Human Testing - What happened to Bobby???

I got a haircut. If you want to find out why, stay tuned. So why? We're in the Slack Snap Lab and we're going to talk about some human testing that Bobby did for science. Bobby is so dedicated to finding out more knowledge for you guys that he did some of his own testing. All right, enough silly stuff. This will be more podcast-y. What's up, bud? Nice haircut. Thanks, man. So I took a little tumble. I was walking on some third-class terrain. It was a 312. It was a hard third class. It was wet. And I suddenly found myself not walking and falling, sliding, tumbling down the cliff face. I ended up tumbling over 100 feet. Most of the impacts were on my feet, but I also hit my head. Thankfully, I was wearing a helmet. Were you though? Were you properly wearing your helmet, Bobby? So a point that I'll probably come back to later is it's important to have a helmet that fits. Because of my hair and my big head, I always have struggle finding a helmet that fits. So my helmet was not clipped. So it stayed on enough to take a pretty big impact on my head. I believe the helmet actually caused a couple cuts up here. Better than the alternative. Oh my god. He was aware enough to one, call for help, and two, take a selfie. And we cannot put that selfie here on YouTube, but we'll put a link in the description below where you can lose your lunch. He sent this photo to me and I was like, it looked like a Halloween photo, honestly. I thought you were trying to be funny or it's like one of those apps that adds bunny ears or whatever. I'm like, oh look, he's a zombie. And I was like, I don't know. Bobby doesn't usually send me pictures like that. So what were you, where were you, and what were you trying to do? So we're at a new area that we're developing in the Tahoe area. And I was trying to get to the top of the cliff to drop a rope down so we could check out the lines up close and then start putting in a new route. What we ended up doing is we crossed the gully at the bottom, hiked up on the other side, which is much easier terrain. Still pretty steep, but there's vegetation there. And then we crossed the gully at the top and that's when I slipped and slid, tumbled the whole way down the gully. So you bounced 100 feet? Yeah. Yeah. So I remember some pretty hard impacts on my feet. The big one that I remember is when I hit my head. And so you broke a little bit of everything. Yeah. So all of my limbs were damaged. This finger was dislocated. You can see that it's no longer straight. This thumb was... Trying to figure out why it's such a nubbing there. Oh, there's pins there. Oh, you have your pins sticking. How many pins in your hand? Three. And they stick out? Yeah, they stick out. Something that I'm not sure I'm willing to admit on camera is when I was on the phone with the EMTs, paramedics were coming. Helicopter was circling. I was doing a full body assessment and I moved my thumb and there were bones grinding. So I stopped moving my thumb. And there's like, you can see here, there's three pins, external fixator, I believe it's called, that go into my hand that are holding everything in place. And I got a little woozy and they were wheeling me around the hospital. And I think I passed out for like a couple seconds. That's such a bummer. It wasn't like a cool climb you fell off of. Yeah. So I'm in that terrain constantly. I'm very comfortable in that terrain. It wasn't something that was out of the ordinary for me. And it's something that I know is dangerous, but... Was it even that dangerous? It seemed like an area that I wouldn't think twice to go hiking in or walking up. Yeah. I mean, us as rock climbers and highliners, like we're very used to the edge. Like a lot of people would be pretty nervous about the edge with good reason, obviously. It's a zone that I had crossed three or four times already and something that I've... Terrain that I'm constantly in. So from the photos, was it pretty steep? Was it like fourth class and you fell on third class and bounced down that? So it, at the top was probably third class. And then the bottom was fourth or easy fifth class. It wasn't vertical, but it was pretty close to vertical. Do you remember what made you slip? I don't. It wasn't like you stepped on moss or a rock? It easily could have been that. The rock was damp. It had rained a couple of days before and it was something I was like, okay, this is a little sketchy, but like, be careful, place your feet well. But you also had a skewer with you. Yeah. So I, like I said, I was going to the top of the cliff to set up a route. So I had my drill clipped to my hip and it went all the way down. We tried to do some destructive testing with, I tried to do some destructive testing with that drill. It still works. It could have could have skewered him. It didn't. I got very lucky