British Columbia, Selkirks, Mt. Sir Donald
British Columbia, Selkirks, Mt. Sir Donald. On 30 July David Ingalls (20), leader, Joseph Kelsey (25), James Given (16), Kevin Bein (15) and William Robinson (14) left Illecillewaet Campground around 3 A.M. to climb the northwest ridge of Mt. Sir Donald. They had been advised not to climb because of poor conditions. They reached the col at 7:30 A.M. The weather in the morning was partly cloudy. Climbing on two ropes and alternating leads the party moved relatively slowly. It was obvious that Robinson was not up to par and around noon he complained of general weakness and nausea. By this time the party was about halfway up the ridge. Two of the group considered going on to the summit, but it was decided that all five would descend. Since the party had 9 hours to descend what it had taken 4½ hours to climb, there was no concern at this time that a bivouac might be necessary.
After the party began to descend, several events occurred that may have contributed to the later accident and the general demoralization. On the second descent pitch, Ingalls unexpectedly pulled off a large boulder, described as chair sized. This boulder pinned and slightly crushed his right leg against the rock face. Bein, who was below Ingalls, was hit on his forearm by a second boulder dislodged by the first. This partially incapacitated his right arm. Robinson vomited and his illness made him very slow in descending. By mid-afternoon the weather had changed and a light rain fell, although visibility remained good. Because of the configuration of the ridge, it was necessary to climb down rather than rappel. The net result of these events was that the descent was very slow. By 4 P.M. only five pitches had been descended.
Given and Ingalls were climbing on one rope, with Given descending last due to Ingall’s bad leg. To help speed up the descent, Ingalls had used tension on a relatively easy pitch. Therefore, when Ingalls used tension a second time, Given did not think much of it. In fact, Ingalls had gone about 10 feet off route and had passed over a moderately difficult slab. After this move, Ingalls traversed 40 feet to the right, where he belayed from a piton. He did not, however, protect this difficult move with a piton nor did he warn Given about the move. Given was on the move before he realized that it was tricky. In stretching for a good foothold his hands slipped off a wet handhold. He fell free from the 70° rock, but probably caught a foot first which made him somersault down. In a three bounce 60 foot fall he hit his head, back and hip. After being stopped by the belay, Given managed to move a few feet to a reasonably comfortable ledge. Then the pain of various injuries incapacitated him.
Within minutes, Kelsey, a qualified first aid man, reached him. Given had considerable pain in his back, hip and legs and the immediate concern was that he might have broken his back. (Miraculously, he actually suffered nothing worse than minor bruises.) His hard hat had been cracked, but he did not suffer any head injuries. It was the possible back injury that required a litter rescue. Kelsey and Robinson stayed with Given while Ingalls and Bein went for help. The party’s four down jackets and bivouac sack were left with Given. (See Rescue Report)
Source: B. Pittoway; Paddy Sherman; Members of party.
Analysis: It appears that this party was not psychologically prepared for a mountain the size of Sir Donald under the existing climbing conditions. They did show good judgement in turning back and not splitting up their party. In retrospect they should have turned back sooner. More specifically, Ingalls should have placed a piton to protect Given and he should have warned Given he was off the route. Given’s hard hat undoubtedly saved him from more serious injury. The down jackets and bivouac sack gave considerable protection.