A/N: Sorry this one took so long, but it was a pretty busy month for me in the wake of the disaster in Northern Japan. But now I've managed to find the time to finish this, so, enjoy!
This story has the group facing some of the emergencies that can arise during a mountain trip, including frigid temperatures, whiteout conditions, a grizzly bear encounter and even the deadliest of them all: an avalanche.
WARNING: the medical procedure depicted in this story is extremely risky and should normally be attempted only by trained medical professionals. Inxeperienced people should only attempt it as a last resort.
Disclaimer: I don't own crap except for the plot.
Heatherfield Ski Resort, Mt. Heatherfield
Saturday, January 12, 2013
9:02 AM
Alchemy and her friends were getting ready to hit the slopes on a sunny winter day. They were hitting the back country, where some of the best ski slopes were located.
Irma and her new boyfriend Robert were about to take off on their first run of the day. "Here I go!" Irma said as she started off.
Robert followed soon after as the others went after, one by one. Everyone was equipped with an avalanche beacon, a shovel and extra supplies, just in case.
Alchemy watched as the others went down the mountain, going down last.
5:00 PM
25 degrees Fahrenheit
9,000 feet elevation
That afternoon, after spending some time warming up in the lodge, the group decided to go out for one last set of runs. The snowfall was getting thick, resulting in visibility less than 20 feet, and plummeting temperatures, creating near-whiteout conditions.
Alchemy knew that it was now too dangerous to go down anymore. Caleb started on his last run, but couldn't see where he was going.
"Hold up, STOP!" Alchemy called out, but Caleb couldn't hear her. Suddenly, Caleb went off a cliff and started tumbling head over heels as he fell.
"CALEB!" Cornelia called out as she watched in horror.
Caleb stopped falling and called out. "We gotta get down there, but we're not gonna be reckless about it, so stay within visual range and follow me." Alchemy instructed as she started making her way towards Caleb, the others right behind her.
"Caleb, are you OK?" Cornelia asked when she and the others reached Caleb. "OK, Cornelia, hold his head, we need to see if he has any possible back injuries." Alchemy instructed.
Cornelia held Caleb's head in place as Alchemy put her fingers in Caleb's hand. "OK, Caleb, squeeze my fingers." Alchemy instructed.
Caleb managed to do so, proving that his arms were not paralyzed.
Caleb also moved his feet, proving that it was unlikely that he had a back injury. "OK, tell me if something hurts when I touch it, OK?" Alchemy asked.
Caleb nodded as Alchemy started, going from the neck down. "UNGH!" Caleb winced in pain when Alchemy's hands reached his left leg.
"Will, peel that back and tell me what you see down there." Alchemy instructed. Will did so and cringed when she saw the injury.
The others cringed as well upon seeing the wound. Caleb's leg was broken, and the bone was sticking out of the skin.
"OK, he has an open fracture, get me a T-shirt, or a scarf or something, we need to stop that bleeding." Alchemy said.
Cornelia handed her a T-shirt that she twisted. Alchemy wrapped the shirt around Caleb's leg, just above the wound. She was careful not to apply any pressure to the wound as she did this.
"OK, we're about a couple of hours from the nearest hospital, so we're gonna try to realign that bone. Normally, we would NEVER even think of trying it, but right now, it will help us stop the bleeding, and protect the bone from drying out and from infection. If we can do that, we can also decrease his pain." Alchemy instructed.
The others got ready for the attempt to realign the bone.
Needless to say, this was a risky move, and it was also extremely painful, so Alchemy made sure that everyone was in position before they began.
"OK, SLOWLY pull from that part right there." Alchemy instructed as the people holding Caleb's foot slowly began to pull. Caleb winced and grunted as the severe pain seared through his leg.
"Alright stop, stop, we only get one shot, and if we hit resistance like we just did, do not force it, you could sever an artery in there and make him bleed out to death or you could hit a nerve and cause permanent damage." Alchemy explained.
"OW, DAMMIT, THAT HURT!" Caleb exclaimed. "Don't worry, dear, we're gonna get you out of this mess." Cornelia said.
"Damn, what are we going to do now?" Irma asked.
"OK, we now have no choice but to immobilize that break and move him down." Alchemy said. Cornelia brought up her ski poles and handed them to Alchemy.
"Here, we can use these." she said. "Great, these will work." Alchemy said as she took the ski poles.
