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Mint Hut, Mint Glacier and a Dislocated Shoulder
#43851 08/06/15 12:29 PM
Joined: Sep 2012
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On Saturday morning two friends and I embarked on what was intended as a roughly 25 mile two day hike that included a hike up Gold Mint Mine Trail to the Mint Hut and Mint Glacier, a traverse through the Back Door Gap to the Bomber Glacier and 1950’s era Bomber crash remains, and back down to Archangel Road to complete the loop.

A mile or two into the hike the beauty was already stunning with plenty of wildflowers when we spotted a beautiful several hundred foot waterfall way in the distance which I guessed was running from a river. This ended up being the river running from the Mint Glacier into a lake and then the waterfall. After reaching the Mint Hut after about 10 miles we were able to leave our packs and hike the few miles to the glacier and to the top of the waterfall.

The next morning we began our trek to the bomber but ultimately took a wrong route as we headed up a very steep ridge with loose boulders and required scrambling. I’m guessing about 1,000 feet.

As I climbed a relatively steep hill--sometimes using all fours I moved too quickly. Suddenly I found myself a little ledged out with a tough climbing move---but nothing I had not done before. So I made a good lunge climbing move extending my right arm all the way-----and it dislocated. Immediately, I slid back four to five feet stopping on a tiny ledge with two relatively good foot holds, my arm dislocated but pointed up holding a hand hold and my left hand with a good hold also.

We were headed up a sometimes grassy, sometimes boulders, sometimes loose scree and the three of us were trying not to push boulders down on each other. I had taken a route around a group of rocks while my two friends went to the left. I saw them moments before my predicament that left me out of sight.

I started yelling for help---but they couldn't hear me. So here I was on a ledge with a 20-30 foot drop to a sidehill boulder area and a 4 foot climb to a grassy hill (it is all steeper than it seems) that would be safe. This happened about 9:00 am Sunday morning. A fall from this spot would have been very very bad. The position of my arm and shoulder was manageable at that point from a pain standpoint but any slight movement or weight on it created tremendous pain. So I was stuck.

Stupidly I was using a brand new Osprey Atmos backpack but that meant my whistle attached to my old Gregory pack was left at home. So I yelled. At some point I was able to get my water bottle which was on my right side backpack pouch. It actually took quite a bit of effort to maintain balance and manage the pain of opening the Nalgene to drink. I continued to yell for almost two hours. Later I found out they did have a whistle and used it a lot but I could never hear it. And they couldn’t hear me. The waterfall was way across the valley (probably a few miles) but its roar was audible.

My legs began to quiver a bit. I could go back and shift weight back and forth but the feet were also starting to tingle. My right foot was on a hold about the size of half my foot and my right foot was wedged into a crack. I was left with a decision on whether I try to climb out on my own with one arm. Or jump down. To my left was a grassy area that gave me some hope that I could stop or bounce there before falling another 10 feet to rocks. Up was a good foothold for my left foot, and another good foot hold for my right foot. I thought perhaps with luck I could do a quick one two three dynamo move to get up using my left arm for counterbalance.

I gave myself an 11 am deadline before I would try the move. I didn't want to wait so long that my legs would be shaking uncontrollably.

And right at 11 way down the chute my buddies finally appeared in sight. They had reached the top of the ridge, realized it was the wrong route, looked for me a while, but assumed I realized the same thing and headed back down. They were climbing back up to where I was when I spotted them. I was already becoming hoarse even after drinking my liter of water. It took them about 10 minutes to climb to me and we realized it was even worse than I thought. The grassy area above me was nothing close to flat and they had nothing to anchor onto. So one guy climbed down next to me somehow and helped guide my feet up while the guy above me basically dragged me on my face up the hill. All of this movement was creating unbearable pain in my shoulder but they got me up. It took me quite a while to even drag my body to a safer area 10 feet away.

