UKC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/6329317.stm


anybody know this guy? never heard anything like it before!!

In reply to Paul Bowen:

that's mad! the poor sod will never live it down. if he'd had a penknife he could have chopped the lower half of his body off, a la Aron Ralston, and dragged himself off on his arms to get help.

er...

In reply to CJD:

yes, i think pints of piss will be taken>
they say hydraulic equipment was used, this could mean new route potential?

In reply to Paul Bowen: Bizarre! I'll try and find out if it's anyone I know....

In reply to Paul Bowen: pmsl!!

In reply to Paul Bowen:

Finally bouldering is an extreme sport! Can't wait for the book.

In reply to Paul Bowen: What was the boulderers pie intake?

In reply to Paul Bowen:

I have some sympathy, as something similar seemed perilously close to happening to me on Crypt Route..

In reply to nastyned: you think he maybe related to John Dunne?

In reply to Paul Bowen:

Yeah, this happened to an American guy in a canyon somewhere. Had to saw his whole arse off with a Swiss Army knife to get out I heard.

In reply to Touching Centauri:

If he is, take the piss...royally.

In reply to Steve Parker:

Oh Steve Steve Steve...it was his ARM! Not his ARSE! ;¬p

In reply to Mike Hartley:

No, this was definitely an arse-sawing thing, Mikey. I read about it in a book. And you know how big those American arses are - it took him nearly a week to saw through it.

In reply to Mike Hartley: you bastard, you got me bouldering and now look at the dangers i face

In reply to Steve Parker:

sounds almost worth a troll on an american climbiing forum.

who was the climber who had to saw off half their arse?

In reply to lost1977:
lol

In reply to Steve Parker:

Well you know these americans, what was it Peter Kay said...they make him look anorexic.

In reply to Jamie B.:


Remember it well. I thought I might have to head down to the Clachaig for a car-jack, crowbar and a barrel of grease.

My main worry was that the Pterodactyls nesting in Crypt Route would have nibbled you to death before we got back.

In reply to Paul Bowen:
Had a look this morning; no new route potential!

Effectively a very large chunk has been ripped off the top of the boulder where most folks descend.

In reply to Paul Bowen:

Proper report here: http://www.northwalesbouldering.com/newsitem.asp?nsid=231

In reply to duncan: Bloody vandals.

In reply to Al Evans: They should have left an 'in situ' student?

In reply to Richard Bradley:

I think they should have fed him a liquid diet until he slid out naturally.

In reply to Paul Bowen:

Nice to see bouldering called a "pastime"

In reply to Alison Stockwell:

Isn't that the normal student diet anyway?

In reply to Masood:

I'm guessing the reason for him trying to do the squeeze in the first place had something to do with bets & beer !

In reply to Paul Bowen: TAXI for a serious fanny!

He deserves no less for spending his days ponsing about on a 4 foot boulder...

In reply to Richard Bradley:


No, clearly not. They shoul have done the decent thing and used insects or acid to get him out.

MTM

In reply to MingTheMerciless:
Given the length of time we were sat waiting to get past I think they tried quite a few alternatives with the poor beggar.

In reply to MingTheMerciless:

Ooo that's an evil thought for a Monady morning...

In reply to Paul Bowen:

The very real perils of a sit-down start!

In reply to Touching Centauri:

Ah ha! I've found out who it is, and it's someone I do vaguely know. Lol, that brightened up my day

In reply to Touching Centauri:
I have also found out - tis mighty amusing considering that he isn't the chunkiest persona round.....

In reply to Ferrito:

Mark Reeves kindly sent us a photo of the crack.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:

looks like a fair bit of damage done, hope he was worth it...

In reply to Paul Bowen: I have never seen a midwife to use any hydraulic equipment to get a little sod out of a crack. After they tried the episiotomy maybe a ventouse could do the trick. Did anybody slap the poor sods bum to get his breathing qoing?

In reply to Paul Bowen:

MMM, heard of John Dunne, not you, despite the pies.

In reply to Paul Bowen:

Hmmm, am rather glad my chap (Alastair - I'm moonlighting as him) is safe over here in Oz, and that we thankfully haven't seen any squeezes this neck of the world as yet.