Alchemy broke the ski poles in two, making sure that the length was equal to the space between Caleb's knee and his foot. Cornelia then placed the poles on each side of Caleb's leg.
Using boot laces, they tied the poles to Caleb's leg, creating a splint to keep the injury immobilized. Alchemy grabbed Caleb's snowboard and started removing the foot bindings.
After the bindings were removed, Caleb was gently placed onto the snowboard, which would be used as a sled to move Caleb down the mountain.
6:30PM
15 degrees Fahrenheit
8,975 feet elevation
"OK, we're gonna move him down head first, that way, his helmet will provide some protection, plus it will keep his leg up and help with the blood flow." Alchemy said.
The sun was setting and the temperature was starting to plummet.
The plan was to head towards treeline, where they could find shelter from the wind, then proceed to the lodge where Caleb can receive medical attention. They started making their way down the mountain.
At this point, their biggest enemy was the wind, which can accelerate core heat loss, giving the group only a couple of hours until hypothermia sets in.
They continued traveling for an hour and only made it a mile and a half down the mountain.
"OK, we're not gonna make it down to the treeline before nightfall, we're gonna have to find some shelter." Alchemy said. Several seconds later, Alchemy had the group stop.
"OK, visibility's getting terrible right now, nightfall's setting in, temperatures are plummeting, if we keep walking in these conditions and we don't know where we're going, we're gonna end up going off a cliff kinda like Caleb did earlier, then we're all in deep shit. Right now, our only option is to shelter in." Alchemy said.
"What do we do now?" Hay Lin asked. "Here's what we're gonna do: get out shovels if you have them." Alchemy instructed.
"For what, making some kind of cave in the snow or something?" Matt asked. "Exactly, we're making a snow cave, but here's how it's gonna go: first, we'll dig an entrance tunnel just big enough for us to crawl through and clear out the main cave, creating a dome shape, so that the roof of the cave does not collapse. Then, we'll use the snow we dig out to create an elevated shelf that's slightly higher than the entrance. That is where we'll sleep overnight." Alchemy explained.
"Where would be a good spot for that?" Irma asked. "Ideally, we'll want to find a spot where there has been a major accumulation of snow that's downwind." Alchemy replied.
Cornelia stuck Caleb's snowboard deep into the snow. "This seems like a good spot!" she said when she noticed that the snowboard went in nearly halfway.
"OK, we need to make a hole at least two feet in diameter, straight in." Alchemy instructed. Cornelia and Will started digging into the side of the snow, creating the cave entrance.
Two minutes later, they switched off and Irma and Robert took over. They continued like this as they made the cave.
7:54 PM
5 degrees, Fahrenheit
Approx. 6,982 feet elevation
Nearly an hour later, the cave was finished and the group went inside. At this point, the blizzard was very severe, and visibility was nearly zero.
Inside the snow cave, the group was protected from the wind chill and the severe weather, plus it was 50 degrees warmer inside the cave.
Plus, their combined body heat would provide additional warmth. Because of the cave's design, the warmer, lighter air would stay up over the shelf with the group, while the colder, heavier air would naturally flow out of the snow cave through the entrance.
This was especially important for Caleb, who was not creating much body heat due to his motionless state.
Cornelia and Alchemy moved Caleb onto the shelf inside the cave as the others got the supplies in and got settled in.
9:00 PM
37 degrees Fahrenheit
"This is gonna be a long night." Irma said as the group was sitting inside the cave. "Hey, it'll be alright, we'll get through this." Robert replied as he wrapped his arm around her.
Irma leaned her head on Robert's shoulder and wrapped her arms around him as they cuddled together. Cornelia sat next to Caleb and kept an eye on him.
Alchemy checked his inner layer of clothing and was relieved to find it all dry. "OK, no joke, who has to take a leak?" Alchemy asked.
The others stared at her, puzzled with confused looks on their faces. "I do, but why?" Robert asked.
"You have an empty bottle?" Alchemy asked.
"Yeah." Robert replied. "Fill it up and bring it back." Alchemy instructed.
"OK..." Robert replied with a shrug of his shoulders as he got up and moved to a different part of the cave.
"OK, while he's doing that, we gotta wrap him up as much as we can to keep him warm." Alchemy instructed.
Cornelia slipped Caleb's sleeves over his hands and tied them together. "Next, who has food?" Alchemy asked.
