Expedition Alaska
Update on Columbia Vidaraid
Pyro / 30.06.2015
Columbia Vidaraid are now back at Alyeska, with Marco having been helicoptered out to a medical centre in Anchorage and the remaining members of the team trekking down off the glacier. Marco is now back with the group having been checked over and given a clean bill of health.
I caught up with Tessa Roorda at the Alyeska resort hotel and chatted about their experience up on the ice.
“We were crossing the glacier, and had reached a big crevasse, pretty much the last one of the section. We were following close and walking in the footsteps of the team in front of us and of Mike (Kloser, who was up on the glacier as part of the safety team). We looked at the crevasse and it was big, but there were footprints so we thought it was okay. Urtzi crossed first and he didn't step on the ice bridge, he just jumped. Marco was second and he jumped too, but as he landed he lost his balance a little bit, with the backpack. He stepped backwards and stepped onto the bridge, froze for a second and then just dropped. I was third and just saw him freeze and was like “s**t!”. “
The team managed to arrest the fall and hold Marco in the crevasse, but the ice was too hard for them to get pickets in properly to affect a rescue. Fortunately, Mike and another member of the safety team were close by and came back to help out, hauling Marco out of the hole.
Marco had hurt his shoulder earlier, the team has jostled with Tecnu at one point early on the stage and he had lost his balance on an ice patch and fallen, injuring the shoulder as he landed. After a check, Marco was in pain but happy to continue, unfortunately the impact of the crevasse fall or some movement in it fully dislocated the weakened joint. After the extraction and helicopter evacuation, the medical facility relocated his shoulder and checked him over for any other problems related to the cold and wet conditions.
After hot showers and a change of clothes at Alyeska the team are settled again. The team will be spending the night here but are looking forward to getting out complete some more stages of the race as a non-competitive trio.
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