in a number of ways. So you're, sorry, so back to the helmet is your helmet came off after the first impact. Yeah. So I had a couple impacts. Like I was trying to stop myself, like all my nails were ripped off. And I think I hit a couple of times on my feet pretty hard. And then I flipped like a catapult with me and flipped upside down, hit on my head and the helmet. And then I think I hit on my feet at least once before I came to a stop. Did you come to a stop because you were starfishing and catcalling or did you actually just get to the bottom of the gully? I think I was able to stop myself. There was enough contact on the rock because when I came to a stop, I was still sliding a little bit and I realized like, hey, this is not a good spot for me because I might keep sliding and get more injured. And if rescuers come, like this is not a good spot for them. So when my friend Adam came down from the top, he, he was calling 911 and he, he supported me as I like harness that adrenaline. Like, oh, like I'd seen my ankle, like, oh, this is going to be bad. I need to move before this adrenaline wears off and it starts hurting. So I scrambled 25, 30 feet up to a nice flat ledge where I could. Scrambled up. Scrambled up where I could not continue to roll down the hill. How long does adrenaline, uh, help you out? I don't know. Like it, it started hurting after. By the time you got up there, you were like out of adrenaline. Um, yeah, after a while, like it started hurting. Okay. So your friend Adam's there. Yeah. He's calling 911. He helps you get up there. Yeah. Like he's, he's supporting me. He's on the phone with how did he handle the shock, the on the blood of what's going on. So kudos to Adam. He was very calm through the whole thing. I couldn't deal with like this and dealing with trying to calm somebody down. So like, and he, he was very calm on the phone. He, he texted the coordinates to the EMS and they were able to, they texted those coordinates to the helicopter crew that came out and they were able to come right to us. How long was it from his text to the time that either the helicopter or the people on the ground got to you? Um, so the helicopter came first. I actually was talking to the helicopter pilot the other day. Um, very nice guy by the name of Dan Lewis. They were in Truckee doing like a show and tell or an exchange with, um, a Navy Blackhawk, um, helicopter. And they got the call, they refueled and headed over and it took less than 20 minutes, which by the car, that's about three hours, two and a half hours. So, um, I was very surprised how quickly they showed up by that time I had gotten cold and I had put an emergency blanket on. So like I was a big reflective object. They, they kind of came over, I was waving at them and they, they pinpointed me, flew around. So once they figured out where I was, relayed that information to the ground people, like the ambulance is on the way. I'm also on the phone talking in the ambulance. I believe they went and landed, but I'm not sure, but they weren't circling the whole time after about, uh, probably 45 minutes up there. It could have been an hour. The paramedics, coming from Pollock Pines were able to reach me. So they drove there. Yeah. So Adam went down and met them. So Adam went down and met them. He brought them up. They didn't get out of the helicopter. They drove there. Yeah. So the paramedics, um, Marty and Mario, if I remember correctly, um, I think Marty's a rock climber, so he might see this. Thanks man. Um, so they started stabilizing me, doing a head to toe check, checking sensations, um, making sure like I didn't have a, a, a major brain injury because I had, like I had a mechanism, a mechanism of injury that would indicate that I, I could easily have had a head injury or a spine injury. Um, so they ended up slapping on a C collar to stabilize my spine. And they put you on a, not a gurney. No. Um, so at that point they had a backboard on site, um, which is what carries you down the mountain. Yeah. So basically you lay on it and everybody has to carry you down. And I didn't really want to make them carry my, my big body down the mountain. Um, and yeah, you just wanted a helicopter. That too. So they said would be best if the CHP helicopter pulled you out. Um, it's free. It's not going to cost you anything. And I'm like, cool. That sounds like fun. The helicopter lowered down a kit, which is, uh, basically a seat sling. It went underneath me and around my back. And then it clipped in on three points and they clipped it in with a, um, big steel locking carabiner. They didn't have to keep you flat in case you had a spine Their checks did not indicate that I had a spine injury. And, um, my little wilderness medical training, I believe they're being a lot less paranoid about spine injuries just with like normal movement, like