OK, Music version today. Tomorrow photos if I can find my battery charger!
I love this song. Was just listening to it. Has the word window in it!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
Bits and Pieces
I have yet more to write about from the trip, but it's a short one today on random stuff.
- one of the things that's great about climbing is that age doesn't matter. Just ability and responsibility and niceness. In our small group this past weekend we represented 4 decades. Kinda cool.
- Due to one of the new people I met I joined/became active on Facebook. It's an odd place, but I think I like it. It's odd to not be anonymous. It's kinda disconcerting to ask to be someone's friend and not have them respond.
- The economy is directly impacting me now. My position is foundation funded, and though I won't lose my job, I'm not sure about half my pay until the end of the year. Oops. Likely it won't be my pay that's affected, but rather we'll have no funds to do ANYthing, but we'll see.
- Making my ex dinner for his birthday tonight. We also have to split some items such as Christmas ornaments, etc. Wish we weren't combining them, but oh well.
- I realized why I don't like the black jeans I'm wearing. Finally. They fit well in the waist but a little loose in the butt, which is one of my best assets, so to speak.
- Finally, I just checked Not Fainthearted to see if she actually posted my guest post, and she did! Here it is.
- one of the things that's great about climbing is that age doesn't matter. Just ability and responsibility and niceness. In our small group this past weekend we represented 4 decades. Kinda cool.
- Due to one of the new people I met I joined/became active on Facebook. It's an odd place, but I think I like it. It's odd to not be anonymous. It's kinda disconcerting to ask to be someone's friend and not have them respond.
- The economy is directly impacting me now. My position is foundation funded, and though I won't lose my job, I'm not sure about half my pay until the end of the year. Oops. Likely it won't be my pay that's affected, but rather we'll have no funds to do ANYthing, but we'll see.
- Making my ex dinner for his birthday tonight. We also have to split some items such as Christmas ornaments, etc. Wish we weren't combining them, but oh well.
- I realized why I don't like the black jeans I'm wearing. Finally. They fit well in the waist but a little loose in the butt, which is one of my best assets, so to speak.
- Finally, I just checked Not Fainthearted to see if she actually posted my guest post, and she did! Here it is.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Rescue 911
I participated in a helicopter rescue on my last day at Joshua Tree. First one I've ever participated in.
Three of us (women) were left climbing together. We went to Real Hidden Valley, which is a great little area - with the feeling like an old circle of wagons from the olden days, but instead of wagons, piles of rocks. Since it's a circle, and even though it's fairly big, sound gets transmitted really well. At first we were the only ones there, but then we heard another party start climbing across the way.
So, on our second climb of the day, I was halfway up when I heard a huge THUMP from across the way, and then "Oh fuck, oh fuck". I looked down at my friends, D and S. And then there's a scream "HELP!". You can't imagine the chills that went through me when I heard that. She sounded frantic - and then "Call 911!" over and over.
So we yelled back that we were getting help, and we mobilized. D was the driver of the rental, so she was the one to go get help from the ranger. She was freaking out because, as we had already heard, in the summer she had seen someone fall to his death in Colorado. S and I put our boots on and I grabbed what I could (a meager first aid kit, water, helmet, cordellette) and we ran over.
I'm a former EMT (meaning, I haven't kept the certification current) and S knew nothing, so I was the first responder technically. We arrived and the guy is standing up, obviously in pain, blood all over his face and back of his head. He had fallen at least 35 feet, pulled at least 4 pieces, landed on his back on the rock, not wearing a helmet. And he was standing up, coherent, talking.
Now, given that I'm not current I don't have the checklist in my head, but I do know the basics. I checked his head wound to make sure it stopped bleeding (using gauze), and listened to his list of what he felt. He is a former wilderness first aid responder (again, not current) so he knew what to say. His friend knew NOTHING, but was trying to help as much as possible.
I knew straight off he was 1) in shock and 2) hard headed (not just because he wasn't dead or unconscious). He was talking about walking back to the car, and I stopped that idea dead in its tracks. I did however let him go over to a rock and sit down. After sitting he wanted to change his shoes and also kept moving his head around, and I just repeatedly yelled at him to stop moving and that we would do what he needed.
After checking his eyes, pulse, and allergies/medications (in case he went unconscious), he started really going into shock - getting cold. So we found him a place to lie down and I put my vest and shirt over him. S had gone over to where we were climbing because some guys had shown up - she wanted to make sure they knew we were coming back. Well, one of them was a current wilderness first aid responder so he came over.
Then it was out of my hands. You basically pass the patient over to the person with the most expertise. He had gloves and started doing a toe to head assessment. Before he was even done with that, the rangers and EMTS and rescuers arrived en masse. Woo hoo!
