From the CMC mailing list:
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I’m writing this because I don’t see a follow-up to either Sigrid’s or Henry’s e-mails. I called his mom on Monday morning and visited R.J. on Monday night, and then I called her back afterward.
A well-meaning e-mail went out about holding off from calling his folks. After talking with his mom, I must contradict that instruction. If his mother knows you, then please call her. She is having a difficult time and needs our support. It cheered her up so much that I was going to visit R.J. Even though R.J. is sedated, when he is awake, he is aware of your presence. He touched my hand. I believe that human contact is important for his recovery.
His mother was told by the treating physician that he is expected to make a good recovery.
R.J.’s mother asked R.J. if he was taking his ice axe and crampons that day and he was. It is likely that his axe was lost in the fall and that his crampons were ripped from beneath his pack where he keeps them, because they were not with his things or in his car. (His mother was going to double check the condition of that area for rips, etc.) Witnesses on the mountain saw R.J. slip on ice that was covered with a thin layer of snow. He was unable to arrest. From the descriptions, it appears that he may have been above the bowl, hiking down from the summit at the time of the slip. He landed fairly close to the Hut. He has skull fracture(s?), broken shoulder blade(?), probably broken ribs and they suspect a crushed windpipe.
The hospital is trying to wean him from the sedative and the ventilator. He will be transferred to Kaiser on Sunset (probably) when he is stable enough to move. There is no estimate on that yet.
If you do go to visit, please find out the visiting hours for the ICU; they are not the same as the rest of the hospital.
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
400 N. Pepper Avenue
Colton, CA
Just past the 15, right off of the 10. Left on Pepper.
I had no trouble parking at 6:00 pm on Monday; Maria Roa had much trouble in the mid-morning on Tuesday.
If you do plan to go visit R.J., be prepared to be shocked by his appearance.
Tracy
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An eyewitness also has posted:
He had his ice axe and his yellow overalls on. He was seated and began to glissade. He lost control very quickly and failed to self-arrest ( he tried very hard to). Then he hit the rocks and tumbled down all the way. He started down from the same spot as I did just behind me. It was a terrible accident to watch.
