Climber fell 50 feet
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August 20, 1980 |
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By Kevin Walker
It was shortly after the lunch hour when I received a call from RMRU member Bernie McIlvoy. Bernie informed me that team coordinator Al Andrews was out of town on business, and of course he was not calling just to tell me that. His message was short. A climber had fallen about 50 feet to the base of Tahquitz Rock and was seriously injured. With that I told Bernie I would get the No. 1 van and get up there as quickly as possible.
Luckily
traffic was in my favor, and within 45 minutes I
arrived at Humber Park. Base Camp Operator Mary
Bowman, who is a resident of Idyllwild, was
already on the scene gathering information. Also
there was Deputy Glen "Mac" MacWilliams
from the Sheriff's Department and Jerry Stuart
from the Idyllwild Fire Department. Mary told me
that the IFD had been called in also, and that
one of their paramedics had hiked in to give aid.
I then asked Jerry what gear had been carried in.
The paramedic along with some of the climbers had
gone in with first aid equipment and a Stokes
litter. just as I was departing base camp the IFD
paramedic radioed down that they had the patient
in the litter and had started down. He also said
that they would not need any further assistance.
Mac and I took one look at each other, nothing
was said and with that I started hiking. For
about ten minutes I hiked along Lily Creek making
my way up stream. I then turned toward the South
and started working towards the rock. Within
another five minutes I made voice contact with
the group, and soon after, was with the F arty. 
I could see that the group was
having a rough time in making their way own
through the large boulders and Brush below
Tahquitz Rock. I persuaded the group to wait
until more help arrived. We were soon joined by
Hal Fulkman, and not long after that Jim
Fairchild and Carol Cook arrived with the
"wheel." Once the wheel was placed
under the Stokes, we were able to move much
quicker around and over the obstacles, and with
considerably less discomfort for the unfortunate
climber. And then with the added help of RMRU
member Joe Erickson (with new orange shirt) we
made our way back to Humber, and the waiting
ambulance.
Later that evening, Hal and I went into the Hemet Valley Hospital Emergency Room to check on our injured friend. He did not have any fractures, but had suffered a concussion, and had multiple abrasions about the head, arms and legs.