Transcript Climbing Hazards - Olympia Mountaineers

Climbing Hazards
Olympia Mountaineers
Basic Climbing Course
2012
Lecturer: Jeff Foster
Objective vs. Subjective Hazards
More Objective
More Subjective
Less Control Over Occurrence
Objective vs. Subjective Hazards
Attitude
Assume there will always be hazards
Cavalier vs. fearful
Experience
Planning
Encountering hazards on the climb
Learn from your and others' mistakes
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Conditioning
If you are out of shape, you put everyone in
your party at risk, at least of disappointment,
if not life and limb
Engage in a pre-season conditioning regime
This is why we require conditioners
Start a climb well-hydrated
More on this later
Let the climb/MOFA leaders know about
health conditions
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Weather
Elevational gradients
Temperature lapse rate
Westside annual mean = 1.4-1.9oF per 1000 ft
elevation
Eastside annual mean = ≈ 1oF greater
If it's 50oF in Olympia, what's the temperature
on top of Mt. Rainier?
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Weather
Elevational gradients
Temperature lapse rate
Effects of humidity
High specific heat of water means that humid air
takes more energy to warm than dry air
↑ humidity = ↓ lapse rate
Effects of clouds
Clouds reflect solar radiation and contain lots of
water vapor→ reduce lapse rate
More common at high elevation
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Weather
Elevational gradients
Temperature lapse rate
Effects of frontal systems
Frontal systems bring cooler,
warmer, more humid, and/or
more dry air than the seasonal
norm
also often bring more cloudiness
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Weather
Inversions
Elevation →
Elevational gradients
Temperature lapse rate
"undercast"
Temperature →
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Weather
Elevational gradients
Precipitation lapse rate
At a given temperature, air can hold a
maximum amount of water vapor before
condensing into liquid water
Air rises → air cools → air can hold less
water vapor → relative humidity increases
→ when RH = 100%, clouds form, then
precipitation begins
Frontal systems bring clouds and rain
that affect the lapse rate
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Weather
Elevational gradients
Windspeed
No simple lapse rate
Rule of thumb: windspeed increases 0.35 mph
for every 100 ft in elevation
So windspeed of 10 mph in Olympia
→ 60 mph at top of Mt. Rainier
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Weather
Elevational gradients
Windspeed
Compression of air flowing over ridgetops
increases windspeed (Venturi effect)
maximum
windspeed
calm
air
lenticular clouds
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Cold and Heat Injuries
Hypothermia
Drop in core body temperature below 95oF
First degree
uncontrollable shivering
lethargy, apathy, confusion
lack of motor coordination
rapid heart rate
Second degree
shivering stops
delirium
slowing heart rate
Third degree
coma
ventricular fibrillation
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Cold and Heat Injuries
Hypothermia
Can happen at surprisingly warm temperatures
if you become wet and it is windy
Treatment
get patient out of environment causing hypothermia
into warmer, dry, non-windy location
remove wet clothing
rewarm as rapidly as possible
offer warm liquids if patient conscious
may require healthy person sharing sleeping bag
with patient
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Cold and Heat Injuries
Frostbite
Freezing of exposed tissues
First degree ("frostnip")
superficial, quick recovery
Second degree
blistering but tissue recovers
permanent loss of sensitivity
Third degree
tissue death and loss
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Cold and Heat Injuries
Frostbite
Frostbite and hypothermia often go together!
Treatment
remove patient from source of frostbite
first degree
place injury next to warm body part
second/third degree
keep injury frozen
give plenty of fluids
evacuate to where thawing can be done
properly by medical professionals
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Heat and Cold Injuries
Heat Exhaustion
Cause: profuse sweating coupled w/ inadequate
hydration
Symptoms
nausea, dizziness, thirst, headache
Treatment
get patient into cool, shady location
administer fluids, slowly at first
replace electrolytes
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Sunburn
Caused by UV-A and UV-B rays
Burning of exposed tissues
Mild sunburn
pink or red skin
pain
swelling
Severe sunburn
blistering
headache, fever, fatigue
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Sunburn
Watch-out situations
prolonged exposure to bright sun in absence of
shade (overcast does not constitute shade!)
reflected sunlight off snow or water
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Sunburn
Prevention
Cover up exposed tissues
Use sunscreen
SPF 30 adequate
use lipbalm also
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Sunburn
Snowblindness
Burning of cornea of eyes by UV-B
severe pain
swollen eyelids
headache
temporary blindness
symptoms take 6-12 hours to develop
Prevention
Wear dark glasses
transmit 5-10% of visible light
block 90-95% of UV-A and UV-B
sideshields if there is reflected light
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Dehydration
Physiological effects
Hard on kidneys
Increased risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke
Increased risk of hypothermia and frostbite
Staying hydrated
Drink one water bottle (32 oz) every 4 hours
Water bottles vs. hydration packs
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Contaminated Water
Sources of contamination
Humans
Animals
Types of contamination
Bacteria Viruses
Parasites
Giardia - very widespread now in backcountry
cysts resist heat, cold, dessication
cysts
trophozoites
Hazards Common to All Climbs
Contaminated Water
Water treatment
Heat
bring to boil over stove
Chemicals
iodine
chlorine
Filters
passive
active
UV light
Steri-pen
Hazards of Snow and Glacier Climbs
Avalanches
Natural triggers
collapsing cornice or serac
rain saturating snowpack
Artificial triggers
skiers, snowmobilers, explosives
Hazards of Snow and Glacier Climbs
Avalanches
Loose snow
freshly-fallen snow on
steep terrain
powder cloud
Slab
look like a block of snow
cut out of a snowslope by
fracture zones
chunky debris in runout zone
Hazards of Snow and Glacier Climbs
Avalanches
anatomy
slope angle for slab avalanches = 30 to 60 degrees
greatest risk at 38 degrees
Hazards of Snow and Glacier Climbs
Cornices
Hazards of Snow and Glacier Climbs
Crevasses
Hazards of Snow and Glacier Climbs
Crevasses
Hazards of Snow and Glacier Climbs
Avoiding crevasses
Travel at right angles to
crevasses, if possible
Probe for hidden crevasses
Do end runs around crevasses
Crossing crevasses
Jump across narrow crevasses
Large crevasses: use snowbridges
Boot-axe belay recommended
Hazards of Snow and Glacier Climbs
Icefall
Hazards of Rock Climbs
Rockfall
Watchout situations
consequences
Avoiding Rock and Ice Fall
minimize
risk of
injury
prevention
avoidance
Avoiding Rock and Ice Fall
minimize
risk of
injury
prevention
avoidance
Hazards of High Elevation
Increased risk of:
Bad weather
Hypothermia
Frostbite
Sunburn
Dehydration
Retreat and evacuation more difficult
Lower partial pressure of oxygen
On top of Mt. Rainier, air pressure 40% less
than at sea level
Hazards of High Elevation
Acute Mountain Sickness
Cause: rapid ascent to higher elevation
50% of folks ascending to 8,000 to 14,000 ft
Symptoms
insomnia
listlessness
appetite loss
nausea & vomiting
lightheadedness or dizziness
Treatment
rest and hydration
if it gets worse, descend
Hazards of High Elevation
Pulmonary edema (HAPE)
Cause: body fluids leak into lungs
Symptoms
can develop rapidly
breathlessness
labored breathing with bubbly noise
Treatment of
HAPE & HACE
Cerebral edema (HACE)
Cause: blood vessels leak fluid into brain
Symptoms
headache
loss of coordination
confusion → hallucination
coma
Descend!