As many in our local climbing community already know, Curt Haire, one of our stalwart mountaineers, masters of ice, and gurus of rope and rescue techniques, was involved in a serious climbing accident on Sunday that left many bones between head and toe shattered. While in serious condition and in the ICU at Harborview where he has more operations and a long recovery ahead of him, given the size and density of rubble that rolled over and along side of him as he was swept down a gulley for a 1000 feet, we’re lucky Curt is still kicking (weakly).

A Caring Bridge site has been established so friends and acquaintances can learn the details of his story, track his progress, leave their comments and well wishes, and get a sense of how they can help Curt and family in the long recovery process ahead.

For those of us who have climbed with Curt, the accident is sobering. Bad things happening to people you know is always a disturbing source of disquiet. And for climbers, who are involved in an activity whose benefits are not easily verbalized, not generally understood, marginalized as risk takers, and written off as Conquistadors of the Useless, accidents like this make you weigh your own mortality next to your own love of an activity.

This is especially true with Curt because he climbs within his ability level (advanced, but not extreme) and within his knowledge base (very advanced). Sometimes we who wrestle with the dangers of the sport (which are real yet also exaggerated by the amount of media exposure they receive) can rationalize the danger when inexperienced climbers making too many mistakes or extreme climbers taking too many gambles bring the hatchet down on their own necks. But Curt occupies neither of these camps, so we who attempt technical routes in the mountains, where more hazards await us than on crags,  must wrestle with the fact that if this can happen to him, it can happen to us**.

 To follow Curt’s progress in the weeks ahead, bookmark his Caring Bridge site. For your convenience we’ve pasted that site’s background story and the first entry about his more recent treatment below. The Wenatchee World also published this brief accounting of the accident.

Background Story from Caring Bridge Site:

Curt and Michael (Curt’s son) were climbing on Sunday (June 14) at Colchuck in preparation for a climb on Mt. Rainier later this summer. They had reached the top and saw lightening, so decided to climb down instead of traversing along the ridgeline to an easy down climb. On the climb down, Curt was belaying Michael, who was below, when Michael heard a loud crack and saw the couloir collapse. The slide took down Curt's anchor and broke the rope connecting the two and Curt slid about a 1000 feet. Michael was unhurt and climbed down. 

Four nearby climbers who saw the accident rushed over to help. One climber hiked out with Michael (who had a sprained ankle from the descent), one ran out to the road (5 miles, and he ran!) and called the sheriff for a rescue, one stayed with Curt, and one brought sleeping bags from the camp and a stove to heat up waterbottles. These guys were heroes; they did everything right and took great care of Curt until the helicopter could come take him to the hospital. Curt ended up sitting on the snowfield for about 12 hours until the copter could take him out.

He was flown to Wenatchee where they operated on his right ankle and right arm. On Tuesday he was transferred to Harborview in Seattle for the operation on his jaw. As far as we know, there are no internal injuries or brain damage, just a lot of broken bones (the talus in his ankle, the right arm, some ribs, a hairline fracture in his pelvis, jaw broken in multiple places, and possibly fractures in the transverse process on a few of his vertebrae in the center of his back). There are a number of teams, each specializing in a specific area of injury, treating him. We anticipate a long process of healing and recovery and your continued and sustained support in the coming months are gratefully appreciated. 

First Entry  on CaringBridge Site: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 10:07 AM, PDT

Wednesday morning, we got an update from the many medical teams who are working with Curt (a respiratory team, a spine team, a team working on Curt's jaw, and a team that coordinates the efforts and ensures that Curt's general health stays on track, and probably others that I can't remember). Curt had a good, stable night and is resting comfortably. The last remaining surgery is for his jaw, which is broken in 3 places, and is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday). Curt has a breathing tube in place, mostly as a preventative measure, and because with the swelling it will be difficult to put back in if needed if they take it out now. The medical team seems to be operating with conservative care, and considering all the possibilities so that he has the best possible care. So, he's resting and comfortable, and as we receive more information we'll keep it updated here. Thanks for checking in.

June 19, update from Mark Shipman

I know most of you are following Curt's progress anxiously.  Today he was extubated (loses the breathing tube) and continues to do better than all his trauma team expected.  He was operated on again yesterday for 6 hours, this time getting all the pieces of his jaw back together.  He's getting fed through a feeding tube since he of course can't eat. The final extent of his injuries include:
        Multiple jaw and facial fractures
        Concussion but no significant brain injury
        mid shaft radius and ulnar fractures on the right
        nondisplaced pelvic fracture on the left
        several rib fractures
        small pulmonary contusions (bruises to the lungs)
        5 transverse process fractures
        talar fracture and subtalar dislocation on the right

.....so here's Curt, right handed, and the only extremity not severely injured is his left hand.  They're not able to give us any idea yet when he'll be discharged from Harborview to rehab, but it will be sooner than originally expected.
    Karen is in Seattle today.  Michael is with his aunt & uncle.  David will be in San Francisco for 6 weeks.    With Karen's blessing we will try to organize a big party and  benefit for him in the next few weeks. You can leave notes for Curt and Karen on CaringBridge.org

Sunday, June 21, 2009 11:41 AM, PDT.  It gave me great pleasure today to be able to TALK with Curt!  He's making himself understood better and better.  He's getting to eat some soup and protein shakes.  He's not sleeping very well, but he's wanting very little pain medication.  He remains in the ICU with plans to transfer out today.  Karen is at his side this morning.  He continues to improve faster than could be expected.  Discussions are ongoing concerning rehab plans.We continue to witness fast recovery and a good likelihood of good recovery from an horrific accident!  --  Mark Shipman 

Monday, June 22, 2009 11:08 AM, PDT . It's Monday morning and a lot has been going on. Curt is now out of ICU and is in a regular hospital room on the 7th floor of Harborview. He continues to improve each day.  He had a special visit Saturday from the awesome climbing team that rescued him. Nick Spalone, Michael Madison, David Donovan and Celio Biering did everything right! They notified the county sherriff, helped our son Michael hike out in the dark, and stayed with Curt until the helicopter arrived. These supermen saved Curt's life, and there's no way we can ever say enough thank-you's. Curt was really glad to see these guys! I print out the messages everyone sends and read them to Curt. He loves his mail, and it really helps keep him going through these tough times. Thanks to everyone for your support! -- Karen Haire

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 10:12 AM, PDT. Hooray - the folks here at Harborview are talking about the "D" word - DISCHARGE! Hopefully, Curt will be heading back to the east side of the Cascades tomorrow. He's really looking forward to the change.
Karen 

Sunday, June 28, 2009 7:08 AM, PDT. Curt continues to improve daily, amazing all of us. He's settled in at Colonial Vista in Wenatchee, in room 108. Their phone number is 509-663-1171. The staff there is incredible, the food wonderful, and Curt's looking forward to using the gym and the pool soon. Tom Ettinger stopped by last evening to look at Curt's ankle. He was concerned enough to remove the bandages holding the "Jones Splint" together, but proclaimed everything to be healing nicely. Thanks, Tom! We have a request - if anyone is able to hike up to Colchuck Lake and bring back Curt's tent and sleeping bag, it would be much appreciated. Please call me (Karen) at 548-4566 if this is something you might be able to do. I'm not sure anything is still up there at this point, but I'm remaining hopeful.  -- Karen

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** Read this article to better understand why climbers climb and whether the risks justify the reward.