Survival In The North Cascades>> After Wife Dies From Fall, Husband Nearly Drowns Going For Help

The Seattle Times is reporting a harrowing and sad week for one climber in the Northern Cascades.  Bob Terczak and his wife began a climbing trip on Monday. After a week long ordeal, the wife would be found dead and her husband would explain a tale of ultimate survival–one where he nearly died, then was saved by a chance encounter with two strangers and a Seattle police officer.

This story begins Monday night when Terczak and his wife began a climb in the Northern Cascades.  The two had made their way up a semi-steep route, over the Klawatti glacier, and was beginning to traverse a series of steep rocks.  The weather soon turned bad and the pair decided to try to find a place to pitch their tent.  After deciding that the forward progress was getting to dangerous, they decided to descend.  Upon descent, Terczak’s wife, Cathy, slipped on the terrain and fell 35 feet to the bottom of a small outcropping, severely injuring her in the process.

Over the next 24 hours, Bob Terczak would stay with his wife, pitch a tent over her, put her into a couple of sleeping bags to keep her warm, and in the end, administer CPR to his dying wife.  She never came around.  Bob did have a cell phone with him, but the area offered no cell coverage.  Bob would have to try to reach safety and the authorities alone.  He left a small note on his wife’s body and began the search.

From the Seattle Times:

It took him 10 to 12 hours to travel roughly five miles over glaciers and rugged terrain before he reached the north bank of the Cascade River near Eldorado Creek. As he attempted to walk across a logjam, he fell into the water and became pinned beneath a log. He struggled to free himself of his pack and pull himself out.

“The current was so powerful, the river ripped his pants down to his ankles,” Brown said. Though his knee had been badly twisted, Terczak walked about a quarter-mile more and found the outhouse, where he took off his soaked climbing gear and tried to dry off with toilet paper. Not long after, he spotted Smith’s headlights and called for help.

When Brown, Terczak, Smith and Mayo arrived at the ranger station about 11:30 p.m. Monday, there was no one around. Brown found an emergency phone and called 911. Volunteer firefighters and medics quickly arrived. One of them told the men that a few hours earlier, another group of climbers had called from a satellite phone to report that they had found the tent and Terczak’s note.

This is definitely a harrowing ordeal.  Bob lost his wife, nearly died in trying to find help, and would be lucky enough for a chance encounter with two climbers and a Seattle Police Officer, who happened to be climbing in the area.

These stories of big survival are not that uncommon.  Luckily, in this situation, Bob decided to move on and eventually found some help.  This could have very easily been a situation where both individuals were lost, but luckily there was one survivor.

Let’s keep Bob Terczak in our thoughts and prayers as he tries to come to terms with these tragic events.  I also think that a shout-out needs to be made to the individuals who were instrumental in Bob’s safe rescue.  Sometimes you can never underestimate the powers of complete strangers, or of being in the right place at the right time.  Individuals involved include Officer Rob Brown of the Seattle Police Department, Dale Smith and Justin Mayo, who originally came across Bob Terczak, and the combined efforts of the National Park Service search and rescue team.  All of them deserve a big some much needed credit, even though I am sure they will say “anyone would have done it”.

Go check out the incredible article on this ordeal over at The Seattle Times, where they have put together an excellent piece covering these tragic events with many more details.