not like extreme jostling or whatever. It's a lot less likely to damage the spine and stuff than they initially believed. Okay. So you get long lined up. Was it scary being a climber and you know, ropes and gear and how strong things are clearly, um, getting winched up by a bird? No, like that was cool. Like I was thankfully with it enough to like, enjoy it. One thing that really got my attention and I was focusing on more than the experience looking around and like, Oh, these are cool. Cliffs was the carabiner was cross-loaded and like, I mean, is it steel or aluminum? It was a steel. It was a big locking steel carabiner. We probably have an identical one on the wall here. Should we do a break test? Uh, maybe we are on SlackSand up here. Um, and I'm like, yeah, it's cross-loaded. I know it's not going to break. If it gets any more load, it's probably just going to orient correctly, but it still held my attention. And then when I got up right next to the chopper, officer Helm is pulling me into the chopper and then it orients correctly. And like when I'm right next to the chopper. Wow. About the same time I'm in Moab while he's falling. And, uh, I also got to play on a chopper, but for fun and those things are scary. I mean, those blades are just right above your head. It's I couldn't imagine trying to get in one halfway up the sky injured. Okay. So you get in the helicopter, they fly you to like a nearby hospital or near where you live? No. So the helicopter pulled me out. The paramedics, they must've run down the trail and then came down the mountain and then met me at, at a flat spot. And then they transferred me into the, the. Did they even put you in the helicopter? Yeah. So they, they pulled me up. They pulled me in and then they moved and then they landed at a flat spot and the paramedics were there already. If I remember correctly, I was very impressed how quickly they got there. Wow. So then you have a bumpy car ride. Uh, yep. So ambulance ride to, um, the nearest hospital and they started doing tests. Um, they did a, a cat scan and x-rays all over started identifying problems. They, in the cat scan, they picked up what they thought was a, um, lead in the brain inside the skull. And so they were concerned enough that they transferred me to, uh, UC Davis where they have a neurologist on staff. Okay. That's interesting. So let's not leave that point. Was your brain okay? It was fine. So I, I believe what they were picking up is all of the, the blood that was outside of the skull because it cut you here. Yeah. Blood run down your, yeah. So they made this big deal about transferring me down to see the neurologist and the neurologist came by like 30 seconds, did like a super basic CSM test. Like, can you feel me follow the light with your eyes, push against my feet and then left. And that's all that I saw the neurologist. If, if everything's working. Yeah. Cause if brain gets in your blood, brain gets in your, if your blood gets in your brain, then those things would stop working. So, I mean, the concern there is if you have, I believe it's a subdermal hematoma, but that could be totally something else. But anyway, if it's bleeding inside your skull, that's not necessarily going to show up immediately. That could be something that shows up like hours and hours later. And then in the wilderness medical training, like they teach you to like, watch out for that. Like, because it often happens overnight. Like I had a tooth pulled like a month or so ago. And it's like, my jaw still hurts just like this kind of pain. I just couldn't imagine falling down a mountain how much that hurts. Well, after the fact, not in the moment, just like that lingering pain. Honestly, I've been super lucky, very little pain. Like, of course there was pain like the couple of days and like a little bit after the surgery, but there was one point where something knocked my foot at the cliff. And that, that was definitely a 10, like, like swearing, convulsing, like everything else was a lot lower than that. I was really trying to like manage the pain myself. And so like, I was focusing on everybody else. Like, so I was making friends with the nurses and the x-ray techs. And I was trying to think about anything besides like bones grinding in my hand and how swollen my ankle was and how everything feels bruised. All right. So you said you have wilderness first responder training. And so what did you learn in that course? So wilderness first responder training is what they recommend for everybody that is going to be more than a couple hours away from getting to the hospital, your backcountry guides, your climbers, your mountaineers, et cetera, et cetera. They teach you a lot of skills that you will need if you have an injury and you can't get to the Just kind of knowing what to look for, like what is a really serious injury