Al has done already this subterranean route, and he thought it Easy... obviously not. For those wanting more squeezes, there's one that nearly caught Al tight - the squeeze through Dover's Wall at Stanage. Those who were there were actually envisioning something similar to this (including industrial jacks, waiting until he lost weight, a bucket of lard to lubricate)! It actually took a gynaecological shove to get him free, involving ripping his t-shirt off, which seemed to give him the space to wriggle free.

Clare

In reply to Paul Bowen: how wide is this squeeze, also does anyone have any pics of it being used.

i heard once big JD nearly got caught trying to sqeeze through the gap between Burbage North & South... what a mentalist




oli

In reply to hatchetman:
don't know, have you looked at the picture, or try simon pantons website i'm sure he'd know,
i,ve parked opposite the cromlech boulders but never climbed on them!

In reply to Paul Bowen: The BUMS cover themselves in glory once again...YAWN

In reply to Paul Bowen:
so is anyone going to name and shame?

In reply to Al Evans: Bloody vandals, cheers mate!! As one of the first responders to the incident and as one of the rescuers that had to help this lad through this ordeal I can only assume that your abusive response is based upon the ill informed comments and articles listed above. As a keen boulderer myself, let me tell you that the decision to remove the large capping block from the top of the road side boulder was the absolute last resort to extract the individual from his position. Many attempts were tried over a 4 hour period to free the casualty from his predicament before the removal of the block was taken. Let me fill you in with a couple of the FACTS so that you may decide whether or not to retract your offensive statement.

1: Once the decision was made to remove the block, the best estimate the fire brigade could give us was 50/50 as to whether or not the casualty was going to survive. The block was extremely unstable and could quite easily have slipped into the crack and crushed the lad, thats how serious it became.

2: Other ill informed reports mentioned that removing the block didn't assist in the extraction of the casualty. This again is complete rubbish. The removal of the block allowed for a 60 tonne hydraulic jack to be positioned and extended. This gave us about an inch of movement to free the lad, in considerable pain. He subsequently spent a couple of days recovering in hospital.

I hope that now that you have some of the facts from the incident that you have the decency to retract your abbusive remark. Yes it is a shame that the rock had to be removed but when things get serious and lives are at risk then drastic measures have to be taken. All of us as members of the rescue team are mountaineers, climbers, boulderers etc and no doubt enjoy the hills as much as yourself. We are all volunteers that give up our time to assist those that find themselves in unfortunate situations and definitely NOT BLOODY VANDALS. The bottom line is that this unfortunate lad is alive and recovering from his injuries, and whats more he certainly held himself together better than I could have done when things turned really serious! I wish him a speedy recovery.

In reply to Brian Wills: I was playing football on Saturday in LLanber and one of the local fireman is centre half, we assumed there had been a massive crash in the pass with all the tooing and frowing.

Poor lad, lcukily it ended well.

Well done in getting him out. Sounds awful, no chance I'm going weaseling again.

It sounds like the poor guy went through quite an ordeal, you should all just give him a break. Who cares that they had to take a piece off the top of the boulder? If one of your friends had been stuck, I'm sure you'd value their life more than a lump of rock ... at least, I hope you would

In reply to Brian Wills: "> 2: Other ill informed reports mentioned that removing the block didn't assist in the extraction of the casualty."

Brian, I take it that is directed at me. I based that part of my report, originally posted on NWB.com, on a conversation I had with Pete Bursnall who had discussed the rescue with a member of the Llanberis MRT. Perhaps I misunderstood him or misheard him, but I came away with the impression that the capping stone was removed in the hope that the trapped man could be extricated, not specifically in order to place the hydraulic machinery.

If what I have reported is factually incorrect then I apologise, and will amend the news item accordingly.

As for the decisions you made, I have no criticisms. Someone's life was at risk, and you did what you had to do, simple as that.

In reply to Brian Wills:

Brian.

I have read the comments. I don't think there's very much negative feeling towards the LMRT, the Fire Service, or any of the other services involved in the rescue.

I personally am grateful or your input. I was quite interested by the reasoning behind removing the capping stone, and it sounds to me like it was the only feasible option given the circumstances (it was night-fall and the lad was hypothermic anyway).

Like I say though. It sounds from my (neutral) perspective like it's just a lot of people making light of a serious situation, because that's what we do. I know you will do it yourself. I know a lot of members of the OVMRO and LMRT and there's a lot of dark humour, because of the terrible things which you guys encounter. It's a pretty stressful thing to do.

