OUTDOORSmagic Spanish Rescue Epic Report

Regular site users might be aware that a pair of OUTDOORSmagic members were recently involved in a bit an epic in the Gredos Mountains in Spain.

Steve D and Cara-Lynn Reynolds were climbing in the area as part of a meet organised on the OM forum when things went badly wrong after a fall from an exposed ridge in which Steve suffered a broken leg.

Thankfully both Steve and Cara - above, before starting the route - managed to reach a location where they could call in the local mountain rescue services and both are recovering from the ordeal.

Cara's asked us to publish her account of the incident, so there's no confusion over what happened. All we'd add is that winter mountaineering is inherently risky and while it's easy to make armchair judgements from a distance, until you're in an emergency situation yourself, you don't know how you'll react.

Well done to them both on emerging from a nasty situation in more or less one piece.

Sunday 21st January

08.30. Steve - below - and I set off from La Plataforma (1780m) to walk into the Circo de Gredos. The plan is to ascend Portilla de los Machos, traverse the Cuchillar de las Navajas ridge, descend Portilla Bermeja to bivi, then ascend Almanzor the following day.

12.00. Arrived at South East end of Laguna Grande (1915m). The refuge was closing so we decided to stash bivi gear under some boulders.

14.00. During ascent, what appeared to be snow in the gullies was actually incredibly hard ice, often pure water ice.

Climbing this (approx 60 degree slope) took longer than expected, so plans were changed. New plan: ascend to ridge, then rather than the east-west traverse, head east to summit El Casquerazo (2437m).

14.35. Arrived at saddle of ridge (2382m). Weather still good, and Steve decided to rest in the sun while I continued to summit El Casquerazo solo, before rejoining him.

15.15. Commenced descent.

15.30. approx. Descending. Steve about 10m above me slips and cartwheels down the steep slope, unable to self arrest on the steep ice. I have no time to move, so I brace myself in the hope it may slow Steve down.

We both fall together some distance. I stop mself via a mixture of self arrest and grabbing a protruding boulder. Looking down, Steve is still falling, and is eventually stopped by a large boulder, still on a very steep slope, at about 2300m.

I retrieved one of Steve's axes, and carefully down-climbed to attend to Steve.

Initial assessment: no head or spinal trauma. 10cm long x 2cm deep gash in right leg. Left ankle too painful to put weight on - query fracture. Left wrist badly bruised. Multiple cuts and grazes.

above - Steve descending from the ridge
just before the accident

Ensuring we were secure where we were, I treated the leg wound with steri strips and a large dressing. I checked Steve still had sensation and reflexes in his feet, and administered pain relief.

Situation:Refuge closed, no longer anyone in the cirque. I knew from experience that the first place I would get a mobile signal was north of Los Barrerones, about 5km away with 400m of descent and 260m of re-ascent. Leaving Steve was not possible since all bivi gear was stashed at the lake below, it would get very cold, and he was still on a steep slope.

Taking the rope, I lowered Steve first on Italian hitch belays from boulders, and where there were none, on body belays from bucket seats. By about 2025m the slope had eased too much to lower effectively, so Steve slid on his bum while I plunged axes in front so he could break his slide with his unbroken leg.

Once nearer the lake, Steve was able to hobble on dry rocks, and bum-slide on others. By this time it was pitch dark, so I zig-zagged back and forth to scout out a path that would be possible for him to take. Luckily since I had been in this area before, I knew about some of the hazards to look out for, such as apparently slabby rocks ending in steep icefalls.

An idea of the broken ridge terrain in the area

19.30. Arrived back near the lake, and located bivi gear. Shared some chocolate. Emergency bivi idea disregarded - Steve needed medical attention and neither of us would have been in much state to walk out the next day.

20.00. Finally located lakeside path and started "walk" out. Knowing the path was vague in places, and not wanting to risk Steve slipping into the frozen lake without me to guide him, I still did not see leaving him as a viable option.

21.20. Having passed the lake and the small craglets at its northen end, I told Steve I was running for help, and to follow if he was able.

21.51. Reached top of Barrerones section (2175m) (in about half the time it's ever taken before - adrenaline is a wonderful thing) and called Mountain Rescue. Informed friends of the incident, who said they would drive up and wait at La Plataforma.

Laid torchlights along the path, got out bivi kit, and waited, while taking numerous phone calls from the police, ambulance service etc, who were checking on the situation

23.30 approx. Steve arrives at my position exhausted. Both huddle in sleeping bags. I pass time monitoring Steve.

Cara at the point where she called the MRT. Accident location is on
the righthand skyline approximately 5km away

Monday 22nd January

00.30 approx. MR arrive, check us both, and package Steve up. I explain what I've done, hand them a casualty record card, and pack gear up.

00.45 approx. Commence descent to La Plataforma

02.00 approx. Arrive back at La Plataforma. Both taken in waiting ambulance to local hospital.

02.45 approx. Transferred to trauma dept at Avila hospital

04.00. Arrived Avila

06.45. I left Avila hospital, arriving back at the house at about 8am

Tuesday 23rd January

02.30. Steve arrives home

Friday 26th January

15.25. Steve taken by ambulance to airport for repatriation flight.

Please don't dissect this with "what could have been done better?" I've done enough of this myself. For the record:

What caused the accident?
A simple slip on hard ice.

Should we have been there in the first place?
Yes. Both of us have experience on this and harder terrain. It was an easy route.

Should I have tried harder to get out of the line of Steve's fall?
Maybe, although we are both pretty sure he wouldn't have stopped at all if colliding with me hadn't slowed him down.

Should we have roped up?
Absolutely not! We would both be dead. The ice was dinner-plating so I wouldn't have trusted screws, and there wasn't enough natural gear.

Should I have left Steve earlier?
I don't believe so. No one else was around, the bivi gear was 400m below our position, and he would not have survived a night out on that slope alone. MR told us we were out in -14C temperatures.

Should we have bivvied at the lake?
We both agree that after the descent we were exhausted, and the medical personnel also said that with a broken ankle, getting to hospital as fast as possible was the right thing to do.

Could we have summoned a helicopter?
No. By the time we were off the slope it was dark, and it doesn't fly in the dark, even if we had been able to summon help earlier.

It was interesting to hear the MR and ambulance personnel tell us that a fall from that area (east end of the Cuchillar de las Navajas) is usually fatal in winter since people cannot summon help or get down if injured.