Irma grabbed some bags of chips out of the group's supply bag and handed them to Cornelia, who then fed them to Caleb.
"OK, anything else? Something sweet, sugar, anything like that?" Alchemy asked. Matt grabbed a small bottle from his coat pocket.
"What is that?" Alchemy asked. "Booze." Matt replied.
"Matt!" Will exclaimed as she thumped him on the back of the head. "Ow!" Matt exclaimed.
"Are you out of your frickkin' mind?" Will asked. "What?" Matt asked in confusion.
"She's right, you NEVER, ever use alcohol, that's the worst thing you could ever do to him is to get him even a little bit buzzed, it's gonna make things a lot worse for him. In fact, it'll just make hypothermia set in even faster." Alchemy explained.
"Hey, can't blame me for trying." Matt said with a shrug.
At that point, Robert returned with the bottle now full of urine and handed it to Cornelia.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" Cornelia asked as she stared at the bottle with a disgusted look.
"That bottle is now very warm thanks to that urine, you want to place it either in his armpit, the base of his neck, or even right near his groin, with that thin plastic, the heat transfer will be very quick, it'll help warm up the core areas of his body." Alchemy explained.
"Oh, OK." Cornelia replied as she opened up Caleb's jacket and placed the bottle in his left armpit.
Throughout the night, Cornelia monitored Caleb's condition, while Matt kept the entrance to the cave clear of snow.
They rotated at the top of the hour while the others slept.
The next morning, 6:45 AM
40 degrees Fahrenheit
Alchemy crawled out of the cave and looked around. The storm had passed overnight and it was now sunny and clear. "OK, it's clear!" she called out into the cave.
She looked around some more and discovered trees around them. Looks like we traveled further than we thought! Alchemy thought.
They were still eight miles from the lodge and had to move fast. If we're gonna move fast enough to get help fast, we'll have to leave Caleb behind, and someone will have to stay with him. Alchemy thought.
She hated the thought of leaving anyone behind, but it was the greatest good for the greatest number.
"OK, I hate to say this, but Caleb's gonna have to stay behind." "WHAT?" everyone else replied in unison.
"Look, I know you hate it, I hate it, too, but if he goes with us, it'll take ten times longer. Someone's gonna have to stay behind with him to keep an eye on him." Alchemy replied.
"I'll do it." Cornelia said. Cornelia went to Caleb while the others got ready to move on.
They had to be careful due to the higher risk of avalanches from the recent snowfall.
"OK, take your skis and crisscross them above the cave entrance. Take the urine and make a circle around the entrance. That way, any helicopters flying above will see that." Alchemy explained. Cornelia took the bottle of urine and poured the contents around the entrance of the snow cave. The others put on their ski/snowboards and got ready.
"Just hang tight, we'll be back." Alchemy said as the others started heading out.
"Just hang in there, sweetheart, we'll get out of this soon." Cornelia said as she watched the others shrink into the distance, a tear falling down her cheek.
"I know we will, Cornelia." Caleb replied weakly. Cornelia sobbed as she sat next to Caleb.
8:15 AM
45 degrees Fahrenheit
2,746 feet elevation ASL
The others eventually made it down to flat land and the thicker part of the treeline. They took their skis/snowboards off and started walking.
"OK, hold up." Alchemy said as she ripped branch off of a nearby douglas fir tree. "I want you to get about eight of these each, this length, this kind of spread." Alchemy instructed.
The others started gathering branches like the one Alchemy had taken. The snow was nearly above their ankles.
The group each took a pair of spare boot laces and lashed their branches together, making snowshoes.
They then used the laces to tie the makeshift snowshoes to their feet using square knots.
They then each took a pair of bungees and wrapped them around the back of their ankles and hooked them to the laces on the sides of their feet, securing the snowshoes in place.
They then continued walking, the snowshoes preventing them from sinking into the snow, causing the group to exert less energy and making them move faster.
Another storm was starting to roll in, and visibility was starting to decline. This meant that any rescue helicopters currently in the air will have to turn back soon.
"I hope Cornelia and Caleb are OK back there." Taranee said.
"Yeah, I can't help but feel bad for them, up there on the mountain, and with the weather getting like this, I'm starting to get really worried." Hay Lin replied.
"Hey, they'll be fine, Alchemy knows what she's doing." Nigel replied. "Yeah, we'll get them the help they need." Eric added.