We left to go get our gear and returned to help. By the time we returned, he had been given an IV and put into a stokes basket for transportation. He was still conscious and seem to be fine, so I yelled down to him, Hey T! Can I take pictures? He rolled his eyes but then said yes, he could show his son (an 11 year old son and he's climbing without a helmet!). So it was a well documented rescue and really fascinating.
Here he is after being placed in a Stokes basket.
The way we moved him out (and there were 10 of us helping at least) was to pass the litter along by people holding onto the bars of the basket, and not moving physically. When you no longer touched the basket, you would yell 'off' and then move down to the bottom to be the next person in line to grab the basket. This worked well on mostly horizontal, but was a bit trickier when it was more vertical. Then a rope was attached to the head bar and the basket was belayed down for control, with people passing it along as usual.
Here's the belayed and handing down the rocks.
Once we got him to level land, they pulled out what looked like an ATV wheel with two bars on it to make a V. The bars connected to the stokes basket, and all of a sudden we had a wheel! Six people held the basket as it was moved over land. I took photos.
Here he is being carted over land.
In the end, the helicopter came and transported him out. T kept saying he'd better have something broken after all this trouble (rib, spine, wrist, something). I told him to be careful what he wished for.
The next morning I wrote to his friend and she wrote back that he walked out of the hospital Monday night with just a broken thumb. Lucky hard headed dumb ass! I asked her if he would use a helmet now, and she responded: I don't know. He is kind of thick.
All the best to him. Dumb ass.
Three of us (women) were left climbing together. We went to Real Hidden Valley, which is a great little area - with the feeling like an old circle of wagons from the olden days, but instead of wagons, piles of rocks. Since it's a circle, and even though it's fairly big, sound gets transmitted really well. At first we were the only ones there, but then we heard another party start climbing across the way.
So, on our second climb of the day, I was halfway up when I heard a huge THUMP from across the way, and then "Oh fuck, oh fuck". I looked down at my friends, D and S. And then there's a scream "HELP!". You can't imagine the chills that went through me when I heard that. She sounded frantic - and then "Call 911!" over and over.
So we yelled back that we were getting help, and we mobilized. D was the driver of the rental, so she was the one to go get help from the ranger. She was freaking out because, as we had already heard, in the summer she had seen someone fall to his death in Colorado. S and I put our boots on and I grabbed what I could (a meager first aid kit, water, helmet, cordellette) and we ran over.
I'm a former EMT (meaning, I haven't kept the certification current) and S knew nothing, so I was the first responder technically. We arrived and the guy is standing up, obviously in pain, blood all over his face and back of his head. He had fallen at least 35 feet, pulled at least 4 pieces, landed on his back on the rock, not wearing a helmet. And he was standing up, coherent, talking.
Now, given that I'm not current I don't have the checklist in my head, but I do know the basics. I checked his head wound to make sure it stopped bleeding (using gauze), and listened to his list of what he felt. He is a former wilderness first aid responder (again, not current) so he knew what to say. His friend knew NOTHING, but was trying to help as much as possible.
I knew straight off he was 1) in shock and 2) hard headed (not just because he wasn't dead or unconscious). He was talking about walking back to the car, and I stopped that idea dead in its tracks. I did however let him go over to a rock and sit down. After sitting he wanted to change his shoes and also kept moving his head around, and I just repeatedly yelled at him to stop moving and that we would do what he needed.
After checking his eyes, pulse, and allergies/medications (in case he went unconscious), he started really going into shock - getting cold. So we found him a place to lie down and I put my vest and shirt over him. S had gone over to where we were climbing because some guys had shown up - she wanted to make sure they knew we were coming back. Well, one of them was a current wilderness first aid responder so he came over.
Then it was out of my hands. You basically pass the patient over to the person with the most expertise. He had gloves and started doing a toe to head assessment. Before he was even done with that, the rangers and EMTS and rescuers arrived en masse. Woo hoo!
We left to go get our gear and returned to help. By the time we returned, he had been given an IV and put into a stokes basket for transportation. He was still conscious and seem to be fine, so I yelled down to him, Hey T! Can I take pictures? He rolled his eyes but then said yes, he could show his son (an 11 year old son and he's climbing without a helmet!). So it was a well documented rescue and really fascinating.
Here he is after being placed in a Stokes basket.
The way we moved him out (and there were 10 of us helping at least) was to pass the litter along by people holding onto the bars of the basket, and not moving physically. When you no longer touched the basket, you would yell 'off' and then move down to the bottom to be the next person in line to grab the basket. This worked well on mostly horizontal, but was a bit trickier when it was more vertical. Then a rope was attached to the head bar and the basket was belayed down for control, with people passing it along as usual.
Here's the belayed and handing down the rocks.
Once we got him to level land, they pulled out what looked like an ATV wheel with two bars on it to make a V. The bars connected to the stokes basket, and all of a sudden we had a wheel! Six people held the basket as it was moved over land. I took photos.
