FALL ON SNOW–INTO MOAT, PARTY SEPARATED

California, Little Slide Canyon

On Saturday, July 20, 1986, Bruce Raabe reported that his partner, Lester Needham (45), was missing. They had been hiking up Little Slide Canyon on July 19 with the intention of making a two day loop trip into and out of the park. Around 0830, the two separated to explore different routes up the canyon, and Raabe never saw Needham again. He searched the area until Sunday morning, then reported the incident in the afternoon.

A large-scale, coordinated search and rescue operation ensued. At 1300 on July 22, Needham was found, alive but injured, by a WOOF dog team. He was eight meters down in a moat which was in a snow field 360 meters downstream from Maltby Lake. He was suffering from fractures and hypothermia.

Ground personnel treated Needham, carried him out of the moat, and loaded him aboard the Navy helicopter as it hovered. He was flown to Bridgeport at 1720 and was transferred to a medical helicopter and taken to Reno.

The following details of this accident were obtained from Judy Cross, WOOF unit leader, who discussed the incident in depth with Lester Needham and with Marty Cross, whose dog, Zeke, made the find:

Not long after Needham and Raabe separated, Needham fell on a snowfield, slid 40-50 meters, struck a boulder with his feet, and fell through a gap about one half meter wide between the snow and the rock. The gap formed the top of an eight meter deep moat, much wider at the bottom, formed by snowmelt and a stream that ran under the snowfield. He landed on his back on a rock at the bottom, crushing his external frame pack and injuring his back.

His legs were in running water and a three meter high waterfall in the stream sprayed on him. He managed to wriggle partly out of the water but his left foot remained immersed, and he lay on a wet patch of gravel with water seeping through it. Pain in his legs and back prevented him from moving farther, and he was unable to lift his right leg, possibly due to nerve damage.

Needham was able to get on some wool clothing and wrap his synthetic-fill sleeping bag around himself. They provided some protection but soon became soaked by the cold water. He ate very little, but did drink lots of water.

The opening in the moat was so narrow that Needham knew he might not be found and might die there. He tried stacking tent poles together with a bandana tied to the top of one as a flag, but just as he was adding the last pole, the whole thing collapsed. Noise from the waterfall was deafening, preventing him from knowing if searchers were nearby and preventing them from hearing his shouts, had he known when to call out. However, he spent some time banging a pot-lid on a rock. He also planned on shining his flashlight on the edge of the moat if a helicopter flew by at night, but none did.

Cross and Zeke were glissading down the snowfield, heading for another area, when Zeke suddenly turned and looked uphill, on alert.

Cross had not noticed the moat, and the sides appeared so overhanging that he crawled to the edge to look in.

When he was found, Needham had been in the same position, partly in water, for over three and a half days. He was in extreme pain from his injuries and from muscle cramps brought on by violent shivering, and had open “bed” sores on his back. His core temperature at the time was estimated still to be in the low 30s (33°C at Reno, after rewarming enroute), but he felt he would not have survived another night in the moat.

Needham suffered a severe compression fracture of the thoracic vertebra that required bone grafts and pins, a broken foot, and serious complications to his left foot, from immersion. At the date of this report, however, he is beginning to walk without assistance. (Source: John Dill, SAR Technician, Yosemite National Park)

Analysis

While not a climbing accident, this narrative is included to illustrate some of the classic problems in back country travel. An obviously rugged constitution kept Needham alive, and, as John Dill observed, the dog saved his life—along with coordinated efforts of 15 separate agencies.

Many seek solitude in the wilderness, and certainly one cannot condemn or legislate against this activity. To ensure this, all solo hikers and climbers must be prepared for the consequences–including the costs–of becoming incapacitated. (Source: J. Williamson)