CSMC trip, attempt

Emergency preparedness, a case study of a fall.
Disclaimer: this is a personal experience sharing with an intention that one makes his/her own conclusions and decisions.

Had a long planned 3-day trip to the Abbot Pass hut on Sep 8-10.
As planned, started for Victoria before dawn on Saturday at 5:45am. We did half of the route (GPS readings were 2.15km with 300m gain) and came to the Sickle with no issues. There was not much snow there, so decided to down climb on dry rock. The whole group except of me (4 people) went fine. I was the last one to do it. In the middle of a chimney, there was a a large rock (1-1,5m) that seemed and was stable; I did double check on it. Though, in the process of down climbing over it, it moved, dragged me and another rock down. Got a hit on my left shin, ankle, thumb and fourth finger. Believe, my first two thoughts were:
- f@ck, my leg…
- sh@t, my wife will kill me…
After hopping to a flatter spot when the rest were waiting for me, did some first aid. Realized in the process that got a cut on my thumb and half of the nail got smashed. Then simply laid down and pretty much couldn't move for about an hour.
In retrospective, the rock hit my shin when it just started to fall down or during the fall. Had it happened upon landing, well, don't even want to think about it…
The incident happened at 9:05-9:07am.

9:09am: luckily, there was a cell coverage and Steve called 911 at once. While we had a SPOT and VHF/UHF radio as well, decided not to use them: the former has at least 20 minutes delay (in case of false alarms), and would use the latter only if the phone won't work.
In the meantime, the weather was deteriorating. If half an hour ago we could see at least for 10km, e.g. Lake Louise was visible from the ridge, then it turned to no visibility, with fog/clouds and rain.
A rescue helicopter even didn't try to land at that spot. They were able to land at Abbot Pass, though it took them 6(!!) tries, and drop 2 rescuers there that started to move toward us.

10am: we had another call and were told "either try to move by yourself or gonna spend a night there"; the rescue team would bring a tent and a stove.
Remembering the forecast and that it won't going to improve until next morning, decided to try to rise. Surprisingly, it went better than I excepted and was able to limp slowly (pain killers started to work?).

10:30am: after all preparations, started to climb the Sickle back. While it was intended for the next day, luckily we had the second rope and ice screws with us. The Sickle's face was sheer ice and I wouldn't be able to climb it up in my condition. Left to the face was a more gradual snow slope, it required: cross a crevasse on its edge, 2 ropes tied to each other, 3 ice screws for a station and about an hour of time.

1pm: met the rescue team. While we did about half way in distance, the elevation loss was just 100m; it was another kilometer to go, with 200m to drop.

2:30pm: got to the hut; the visibility was still non-existent but at least we had a roof, dry room and some hot meal.

4pm: a heli was able to land and pick us up. They flew me in to Banff with a quick stop over in Lake Louise.

5:05: got admitted to a hospital; quick x-ray, conversation with a doctor: bones are fine (luckily), just bruises and swollenness, and discharged within 40-45 minutes.

Sunday: if I though my ankle was swollen a day before, then I was mistaken. It almost doubled today.


Conclusions:
- always, ALWAYS, carry a first aid kit (one per group), an emergency blanket, a headlamp, an extra layer and food;
- at least two types of communication devices: SPOT, inReach, VHF/UHF radio, cell phone (keep in mind, that cell phone coverage in the Rockies is very-very limited), etc.;
- if sh@t happens, then it will be for a while before everyone is back to safety;
- even if you're evacuated within 30-60 minutes (which is SUPER fast), then your group still might have a lengthy way out;
- sometimes it simply happens.


HUGE thanks for all the support and help to:
- my group: Jessica, Erich, Emin and Steve;
- Parks Canada Rescue Team, especially to Conrad and his partner (sorry, you didn't talk much so I missed your name) @BanffNP;
- the heli pilot and his team;
- Banff Mineral Springs Hospital and its personnel @covenanthealthca;
- last but not least, La Sportiva for the boot that took a hit but saved my ankle @lasportivaofficial.



Except for the initial call (remember that because I looked at my watch), all times are approximate.


PS: It's interesting to see how time perception changes. Initially I though it happened around 8:30am and I was laying with no movement for about 1,5-2 hours. In reality, after checking photo timestamps and recalling conversations, it was much less.