taken just seconds apart. In the second pic, it's hard to see, but Yabo is flashing the peace sign, very seventies. Must have been in a good mood. He usually used a different hand signal.
Rick
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WBraun
climber
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Sep 16, 2006 - 02:18pm PT
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Hahahaha can't even recognize my own self.
I've always wanted to start a thread here that asks what do you see when you look in the mirror.
Sometimes when I have to sign my name on some document I wonder who the guy is with my name.
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sketchy
Trad climber
Vagrant
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Sep 26, 2006 - 05:06pm PT
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Cool pics. Did that cover shot ever show up?
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
St. Louis
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Sep 26, 2006 - 05:10pm PT
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The helicopter shot is one of the BEST! Thanks for a perspective I'll likely never see with my own eyes....
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Sep 26, 2006 - 05:40pm PT
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Sometimes when I have to sign my name on some document I wonder who the guy is with my name.
Whew...that one goes a long way.
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Sep 26, 2006 - 06:38pm PT
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Rick you caught my eye with this thread.
Fortunately you get thrown a fun rescue from time to time. There are a couple I can remember like if it were yesterday. Anyway, pretty cool to be in the meadow one moment and dangling over El Cap spire the next. The Magazine shot was taken from this guys remaining partner on the ledge.
This shot was given to me last year from Tim Setnicka. It was taken by his wife Lou from the helicopter. I remember waving them off the closer they got. I had this uneasy vision of the rotor taking my rope out.
I believe it was the first time they hauled people off vs. lowering to the ground, Werner you might know this.
The helicopters were so fun it prompted me to get my Pilots license about 12 years ago.
Gramicci
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scuffy b
climber
The town that Nature forgot to hate
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Sep 26, 2006 - 07:03pm PT
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Did this involve the unfortunate guy who was rescued twice in
one year?
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WBraun
climber
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Sep 26, 2006 - 07:25pm PT
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Mike
"I believe it was the first time they hauled people off vs. lowering to the ground."
No the only lower was Bridwell on the Olsen rescue. 99% we always raise. Only exception was two different ones on the Tangerine Trip.
And, my hands are still sore from hauling your ass back to the top that day on the Salathe -:)
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mooch
Big Wall climber
The Immaculate Conception
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Sep 26, 2006 - 07:30pm PT
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Lest we forget these heros.....
Unfortunately, it was this rescue off Higher Cathdral that put their operational limits to the test. One climber killed and the SAR crewman (Jason Laird) suffered a collapsed lung and broken ribs after the helo driver clipped a tree with the litter. Lemoore SAR was decommisioned in 2003.
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Sep 26, 2006 - 09:30pm PT
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Werner, all I can say is I was glad it was you up there pulling our asses out and not just a bunch of junior rangers!
Rick that helicopter photo of yours was a "Llama" a generation after and different model than the Alouette’s we saw in France , very powerful. They held the altitude records for years until the new B3 Eurocopters came out. The guy that landed on Everest a year or so back used the B3.
Mooch, good shots! If I remember right the Hueys we used in the seventies where single engine H models. The classic one we used out of Lemoore a few times was “Angel 4” from the “Towering Inferno” movie. It would have been nice to have the Twin engine type (Bell 212) like the ones in your photos. The one that was pulling Peter Barton from the base of the Captain might not have crashed into the forest.
I wouldn’t mind hearing more on the Cathedral rescue.
Rick, you remember jumping into a Huey from the top of a boulder while it was hovering? I bet that’s a good story!
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 27, 2006 - 12:00am PT
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Mike-That Mountain cover is a nice shot. It’s as if you’re being hoisted directly into the blue sky. On the second shot, it looks like you’re considering the handholds in case the rope gets sliced!
I remember the Watkins rescue well. Most memorable was when they sent the Huey over to wake Dale and I on Sheraton Watkins after we turned off the radios in order to get some sleep. It was quite a wake-up call. I will tell that story some time. Just wish it had a happy ending.
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Jorge
climber
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Sep 27, 2006 - 12:25am PT
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Hey Rick, Mike, Werner and gang. Those are great shots. I seem to remember being too occupied to take many pictures. On the Wayne? Olsen rescue John Dill gave me a camera to take shots of the lower from Camp 5, and I did, but not nearly as many as I might have had the Olsen party not had a nice little bag of MJ and a couple sixpacks were lowered down to us... The 600?ft free rappel off the lip was memorable--I think we had a separate belay rope. I was crowded onto the upper ledge with John Bragg I think, drilling the lowering anchors. Gosh I don't remember, did we spend the night there or did it all happen one day? I think we spent the night. I do know that after we lowered Bridwell and the litter--now that was quite the trip for the two of them--the rest of us rapped the route with 600 ft ropes, finishing down the stovelegs in the dark. They had set up spotlights down in the meadow, that was variously helpful and blinding. We arrived quite nicely after the press had left --I guess they had really swarmed Bridwell and Wayne? We were led to the Ahwanee for a dinner, which was nice. Gosh does anybody remember details? I guess there was a Mountain article on this but I sure don't have access to it...I do know I have a slew of helicopter shots of various cliffs from that or other rescues that I will post when I can. That's a great one of the upper NA.
I remember Bev Johnson coming down from a rescue some years before where they had been stuck on Thanksgiving Ledge for some time, waiting for the rescue to get underway or some such. She commented that they had worked out a $1.17 traverse, which described how much they were getting paid for the time spent on the traverse...Typical Beverly wit.
Then of course there is the East but of Middle rescue that didn't go so well because of a severe rock in the head of the poor victim, but I do recall that SAR plucked Bridwell to lead it while he was in the midst of traveling to mescalineland. He seemed to be quite elated with the helicopter ride.
The best rescues of course were the ones where no one was hurt, no one was found, where it was a paid junket in the mountains, often accompanied with a scenic chopper ride. How about peeling off the top of those cliffs...the sudden drop and sweeping exposure. Just spectacular.
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WBraun
climber
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Sep 27, 2006 - 12:43am PT
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George
You spent the night on Camp 6. They flew Loyd Price to the bay area I think it was to the buy the 3300 foot ropes in the chopper. The next morning Loyd shows up at the LZ on top of the captain with the two 3300 foot static lines on those big ass wooden spools. It took 4 of us, two on each side to carry one spool down to the top of the Nose. Chappy and Breedlove were there too. I think there were 20 some people involved on the Olsen sar.
It was a total cave man style by todays standards, hahaha.
Charlie Porter was on the Sheild headwall doing the first ascent when we flew by. And many other details, to numerious, left for the others to fill in.
Here is the guy on the ground setting up the cave man lights.
Here is what it looked like when you guys were coming down the raps.
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graham
Social climber
Ventura, California
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Sep 27, 2006 - 01:50am PT
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George I would swear that’s you walking to the helicopter in Rick’s first shot.
I remember a ride off the face of Half Dome in a Bell 47, that was spectacular!
Rick, the Bob Locke incident was sad.
Checking out the holds on the salathe could have been misconstrued as previewing the route for a free Ascent which Ron and John and I were thinking off. Obviously never happened though as we all get side tracked in three different directions.
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