11:00 AM
49 degrees Fahrenheit
2,298 feet elevation ASL
They were now six miles from the rescue center, and the trek would take at least three hours at this point.
The storm had passed and the weather was clear again. "Hold up, hold up." Alchemy said as the group came upon a deer carcass.
She knew that this was a sign that a bear or other predator could be nearby. "OK, this could actually be a good find, the fat could be used to help light a fire." Alchemy said as she and the others approached the carcass.
Suddenly, they froze as a loud roar echoed across the landscape. Alchemy looked and saw a large grizzly bear approaching fast.
"Crap, stay tight!" Alchemy instructed as they huddled together and held still.
"It's a grizzly, just back...away...slowly." Alchemy instructed quietly as the group slowly backed away.
The bear made several short runs towards the group to try to scare them away.
"It's a bluff charge, OK? It's just letting us know that this is his, just keep backing up and we'll be fine." Alchemy quietly instructed.
The bear roared again as the group slowly backed up.
The bear started tearing at the carcass, taking a chunk of flesh in its jaws. The group continued backing up as the bear roared again.
Suddenly, Eric panicked and took off running. "ERIC!" Hay Lin shouted.
"HEY, DON'T RUN!" Alchemy shouted. The others called to him, but he continued running.
The bear saw Eric run and started to give chase. "DROP DOWN! PLAY DEAD!" Alchemy and Hay Lin shouted.
"OK, we gotta make a lot of noise and try to scare him off!" Alchemy instructed.
All at once, the others started yelling and shouting while moving towards the bear as Eric dropped down. Eric lay still, playing dead as the bear got to him.
The group's efforts payed off and the bear got up and ran off into the trees. "Are you alright?" Hay Lin asked as she pulled Eric up.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Eric replied. "Good." Hay Lin replied as she slapped him across the face.
"OW! What the hell was that for?" Eric asked.
"For scaring the shit out of me like that!" Hay Lin replied in an angry tone.
"Calm down, Hay Lin. Eric, that's why you don't run. The only reason you're still alive is because you played dead. Now we gotta get the hell out of here" Alchemy said.
They rushed away from the area.
12:30 PM
52 degrees Fahrenheit
1,274 feet ASL
The group approached a clearing where the ground was steep and was known to be hit frequently by avalanches.
"OK, get your snowshoes off, get your boards and skis on quick!" Alchemy instructed. The group got their skis/board on and got ready.
"OK, check your avalanche beacons, make sure they're good." Alchemy instructed. Everyone did so and everyone had good beacons.
They also fastened all snaps and buckles and zipped their coats up to the top. "OK, we're gonna go across one at at time. That way, if an avalanche hits, we won't all be buried at once." Alchemy said.
"Another thing: when you do go across, try to get near rock outcrops or dense trees that will offer you some protection. The others should watch you carefully the whole time so that they will know where to start searching if you are buried." Alchemy explained.
"You all ready?" Alchemy asked. The others nodded. "OK, Hay Lin, you're first." Alchemy said.
Hay Lin started going across as the others watched. Thirty seconds later, Hay Lin was on the other side of the avalanche danger zone.
Robert then got ready to go across. "OK, I'm going." Robert said as he started going across. Irma, who was overly anxious to get across, started right after him.
"Whoa, whoa, ONE AT A TIME!" Alchemy called out.
Too late, a huge patch of snow near the summit of the mountain came loose with a loud rumble and began to fall in a massive avalanche, headed straight towards the clearing where Robert and Irma were crossing!
"Oh, shit! AVALANCHE! AVALANCHE! HURRY AND GET TO THE SIDE!" Alchemy called out as she spotted the mass of snow headed for them.
"GET DOWN! GET DOWN!" Alchemy called out as she and the others near her dropped to the ground and took cover, just as the edge of the avalanche came over them.
Robert spotted the avalanche about a hundred yards behind them. "IRMA! THIS WAY!" he called out as he turned towards the trees on the other side.
Irma turned, but it was too late, Robert watched in horror as the avalanche caught up fast and knocked her down.
Robert reached the other side and took cover just in time.
The instant she was knocked down, Irma cupped her hands over her face to create an air pocket with which she can breath when she stopped moving.
Seconds later, it was over, and the group got up and looked around. Robert went out and saw the debris field.
