Posted on 04/15/2009 10:23:36 AM PDT by nickcarraway
A Massachusetts man and his climbing partner from Vermont were "incredibly fortunate," officials said, to survive with only minor injuries after they were caught in an avalanche and tumbled 800 feet down a slope at New Hampshire's Mount Washington last weekend.
Daniel Zucker, 46, of Danville, Vt., said he and Tim Finocchio of Holbrook were nearing the top of the Dodge's Drop area at Tuckerman Ravine at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday when the snow gave way. He described a terrifying plunge down the slope in which he wondered if he would survive.
"There's this roaring sound that's constant, and you're surrounded by snow," he said. "You're just being dragged, like being dragged by a car."
Zucker and Finocchio were "incredibly fortunate," US Forest Service rangers said in an incident summary posted on the Internet by the Mount Washington Avalanche Center.
The men - whose injuries included a broken little finger, sprained ankle, bruised pelvis, and various lacerations and abrasions - were taken to a snow ranger cabin where they were more thoroughly assessed and treated, according to the report.
"Ironically, the avalanche which caused their fall likely helped protect them from more significant injuries as they probably rode on the debris cushion to their resting point," the report said. "Falling this distance with crampons on, ice tools in hand, and going over small cliffs usually concludes much worse. That they were able to walk themselves down from an incident such as this is remarkable, to say the least."
Zucker and Finocchio, who were described in the report as "athletic and experienced mountaineers" who were following a reasonable route,
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
It's an awfully strange and, dare I say, loaded word to introduce in this day and age.
Well, in climbing, I think the person you climb with is pretty important. Do you question when Cops talk about their partner?
It’s been a common term in climbing for decades. No code.
That word is completely out of place in a story like this.
Tony: "Step OFF, George!" < /seinfeld >
matching outfits is a normal practice?
Look into who they often take when they get to bring a civilian "ride-along" in their patrol car.
benburch joke in 3...2...1...
You know, you're right - I hadn't even noticed the matching outfits - I was just concentrating on that really bizarre choice of language.
Huh.
Well that seals it.
Prada crampons.
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