and what is like not what's not life threatening. Do you think that helped you not panic or you just didn't panic because you're just a naturally chill guy or both? I think some of both. But like having that experience, knowing that was able to make me feel a little bit more in control and way calmer. Like I know what the paramedics are going to be looking for while I was on the phone with the dispatcher waiting for everybody to arrive. Like I did a head to toe and started identifying like injuries. And that's when I found the bones grinding in this thumb. How long are you stuck with blue and green? This probably another three weeks and the cast on my foot. Hopefully I get off in a couple of days and hopefully I'll be in a boot, which I'm really looking forward to putting some weight on that foot again. Now with this, they take the pins out, right? And so you got other healing that'll have to happen. Yeah. Are you going to have to have the cast put back on so you don't move it again? I don't think so. I'm not sure though. You're just not going to go boxing. Yeah. I'm sure I'll be doing some physical therapy for both my foot and my thumb. So those are the biggest injuries right now. Everything else is scrapes and scratches. Uh, yeah. So I like this got reduced in the hospital and I have most of my range of movement. Um, hopefully you're not going to do anything though. Nope. So that's just a time thing. Yeah. And then my left ankle was like strained. It was hard to put weight on it for a couple of weeks and that's healing up nicely. Now that I want to go get a first responder. Of I got a Garmin, those, uh, satellite SOS things. I have yet to turn it on. I not turn it on. I like subscribe and make sure it's active. Definitely going to do that. I think today. Um, but do you think wilderness first response is the right class to take if you wanted to be prepared? So there's a couple levels of education. So what I had had for years as a climbing guide that was just, I was fairly close to the hospital, not taking clients out too far was my wilderness first aid. And that's a two day course. They go real in depth on a bunch of stuff. Whereas your wilderness first responder, it's much more intensive, quite a bit more expensive, but fairly reasonable. I think my course was six or $700. How long is it a week? Depends on who you get it from. Um, the two main providers, I got it from, uh, wilderness medical associates, which I loved my instructor. Um, the, I thought the curriculum was great. And the other one is Knowles, which has an amazing reputation as well. I have friends that teach for them. So that course usually something like 80 hours. So it depends on how they structure it. It could be 10 days. Um, the course I ended up taking because I had like that wilderness, lots of experience with the wilderness first aid, um, was five days. And I took 40 hours of classwork before online, before I showed up. I imagine we're going to release this video soon. And I have like 20 episodes in the bank because I'm making more content than I can release them. Uh, so you might see Bobby standing in some future episodes and then sitting in other future episodes. So, uh, sorry for the lack of continuity. So sorry. Not really. So do you feel like you made a mistake or there was something that you could have done to prevent this? No, I really don't. So like whenever you buy a climbing book or climbing gear, there's a little clause climbing is inherently dangerous. Yeah. I skip past that usually. Um, and I feel like that's what got me this time. The inherent part? Yeah. Like I spend a ton of time in, in this type of terrain. I do feel like it's a good reminder that when you're close to a cliff edge, like be real careful, clip in if you can. Let us know if you like these videos where we have personal accident reports. We did another video where somebody put the rope in their mouth and they didn't scream when they fell. Uh, it's kind of a reality check on the nature of what we're doing here. Uh, most of the things we test are super good enough, but at the end of the day, uh, there's still risk and it's kind of nice to have a reality check. We don't want to hyper focus on the anomalies and make it feel like it's, that's all that happens out there is people get hurt and die, but it's nice every once in a while to get that. Let me know if you think the same thing. And, um, if you know anybody that might want to do, um, a video on the channel here to help unmotivate, help motivate us to stay safer. Yeah. Go to our playlist on YouTube. We have something for everybody. Lots of Highline climbing big wall stuff now. And, uh, Highlining 101 Bolting Bibles on slackline.com. You can get swag, all that stuff on slackline.com shop. Thanks for watching. Please stay safe out there and we'll see you next time. Cheers. Here, use your cask.