Author Topic: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?  (Read 4400 times)

Doddy

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #15 on: 15:58:48, 17/12/18 »

Whilst running down scree fields sometimes becomes inevitable I seem to recall some skiing fall advice not to try add stop sliding by digging your boot heels in; if they grip body momentum takes you over your legs with resultant trauma, as explained try and body surf to a safer terrain.
If they fall, and are able, ski racers lift their legs up, even with skis attached, to stop leg twisting.

Doddy

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #16 on: 16:04:41, 17/12/18 »


`Broad Stand on my own. :o `


I took a different route to avoid that, think I saw it described as boiler plate slippery, narrow with a fall to the sea.


I do try and avoid moments when you find that adrenaline is brown and it smells.

ninthace

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #17 on: 16:29:48, 17/12/18 »

If they fall, and are able, ski racers lift their legs up, even with skis attached, to stop leg twisting.
My personal best is 25 feet of unmarked snow between the point where the art of skiing stopped and the science of ballistics deposited my body.  I don't recall lifting my legs up though but I do remember hoping the snow by the side of the run would be soft, which it fortunately was.
Solvitur Ambulando

Davidedgarjones

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #18 on: 17:04:33, 17/12/18 »
Perhaps there will be a response to this thread from the two people who were rescued from Kinder on Sunday morning at 5 am after leaving Edale for a walk on the Saturday morning at 11 am. They were hypothermic and so helicoptered to Sheffield. I live in Hayfield where the temperature was -3 on Saturday morning. I was not going out but checked the MWIS which gave a wind chill factor of -21! Source: Grough website.


Personally, I've had no life threatening experiences while walking but two when cycling - which is one reason why I cycle much less now.


Dave

BuzyG

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #19 on: 20:59:04, 17/12/18 »
Broad Stand on my own. :o

Enough said.


Respect  O0


Never climbed it.  However my son and I took a look one rainy foggy day. Could not even sence it was there untill we had climbed up well past the first aid post.  Then it loomed out of the merk above us.  My son is a decent climber and Ienjoy a decent scarmble.  We even had a rope.  One long stare up onto the dank rock was enough to have us heading off to plan B up Lords Rake.

richardh1905

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #20 on: 21:33:00, 17/12/18 »

Thanks, but the truth is I bit off more than I could chew, BuzyG - I scrambled up through the crack and traversed across to the sloping platform, with a huge drop beneath me, and spent what seemed like ages there, contemplating the polished wall in front of me, too scared to go back...
« Last Edit: 21:36:37, 17/12/18 by richardh1905 »
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

barewirewalker

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #21 on: 11:49:20, 18/12/18 »
A 300 ft free fall down a snowfield under the Dent du Requin, flashbacks which I can still playback in my mind 54.5 years later. Then a traumatic moment of hurried excavation to create ledge on the steepest piece of snow ever imaginable and the thank god moments for hours spent practicing ice axe arrests before the impact of the sheer drop to the glacier below sank in.

Nothing to be proud of because youthful foolhardiness and lack of experience put us in a position we should not have been in. Having sat in many climbing pubs and listened to so many of these types experiences being related, I have wondered if they are told to impress or warn others.

In the Pen y Gurig on night I recall sitting with a group I had climbed with for some years, a nearby group were relating tale about the 1963 winter, when Bill's Barn was nearly completely covered with a snow drift and a tunnel of 10-15ft had been made from the top half of the barn door for a way in and out. The privy was some distance away across an open space. A totally naked climber had gone out for relief in the early hours and could not find his way back in. Much relish was expressed how they had save his life from hypothermia, the onset of frostbite and other unimaginable conditions.
This was listened to with great amusement by my group of friends, as they knew that they were sitting with that climber. He habitually slept in the raw in a Black's Polar sleeping bag, the beery flush of several hours carousing in Bethesda was the reason for not joining the cattle at the other end of the barn and taking the Eskimos' route out too the privy, which was all frozen up and serving no purpose. Then the overpowering and breathtaking view of the Carnedds and Tryfan with a backdrop of a clear star panorama was enough to take time to stand and stare. A full moon over Bill's farmhouse was enough to shroud the snow covered barn in pitch black, a desperate holler was required to get a torch shone from within.
All those in the barn saw was a lightning flash of naked flesh then a Black's Polar sleeping bag imitating a sackfull of ferrets and not the tale of drama of near Scot of the Antarctic proportions being related by that nearby group.
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