Here he is being carted over land.
In the end, the helicopter came and transported him out. T kept saying he'd better have something broken after all this trouble (rib, spine, wrist, something). I told him to be careful what he wished for.
The next morning I wrote to his friend and she wrote back that he walked out of the hospital Monday night with just a broken thumb. Lucky hard headed dumb ass! I asked her if he would use a helmet now, and she responded: I don't know. He is kind of thick.
All the best to him. Dumb ass.
Dammit, I hate it when I have to work for my pay
I have a nice long story to tell, with photos, and it will be coming later today. I know how you pine for my words. :-)
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
She's a Screamer
Flying out to LA Wednesday night, they played a movie. I decided I should stay awake, so watched the movie. Plus they gave free headphones, so I figured what the heck. Even though it was Journey to the Center of the Earth - the new one with Brendan Frasier - which I had heard wasn't all that great. In fact the greatness to what extent it existed was the fact that it was 3-D.
In any event, all around me was darkness and sleeping people. Then comes a huge flying fish with great big pirahna-type teeth straight at me. I screamed.
Oops! All around me, people stared with evil looks - the ones that woke up that is, of which there were quite a few. I covered my mouth and looked sheepish, and kept my mouth covered for the entire rest of the movie.
I was reminded of the time my brother brought me to Broadway to see Death Trap (with Christopher Reeve! that tells you how long ago). I was towards the front. When someone got killed and it was a huge surprise, I screamed. Noone else in the theater did, and again, everyone looked at me, though with not quite so much evil.
The entire weekend climbing, I had my screaming moments. It just is. I can't help it. People who climb with me regularly know I do it, and don't really listen until I say some key word that would mean something more serious. But I was climbing with a few people who hadn't climbed with me. I'm sure it is indeed freaky to hear a yelp when you are at the bottom, and can't see me, and you think I'm falling off the other side of the rock. One guy got so sick of it, he proposed getting a bark collar for me - jokingly, but I'm sure he would have liked to use one if he could find one quickly.
No, I don't scream during sex, sorry.
And I forgot my bra today.
Back to my nasty evil financial report.
In any event, all around me was darkness and sleeping people. Then comes a huge flying fish with great big pirahna-type teeth straight at me. I screamed.
Oops! All around me, people stared with evil looks - the ones that woke up that is, of which there were quite a few. I covered my mouth and looked sheepish, and kept my mouth covered for the entire rest of the movie.
I was reminded of the time my brother brought me to Broadway to see Death Trap (with Christopher Reeve! that tells you how long ago). I was towards the front. When someone got killed and it was a huge surprise, I screamed. Noone else in the theater did, and again, everyone looked at me, though with not quite so much evil.
The entire weekend climbing, I had my screaming moments. It just is. I can't help it. People who climb with me regularly know I do it, and don't really listen until I say some key word that would mean something more serious. But I was climbing with a few people who hadn't climbed with me. I'm sure it is indeed freaky to hear a yelp when you are at the bottom, and can't see me, and you think I'm falling off the other side of the rock. One guy got so sick of it, he proposed getting a bark collar for me - jokingly, but I'm sure he would have liked to use one if he could find one quickly.
No, I don't scream during sex, sorry.
And I forgot my bra today.
Back to my nasty evil financial report.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Saturday Hunt - Gratitude
For a chance to be in Joshua Tree.
For a lovely Thanksgiving dinner.
For friends who like to try and find tomorrow's climbs, while I sit in the sun and take photos.
For a lovely Thanksgiving dinner.
For friends who like to try and find tomorrow's climbs, while I sit in the sun and take photos.
I'm baaaack - and Quick Question for the Men
Back from Joshua tree. Have many experiences to relate, and many photos. Missed you all, but gotta go actually do some work with my limited brain function (flew in on red eye and came straight from the airport to work).
One quick thing: We went out to a honky tonk place - Pappy's and Harriet's or something like that. Our waitress with the butch haircut and likely butch herself had on the best top in order to display as much of her large breasts as possible without getting arrested. And she used every opportunity to bend over into the table. Most impressive. And another day at another restaurant several of us noticed a female climber's beehind. It was most impressive - even my female friend said that her beehind practically begged to be grabbed.
So, men, are you a tits guy or an ass guy? Choose and defend (as Laura would say)!
One quick thing: We went out to a honky tonk place - Pappy's and Harriet's or something like that. Our waitress with the butch haircut and likely butch herself had on the best top in order to display as much of her large breasts as possible without getting arrested. And she used every opportunity to bend over into the table. Most impressive. And another day at another restaurant several of us noticed a female climber's beehind. It was most impressive - even my female friend said that her beehind practically begged to be grabbed.
So, men, are you a tits guy or an ass guy? Choose and defend (as Laura would say)!
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