"No..." he said when he remembered that she had been buried in the avalanche.
Time buried: 0m 5s
Survival odds: 90%
Alchemy and the others saw Robert and rushed to meet him. Robert rushed to the last place he saw Irma, the spot where she was hit.
Meanwhile, by cupping her hands over her face, Irma managed to maintain a decently sized air pocket.
SHIT! This is bad! I can't see shit in this darkness! I can't move anything but my head, and I can only move that a little bit! I hope the others can find me in time! She thought as she shook the snow off her face.
Time buried: 3m 0s
Survival odds: 89%
The group desperately switched their avalanche beacons to receive mode and Robert stuck a ski pole into the snow at the spot where he last saw Irma when she was hit by the avalanche.
"OK, we'll start our search here." Alchemy instructed.
The debris field was approximately 100 yards wide by 250 yards long, equivalent to the size of four football fields.
The beacons had a maximum range of only 20 yards. The plan was to start ten yards from the edge and carry out a zigzag search pattern to insure that they cover the entire area.
Taranee and Will got out their probes and the search began.
Thirty seconds into the search, Alchemy's beacon began to beep, and the directional light on the upper right side began flashing.
The display also began showing a number indicating the distance in yards from the signal source, in this case, Irma.
Time buried: 3m 53s
Survival odds: 86%
The group stopped the zigzag pattern and started following the beacon's lead. The beeps became more rapid as they got closer, indicating a stronger signal.
Eventually, they got within a yard of the signal source, and the beeps became very rapid. "OK, we're right on top of her, start probing!" Alchemy instructed.
Will and Taranee started pushing their probes into the snow.
Meanwhile, Irma's eyes grew wide as she saw one of the probes punch through the snow above her. YES! They found me! I'm getting out of this! she thought in excitement.
Will gave a thumbs-up when she noticed the probe slipping in effortlessly due to the air pocket. The others immediately began digging into the snow to try and free Irma.
Time buried: 6m 0s
Survival odds: 86%
Eventually, the group exposed Irma's upper half and continued on to finish digging her out.
She had been buried in nearly a foot of snow for about six minutes before she was rescued. "Thanks guys, I thought I was going to be an Irma-sicle!" Irma said as she was pulled to her feet.
"Thank God you're OK!" Robert said as he wrapped his arms around her.
"OK, now we still have to get help for Cornelia and Caleb!" Alchemy said.
Just then, they heard the sound of helicopter rotors whirring above them. "Where is it, can you see it?" Alchemy asked.
Robert looked and spotted a white Eurocopter AS350 B3 Ecureuil helicopter modified for mountain rescues with a red cross painted on the side of the fuselage.
"Someone must have known that we were missing and called for help!" Will said.
Irma got out a mirror and started signaling the helicopter.
Robert breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the pilot wave at them, acknowledging Irma's signal.
"OK, he's got us, let's go set up an LZ!" Robert said. They found a large flat area nearly 2,400 square feet about fifty yards from the nearest slope, with plenty of space around it for the approach.
"OK, this will make a perfect LZ, let's get all the big debris out of the way." Alchemy instructed.
They did so and managed to get the LZ cleared just before the helicopter began the approach.
When the chopper touched down and the pilot got out, the group rushed towards him. "What's the situation out here?" The pilot asked.
"We've got two of our friends that are trapped up the mountain, one of them has a badly broken leg." Alchemy replied. "OK, let's go find them!" the pilot replied.
Alchemy got in with the pilot as the others stood by, watching as the helicopter lifted off towards Cornelia and Caleb's position.
Alchemy and the pilot looked around as they searched.
"There it is! Right down there!" Alchemy said as she spotted the crossed skis and the yellow circle around the cave entrance.
The pilot closed in and saw Cornelia waving her arms after spotting the helicopter. Alchemy rushed out to Cornelia after the helicopter touched down and wrapped her in a tight hug.
"Let's get him on board!" Alchemy said as the pilot came up to them with a backboard.
They gently lifted Caleb onto the backboard and got him into the helicopter. The others got on board and took off towards the rescue center.
The others eventually made it to the lodge and got some well-deserved rest while Alchemy gave them regular updates regarding Caleb's condition at the hospital.
No one in the group expected to find themselves in a mountain emergency, but when things took a turn for the worst, they made the right decisions and fought like hell for their lives, and after it all, they survived.