The Fall

March 18^th, 2022

Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area, Las Vegas, Nevada

View from the trailhead

Brian and I pulled into the Sandstone Quarry Trailhead shortly after 7:30 am. It was a very brisk morning, so I decided to keep my shell jacket in my bag if the wind picked up. Other than that I was hiking fairly bare bones, with some water, snacks, phone, and GoPro camera. By 7:45 we started up the Calico Tanks Trail which headed north up a wash before breaking off to the southeast up a gradual trail over limestone and sandstone rocks. About a mile from the trailhead the trail terminates with a nice view towards Las Vegas. We hadn’t really decided what our plan was, but I was interested in climbing the Turtlehead Jr. Peak (Red Cap), which the GAIA GPS map shows as Calico Hills.

The previous evening, I read about the climb of this peak in one of Brian’s climbing books and loaded the waypoints into my GPS. I had a decent understanding of how the route would go so I wasn’t too concerned about it but wouldn’t know what the class 3 scrambling would be like till I was there in front of it. I was feeling adventurous and wanted to try and head up the peak as we were making our way back down the Calico Tanks Trail. I could see an open traverse to the set of waypoints I downloaded on my GPS so started making my way. Brian followed me over to the base of a large white wall but decided to stay in that area. I chose to attempt the peak and found a small ramp of boulders to climb to get on top of the white wall. I turned on my GoPro to try and record my ascent. The camera was on a strap on my head, and I had removed my sunglasses as a lot of this area was still in the shade.

View of the crack with a tree in the center

It was a fun little scramble trying to get to the waypoint 36.16639, -115.44432. This was mostly hiking on granular rock which made the surface rather slippery in places. I was wearing hiking shoes that had good traction, so I was not too concerned with my footing. I made my way up to a large crack that separated some large portions of rock where some small trees were growing in-between. This was a tight fit for me, so no more than 2 feet wide. I took some time here trying to find the route first looking to the southeast, before coming back to the north going up and over a small hump where I could clearly see the crack in the rock from the pictures in Brian’s climbing book.

Followed the crack above the bush

From the base this looked very doable, and I didn’t think the scramble would be too difficult. I started up the white rock below the crack. This rock was heavily weathered and resembled mushroom heads stacked up on one another. This rock was fairly slick, and the grains of sand were loose. I started to lose the crack and decided being in the crack was the safest way to climb as I could wedge my body and climb that way rather than be on an exposed slick slope where a fall could be uninterrupted. This was a dicey transition, but once I was in the crack, I felt much more comfortable. From this point you could see the red stone cap of what appeared to be the summit. I continued climbing this section which got thin in some areas, but I was able to manage. Climbing these cracks are much easier on the ascent, but there were numerous hand/footholds so I did not think the descent would be too difficult as long as I took my time, so I kept climbing.

Looking down from above bush

The crack I was climbing eventually leveled off temporarily where there was an approximate 20 ft traverse to climbers left on a very small lip. This joined into another crack that continued up. This section was wider, and the crack had large boulders that made climbing easier. There was approximately 20-30 ft vertical to a large flat area in what I would call the amphitheater. From this point there are 3-4 different cracks that lead to the summit of what appeared to be approximately 50 ft vertical. I attempted the crack to climbers left but did not fit. I didn’t feel comfortable trying any of the other cracks, so I called this area my summit.

Plateau with the catwalk across

Now it was time for the descent. I knew this was going to take some time and I needed to be careful given the granular nature of the rock. I wasn’t exhausted, but I was a bit winded given the activity of the climb. I felt good and was having fun. I wanted to get back down to where Brian was, so we weren’t separated, so off I went. I started a new clip on my GoPro as I started down.

It wasn’t far from where I started my descent to the fall. The fall took place at 9:52 am, and I put together a timeline based on my GoPro that continued to run in my bag. I was coming down a section in the crack that had good size boulders to downclimb. I can’t be certain of what happened other then try and piece it together. I assume my feet got crossed and I didn’t have anywhere for my leading foot to go. My weight got over my center of gravity and I started to fall forward. The walls were nothing but flat sandstone, so nothing to grab. This all happened in an instant. I knew I was falling and couldn’t stop, then crack. I will guess the fall was 10 ft or less, a straight faceplant. Blood was spurting out of my head; I knew my right shoulder was dislocated or broken immediately.

