crying. The voices grow closer and then we see them. It’s the family we ran into earlier. The father is on his stomach, looking over the side of a drop off. The mother and sister are crying. No one is calling for help. They’re all hysterical. We need to take charge.
Dropping my pack, I peer over the side and Beth grabs my belt from the back. “Gage, be careful.”
It’s about a forty foot drop and undercut from the top. I see the boy. He’s scared, but alive, sitting up, holding his leg. It’s at an awkward angle. His other leg doesn’t look too good either.
“We see you, stay still while I find a way down,” I yell down the ravine.
Daniel, bless him, seems to be calmer than the three up here on the ledge. “Okay!” he shouts back.
I turn to the father. “Call for help. I’m going down.”
He nods and runs to his wife, who is digging in a backpack, hopefully looking for a phone. I turn and see Beth opening my pack and pulling out the things we don’t currently need.
I look around and find the anchor sites I’ll use to support my weight while I rappel down. I dump the pack and pull my belt out.
“We don’t have a signal,” the mother wails, and I point up the trail, telling her to walk that way until she finds one.
“Go!” The word breaks through her trance and she and the girl begin walking back uphill, holding the phone up in the air.
“Beth, when I get to the bottom, toss down the first aid kit and this additional rope. If you see anything up here I can use for a splint, toss it down too.”
I get the anchor set in the rock and begin the process of strapping in.
“Good thing you brought the heavy pack,” she says, breathing heavily. “I wish you had two. You could use my help down there.”
I kiss her forehead. “I need your help up here too.” I look around. “The wind is picking up again; it’s going to be a rough ride down. Look for the splint, maybe two. Drop them down and keep the family away from the edge.”
She nods and I’m amazed she isn’t fighting me about going down. I have to admit the stubborn streak in her is a love-hate thing, but this time she knows I’m right.
“I’m not sure, but they’ll probably send a chopper and do an air lift. You know what, find the mom and talk to EMS yourself. Let them know there is a firefighter, EMT certified and an RN onsite. Tell them that I’m rappelling down to aid and for them to just drop the basket and I’ll stabilize and load.”
A gust of wind knocks Beth a step sideways and I curse. Kneeling, I take another length of rope from my bag and loop it around the anchor. “When you get back down here, tie this around your waist. The wind is getting bad. Keep the family away from the ledge.” I show her how to use the carabiner to secure it. “If you can, try to convince them to head on down the trail to their car. Get their number and let them know they’ll be contacted with hospital location.”
“How far away are we from the end?”
I glance at my watch. “Hour and a half or so.”
“I’m not leaving my son!” the father yells and Beth jumps, neither of us noticing him coming up beside us.
“It’s your choice,” Beth tells him, not raising her voice. “You can stay here and do nothing or make your way back to your car and be waiting for him at the hospital.”
The man deflates and covers his eyes. “I’m a registered nurse and he’s a fireman,” she tells him. “We’ve got this, sir. If you want, wait until we know the ETA on the chopper and then head down then.”
The man says nothing. I look at Beth and jerk my head in the direction the mom and sister have gone. “Go talk to them, okay?”
She touches my arm. “Be careful.” Then she’s gone.
Double checking my harness and connections, I move to the wall and am rocked with another wind gust. Damn. I don’t have a helmet in this pack and I could have used it. I let it die down and then I lean back, and begin hopping my way down, going for
Dropping my pack, I peer over the side and Beth grabs my belt from the back. “Gage, be careful.”
It’s about a forty foot drop and undercut from the top. I see the boy. He’s scared, but alive, sitting up, holding his leg. It’s at an awkward angle. His other leg doesn’t look too good either.
“We see you, stay still while I find a way down,” I yell down the ravine.
Daniel, bless him, seems to be calmer than the three up here on the ledge. “Okay!” he shouts back.
I turn to the father. “Call for help. I’m going down.”
He nods and runs to his wife, who is digging in a backpack, hopefully looking for a phone. I turn and see Beth opening my pack and pulling out the things we don’t currently need.
I look around and find the anchor sites I’ll use to support my weight while I rappel down. I dump the pack and pull my belt out.
“We don’t have a signal,” the mother wails, and I point up the trail, telling her to walk that way until she finds one.
“Go!” The word breaks through her trance and she and the girl begin walking back uphill, holding the phone up in the air.
“Beth, when I get to the bottom, toss down the first aid kit and this additional rope. If you see anything up here I can use for a splint, toss it down too.”
I get the anchor set in the rock and begin the process of strapping in.
“Good thing you brought the heavy pack,” she says, breathing heavily. “I wish you had two. You could use my help down there.”
I kiss her forehead. “I need your help up here too.” I look around. “The wind is picking up again; it’s going to be a rough ride down. Look for the splint, maybe two. Drop them down and keep the family away from the edge.”
She nods and I’m amazed she isn’t fighting me about going down. I have to admit the stubborn streak in her is a love-hate thing, but this time she knows I’m right.
“I’m not sure, but they’ll probably send a chopper and do an air lift. You know what, find the mom and talk to EMS yourself. Let them know there is a firefighter, EMT certified and an RN onsite. Tell them that I’m rappelling down to aid and for them to just drop the basket and I’ll stabilize and load.”
A gust of wind knocks Beth a step sideways and I curse. Kneeling, I take another length of rope from my bag and loop it around the anchor. “When you get back down here, tie this around your waist. The wind is getting bad. Keep the family away from the ledge.” I show her how to use the carabiner to secure it. “If you can, try to convince them to head on down the trail to their car. Get their number and let them know they’ll be contacted with hospital location.”
“How far away are we from the end?”
I glance at my watch. “Hour and a half or so.”
“I’m not leaving my son!” the father yells and Beth jumps, neither of us noticing him coming up beside us.
“It’s your choice,” Beth tells him, not raising her voice. “You can stay here and do nothing or make your way back to your car and be waiting for him at the hospital.”
The man deflates and covers his eyes. “I’m a registered nurse and he’s a fireman,” she tells him. “We’ve got this, sir. If you want, wait until we know the ETA on the chopper and then head down then.”
The man says nothing. I look at Beth and jerk my head in the direction the mom and sister have gone. “Go talk to them, okay?”
She touches my arm. “Be careful.” Then she’s gone.
Double checking my harness and connections, I move to the wall and am rocked with another wind gust. Damn. I don’t have a helmet in this pack and I could have used it. I let it die down and then I lean back, and begin hopping my way down, going for
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