FALL ON ICE, CLIMBING UNROPED AND UNPROTECTED Pennsylvania, Delaware Water Gap, Mt. Minsi O n J a n u a ry 10, H u gh D ougher (25) a ttem p ted to clim b a n ice flow on the M t. M insi cliffs. N ear the top of the flow the th in ice disintegrated, causing D ougher to fall 170 feet to the base of the cliff. D ougher suffered fractures of a leg, rib, and both arm s. H e was evacuated by a N atio n al Park Service search team later th a t evening. (Source: H ugh D ougher)
Analysis I used poor ju d g m en t in deciding to attem p t the clim b u n d er m arg in al conditions. U nder those conditions a roped team w o u ld n ’t have h ad m uch m ore security. T he ice was too thin to accept ice screws but thick enough to hide underlying rock placem ents. (Source: H ugh D ougher) ( E d . N ote: In a letter to this editor, Dougher said that w hile aw aiting rescue, he snuggled w ith his dog S trider in order to keep warm . T he local newspaper ran the headline, “Pooch Saves L i f e .” Strider subsequently placed in K e n ’l R a tio n ’s top ten “Hero D og o f the Yea r” competition. There is a lesson here fo r climbers, i f only we knew the size o f the dog.)