The people on this forum are merely commenting on the lad himself, who caused this whole ruckus. I didn't get the impression that anything meaningful was directed towards the rescuers. It just sounds like everyone wants the lad to get his come-uppance, in terms of the amount of piss-taking he will recieve. He's never going to be able to show his face at the beacon again, but by all accounts he's a bit odd at the best of times.

Drew

P.S. I'd also like to clear up the rumours which may or may not be circulating saying that it was me. I may eat a lot of cake, but I'm nowhere near as fat as some people would suggest, and anyway... I've never even tried the squeeze, let alone been unsuccesful on it!

In reply to withey:


Can I also just clear up that it was not in fact me that suggested that it was you Drew (Well maybe it was, but why let the truth get in the way of a good wind up.

Ps Saw him in Tescos tonight with an 'Atkins' inspired trolley full, the rumours must be hurting.

In reply to Brian Wills:
Good on you, and thanks for posting more details. Hope the lad recovers OK.

In reply to Paul Bowen: You see, should've top-roped it.

In reply to Simon Panton: Simon. Just to put the record straight. My comments were not aimed directly at you but were directed towards some of responses that I read that were reflecting badly on our actions that day. Yes I will admitt that after I read your article I did feel as though it made our decision to remove the block was incorrect and perhaps fuelled some of the responses, but as usual most articles can be interpreted in a different perspective depending on which side of the fence you sit!

As far as the decision and thought process behind the removal of the block, not to 'flog a dead horse to death', some of the personnel at the scene thought it would allow for his immediate extraction, me included, but it was always intended to allow direct access to the casualty for his removal in what ever manner proved appropriate. In this case the hydraulic jack. He really wasn't coming out in any other way!!!

I really didn't mean for my comments to be directed soley at you and I also apologise for what has obviously upset you. Perhaps I should learn to rise above petty, abusive comments left on chat forums, but after putting so much effort into trying to release this poor lad that day and in the process not wanting to destroy one of my favourite bouldering venues I'm affraid I just couldn't ignore it.

In reply to Paul Bowen: yeah i did look at those pics, but couldnt quite see the actual size/route through, only asking as im a bit of a squeeze fan myself.

In reply to Paul Bowen:

Not quite the same, but one of my mates got himself trapped by his hips in the wagon wheel in the Hill Innm, which was a favourite bar trick - squeezing through the spokes.

After leaving him there for 20 minutes so the whole pub could bask in his pain and 80 people could watch his dignity shamble out the door, looking for all intents and purposes like Steve Maclaren, we decided to act.

The rescue comprised pulling his trousers off, and for good measure we ripped his shreddies off too, then an unlucky individual had to copiously lube up his now numb hips with the landlady's best washing up liquid.

2 minutes of push me pull you with the biggest lads we could find ended with a satisyfing crack, a howl of pain and a now free Geography student.

Dispelling any notion of experiential learning, the rest of the gang resumed the squeeze through until the wee hours.

In reply to Paul Bowen: perhaps he forgot to remove his shirt and oil up like the boulderers down my local wall ? and as for mild hypothermia, must have forgotten his beanie hat !!!

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com: he should be hunted down and strung up fro making them do that to the roadside boluders.

In reply to sasmojo: true, he could have just waited a few days, lost a few pounds and then got out ..

In reply to Nevis-the-cat:

A LONG time ago - well oiled with beer I too attemptd the same feat... to get through the top spoke of the Wheel.... I can say that I made it BUT my hips were in agony for a good few days....

I did make sure however that my two wee brothers also went through (they were only 5 or 6 at the time) just so that they could say DONE it!! when they are older and so not have to go through the same pain whilst under the influence.

Matt

In reply to withey:

Oi! Katey stop pushing! Okay okay!!!

Gareth... if you took my comments as being spiteful they weren't. They were meant in jest.

Of course you will be able to show your face at the Beacon. We're not that cliquey!

I trust you've recovered well, and I hope that you don't take any comments too seriously (unlike Katey!!!)

Sorry also to Katey. I'm sorry you took my comments badly.

In reply to Nevis-the-cat:

I'd like to be the first person to snigger at this unfortunate choice of phrase