Innominate Man

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #22 on: 13:54:27, 18/12/18 »
Not really and apologies for going slightly off topic, but I have a particular nightmare that occasionally seems to re-surface (and gets re-dreamed), which involves falling down a steep ridge/scree slope with a very long drop through rocks and being unable to stop .... As these things tend to be, it is quite realistic at the time and the fall is in slow motion.
The location could either be imagined or possibly Great Hell Gate (Gable).


Only a hill but all of life to me, up there between the sunset and the sea. 
Geoffrey Winthrop Young

dav

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #23 on: 19:33:21, 18/12/18 »
Posting as Slogger.Too many to write about, from Hypothermia, Vertical fall (Ben Nevis path) Falling rock in Lords Rake, Stranded in nightime blizzard on Cheviots, if youve never had one , you are not trying hard enough! :o

Owen

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #24 on: 20:05:46, 18/12/18 »
Had rather too many near death experiences in the military and a few more whilst driving for a living but I think it's best to draw a vial over those. When I was younger I was more into climbing than walking especially Alpine style climbs, I had one or two frights but nothing life threatening. Never had anything while out walking, but then again. Last week I was out walking quite near home when I came across the local mountain rescue team attending man who'd simply slipped on some wet rocks and landed on his head, he ended up with a depressed fracture of the scull. Quite frightening really.   

wombat

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #25 on: 23:29:46, 18/12/18 »
Whist not having any such experiences when hiking,when a lot younger my obsession was rock climbing,(stopped by a bad fall, which got me back into hiking !! ), it was only considered a good days climbing if at some point you thought there was a possibility of serious injury or death. Luckily i only damaged my knees, lol  :)  I still miss climbing but just not possible  :(

harland

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #26 on: 09:51:11, 19/12/18 »
Posting as Slogger.Too many to write about, from Hypothermia, Vertical fall (Ben Nevis path) Falling rock in Lords Rake, Stranded in nigh time blizzard on Cheviots, if you've never had one , you are not trying hard enough! :o
Reminds me of "If you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much space.” I am taking up too much space and not just my weight! ;D

Ridge

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #27 on: 11:16:28, 19/12/18 »
I came across the local mountain rescue team attending man who'd simply slipped on some wet rocks and landed on his head, he ended up with a depressed fracture of the scull. Quite frightening really.
Something which shook me up was when I was walking down a very steep field at quite a speed. The front of my boot got caught on one end of a stout stick hidden in the grass while the other end got jammed in the ground. I was then catapulted through the air, my arms and walking poles got tangled together and I came down head first in nothing more harmful than sheep poo. But it could so easily have been a rock which made me think. The slightest slip or trip could so often be serious but 99.9% of the time we are OK.

beefy

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #28 on: 22:33:10, 19/12/18 »
I nearly croaked when pleb put his hand in his pocket and bought a pint ;D

Leave only footprints, take only photographs, kill only time ...

Innominate Man

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Re: Have you ever had a hiking 'I could have died' moment?
« Reply #29 on: 23:42:02, 19/12/18 »
I nearly croaked when pleb put his hand in his pocket and bought a pint ;D
And this could also be posted in the; "What's the strangest things you've witnessed on a walk" thread. Two for the price of one   :o
Only a hill but all of life to me, up there between the sunset and the sea. 
Geoffrey Winthrop Young

 

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