Man With Broken Leg Rescued From Mauna Kea Summit

[SBH]

It wasn’t just a broken leg, the rescue cost an arm and a leg.

[alaskyn66]

quote:

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Originally posted by randomq

Who was this guy? Tourist, practitioner, local, staff?

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68 year old man from Arizona, I would guess tourist.

[TomK]

Latest from KHON2:

https://www.khon2.com/news/local-news/hi...2072986642

"All he had on was some shoes, pair of shorts and a windbreaker jacket. So because of how cold it was he was really grateful when we got there. He was shivering...he wasn't really prepared for it for sure."

Incidentally, they're still sticking with the stopping every 10 feet claim, which I still find a little dubious, but if that is really true, then supplemental O2 really is needed by rescuers.

[terracore]

Maybe he was an extraordinarily large man? Even at sea level a huge amount of weight is exhausting to carry.

[TomK]

Let's say he had to be taken on a stretcher for a mile. Stopping every 10 feet, well, let's say that takes 20 seconds each time and that's generous. One mile at 20 seconds per 10 feet would mean that it would have taken about a week to take the casualty to safety.

[KeaauRich]

I don't claim to be a math whiz, but if there are 5280 feet in a mile, that means there were 528 10 foot segments. If we use Tom's 20 seconds per segment allotment, doesn't that mean the one mile trip took 528 x 20= 10,560 seconds? There are 3,600 seconds in an hour, so the trip would have taken 2.9 hours (10,560/3600=2.9), which is pretty much in line with the published reports. It may have seemed like a week to those doing the lifting however...

[randomq]

Does that 20 seconds include rest time?

I think lifting and lowering 100 lbs 528 times would be the worst part! They need a stretcher with mountain bike tires or something.

[randomq]

Or a rover with the ability to navigate steep rocky terrain. Sounds like another research funding opportunity for our island!