At 8:02 a.m. on August 9, NPS climbing rangers received a call from a climber whose partner had fallen off the north side of the ridge just west of Peak 11,840’. This peak sits between Teewinot and Mt. Owen along the Cathedral Traverse. The reporting party was Jeremiah Letourneau (28). He relayed that he was with the patient, Ben Eder (25), who was having difficulty breathing and had significant bleeding from the head.

The pair had intended to climb the Cathedral Traverse, which crosses the summits of Teewinot, Mt. Owens, and the Grand Teton. In a report to ANAC, Eder (a preventive SAR coordinator for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s SAR Team and a W-EMT) wrote, “We made it to the summit of Teewinot in less than four hours. Made the rappels look like easy work, but after that things went wrong. Approaching Koven Couloir, I slipped or tripped and ended up falling off the trail. Unfortunately, due to post-traumatic amnesia, I don’t remember what happened.”

Letourneau wrote ANAC, “It was primarily 4th-class terrain and we had elected not to rope up. I was in front, with Eder behind me about 20 feet. We had just walked across a three-foot-wide rock when I heard the sound of slipping. I turned around and watched Eder tumbling. He was sliding down on his belly down a rock gully. This happened just before 8 a.m.

“First, he struck a big boulder and went limp, appearing to lose consciousness. He rolled out of control, bouncing off boulder after boulder. I was yelling his name and racing after him. He fell out of sight. I finally saw him 200 to 300 feet below.

“As I downclimbed, I saw items from his backpack on the ground. He was unconscious with eyes open, with incredibly labored breathing and heart rate around 120 beats per minute. His body was tangled in the rope. He was face-down in the dirt, blood everywhere, including coming from his broken helmet. His backpack was broken open and still on his back. I was worried to roll him because of possible spine or neck injury.

“I decided that his breathing and airway were more important and that I should get the backpack and rope off and support his body and neck as I rolled him. I propped his head up to open the airway. I start yelling, “What do I do?!” I had told a friend the day before how glad I was to climb with Ben, so that if there was an accident, someone could help me. That’s when I realized I had to help the best that I could.”

Letourneau realized he had cell service, and after calling 911, he began first aid, “grabbing every wrap, gauze, and cotton blood absorber I could.” He eventually, removed Eder’s helmet and saw two massive skull gouges. He wrapped Eder’s head to control the bleeding. Letourneau also “opened his (Eder’s) mouth to make a quick check that he was not drowning in his own blood. I turned my attention to his arms and realized there wasn’t enough gauze, so I took my shirt off, ripped it, and started a tourniquet on his left arm. It appeared to have exploded from the wrist to elbow. His right arm wasn’t moving. The bone was broken, but there was minimal bleeding.”

Meanwhile, the NPS reported, at 8:41 a.m., the SAR helicopter boarded for a reconnaissance of the scene. They determined that short-haul insertion of personnel was both appropriate and feasible. During this time, Letourneau recalls, “I kept trying to talk to him (Eder), hoping he could hear me: ‘Keep trying, don’t give up, you’re so tough, rescue is coming, and I’m right here trying my best.’”

At 9:02 a.m., two climbing rangers were inserted at the patient’s location. Two additional rangers and emergency equipment were inserted at 9:15 a.m. The rangers on scene provided emergency medical care and packaged the patient for extraction. At 9:32 a.m., one ranger and the patient were extracted from the scene and delivered to Lupine Meadows. The patient eventually was transported to definitive medical care in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The remaining rangers and the climbing partner were extracted from the accident scene via two additional short-haul operations. (Sources: Ben Eder, Jeremiah Letourneau, and Grand Teton National Park Search and Rescue Report.)

ANALYSIS

The terrain at the location of the fall is often climbed unroped for the sake of speed and efficiency. The climbing is generally 3rd and 4th class, although there are steps of low 5th-class climbing. Although regarded as easier terrain, the ridgeline is exposed to significant fall potential, loose rock, snow, ice, and other hazards. It is a good place to keep one’s guard up.

Eder suffered bilateral wrist fractures, a T7 compression fracture, a skull fracture, and severe traumatic brain injury. He was initially in a coma and spent three months in the hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery. He wrote, “I tumbled down the mountain, and by luck and good planning, I didn’t die. I was wearing my helmet when the incident occurred (I put it on for the approach), and I also packed a good first-aid kit.” (Sources: Ben Eder and the Editors.)

Editor's Note: This report has been updated to correct errors in some of the times reported in the print edition.