Second portion of climb

I did not lose consciousness luckily, I got myself to my knees, took off my camera, hat, backpack, pulled out my phone to see if I could call for help. No bars, and I couldn’t really type anything in anyway. I knew I needed help; I did not know how bad of a head injury I had. I knew I was alone, in a place I had not seen anyone, so I needed to get myself into a position that people knew I was injured and could aid me. I yelled for help, took a few deep breaths to focus. I knew this was not going to be easy, I had to wedge myself to climb up the crack and now I needed to descend it. There was a high chance I could fall again, but I had to get myself out of there, so I decided to move.

View out from the "amphitheater"

I grasped my bag in my left hand and wedged by butt in the crack and lowered using my feet. I thought about ditching my bag altogether but decided to keep it not knowing if I would get in a more dire situation. I kept yelling for help every little bit as I made my way down. I remember having my left hand high on the wall and looking at my wedding ring. A lot of time in the hills I take my ring off, so it doesn’t get scraped by the rock, but today I had it. It helped me think of my wife and my daughter, motivating me to keep moving and allowing myself to accept the risk ahead.

 The landing zone of the fall taken on the ascent

This first section was not too steep, but I got myself to the little catwalk which I knew had sketchy footing. I tossed my bag across so I would have nothing teetering me off balance. I made it across and started yelling, I still could not see down into the valley below where I knew Brian was as well as many other hikers. I dropped back into the crack and continued down till I thought it was safe to descend the white mushroom sandstone. This was a risk as well as a slip here could have me rolling. I went extremely slow and had to jump off a high rise of a couple feet at one point. I kept making my way down this rock rib till it wrapped around to the southwest along a descending plateau. I could see bodies below and dropped my bag, yelled for help and waved my good arm. I communicated that I needed medical attention, I saw several people as well as Brian. Someone said they were on their way up and to me, and I should find shade and wait. I found a rock to sit on and tried to sip some water while I waited. I’m going to say adrenaline got me here, but at this point I knew people knew where I was, and I was going to make it. About 10 minutes after the first communication Cole and Marcus arrived on scene to aid me.

Marcus gave me medical attention while Cole evaluated a route down. Marcus was a ski patroller from Vermont, and I could clearly see he knew what he was doing. He gave me a complete evaluation from head to toes, cleaned up my head wound, and secured my right arm to my body using my jacked and some rock-climbing gear they had. Another came up, who’s name I did not get, but I hear he was an orthopedic surgeon from England. These three men helped get me up and start the journey down to the trail. They put a short rope around me and off we went with one in front, one by my side, and one behind. I couldn’t have been in better hands, and I am truly thankful for these guys being in the right place at the right time.

It wasn’t over. There was still a scramble to get down, and I was really starting to feel the trauma by body had been through. The muscles in my shoulder were re-orienting and tightening up, so I couldn’t look up too well and was more like a hunchback. I listened and did whatever the guys told me to. I had to get crafty downclimbing on a few occasions, but knew I was getting out and that’s all that mattered. As I made my way down the last crack there were a few firefighter/EMTs to relieve the guys that got me down. From that point it was a walk out to the ambulance.

All trail from here on out 

I can’t say enough for the guys that came in and saved me. They got me home, and I will forever be grateful to these men and first responders in general that can do these things for all of us. I chose to walk out, and in no time had made my way to the ambulance at the trailhead. I arrived at the hospital at 12:32 and had various tests/images completed, and finally had my shoulder reduced and head stapled at 4:15 pm and was discharged at 5:55 pm.

I spent the next two days at Brian’s house in Las Vegas before taking a flight home to Denver. I’m very thankful to have been with a good friend that could play nurse to me before going home. As expected, the fight home was very uncomfortable, but I didn’t care after the ordeal I had been through. I saw my doctor the next day and plan to have my staples removed by the end of the week.

Looking back on what happened is hard. I have video of the fall and still cringe a bit when I see the blood. There are plenty of times in my outdoor life that something like this could have happened but didn’t. There was no fault here, just an accident, and all I can be is thankful that it was one I could walk away from. It wasn’t easy, but I don’t think I reacted any different than any of you would have. When it comes down to it, we will all do what is needed regardless of pain or risk. What will I do now? Recover. I will make sure I have a complete kit with me on all adventures. I will learn how to reduce a separated shoulder on my own as well as with others. I will upgrade my personal locator beacon and always have this on me. But I will live most importantly and not take any day for granted. As cliché as that sounds, that is the path forward. I look forward to hiking and scrambling up peaks in the future when I’m well. Thank all of you for being there when I needed you most even if you weren’t there physically. Happy trails.

Timeline:

Fell at 9:52

First contact at 10:10

Cole/Marcus arrive at 10:20

Out to trail portion, met by firefighters at 11:06

Checked in to hospital at 12:32

Shoulder reduced at 4:15

Out of hospital at 5:55