So then I told the guys this had happened to me before (playing basketball in a gym), and there was no way I could move and hike unless we got the shoulder back in. I tried to guide them through it but it just wasn't working. As stupid as this sounds the best pain management was them literally pulling against me and me pulling against them like tug a rope with my arm. That made the pain manageable but we were trying every kind of rotation back in and it wasn't working. At this point we were probably about 1,000 feet up a very steep hill and 10-12 miles from a car with another 40 minute drive to a hospital. No cell service at all. There were not a lot of options. They had left their backpacks about 500 feet down and I was out of water so couldn't even take the pain meds I had in my pack. Finally frustrated, and tiring my buddies out with pulling my arm, I tried something different. With my arm pointing mostly straight down I bent straight over to pick up the biggest rock I could hold. That made the pain manageable so leaning to my left up the hill I started down. And it was working!

There was a long way to go and a couple very steep sections. The trail was often muddy and sometimes in calf deep water unless you could balance on the side of the trail. I couldn't sit on my butt and slide because I always had to lean left to make sure I never rolled toward my right arm. My buddies were taking turns carrying my 30 pound pack. Any slight loss of balance and the pain was tremendous even though my arm wasn't touching anything. We made it down off the boulder scree area. At this point, with 10 miles left, I told them I thought I could carry my pack. The weight wouldn't be on my shoulder and it was killing them. So we tried that. My arm was mostly in a slightly sideways and down "heil hitler" pose. So I just started going. It hurt no more to hike fast than it did to hike slower so I moved as fast as I could. At times it is a very narrow and muddy trail with high brush/trees on both sides so I would have to hike sideways because of my arm sticking out. A couple times it caught on very small branches, bushes and I would yelp in pain.

We made it to the car by 7:30 pm and to the hospital by 8. I begged them to immediately just get it in---even before an x-ray and the doctor tried. But I think my muscles were just too locked in. They did an x-ray, got me some muscle relaxers and pain med/sedation and got it in finally. It was a pretty heavy sedative because at this point I only remember bits and pieces. There was no fracture. I’ve seen an orthopedic and they allowed me to get rid of the sling as long as I promised to be extremely careful not to re-dislocate the arm. I am headed for an MRI in a couple hours. There is very little pain although the arm and muscles are quite sore. The entire arm feels like dead weight. I can write and type without discomfort but can’t bear any weight.

The last time this happened was 5 years ago and all I did was physical therapy. He told me that surgery was an option and every time it happens it makes it more likely it can happen again. He also said I have an incredible range of flexibility and motion with both arms which can allow positions making me more susceptible. Based on what my doctor said last time, I am pretty sure I will need surgery. Although I am sure it won’t be foolproof, I cannot risk being in that kind of situation again.

I am still processing the ordeal. To hike 10-12 miles and down what I did with a dislocated arm was insane. I haven't done it, but I would compare it to something like the mountaineering route up Whitney. (based on pictures.)

Pictures of the hike are on my facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/christopher.wright.79230/albums/10205884128121481/?ref=bookmarks
Sorry not to post a few pics for the trip report but I don't have good access right now. It was a stunning and beautiful hike.

I am interested in feedback, second guessing, and simply won’t take offense to anything. I may argue a point but mostly in the interest of getting you to defend your position. Mostly, I will be talking to the doctor further, but is there a fail-safe technique to getting a dislocated arm back in? In all honesty, a broken arm would be much easier to deal with while out on the trail. Next time, God forbid!!!, I would seriously consider just breaking it or completely snapping it back into place if need be. It really was that bad. The Mel Gibson move doesn’t seem so stupid!

Re: Mint Hut, Mint Glacier and a Dislocated Shoulder
Chicagocwright #43875 08/07/15 08:39 AM
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Yikes!

I'm glad you made it out alright! Sorry this resulted in so much pain for you!

At least it's a good dinner party story!


@jjoshuagregory (Instagram) for mainly landscape and mountain pics
Re: Mint Hut, Mint Glacier and a Dislocated Shoulder
Snacking Bear #43880 08/07/15 10:38 AM
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Mercy! I don't know anyone who has had that problem, but I am sure the pain must have been outrageous. Glad you got through it.

Re: Mint Hut, Mint Glacier and a Dislocated Shoulder
Steve C #43884 08/07/15 12:12 PM
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Unfortunately I have found a few other poor souls who had shoulders that would frequently dislocate. I've got one really good story with a happy ending of a surgically repaired shoulder--but the recovery is nasty.

After early Fall in Alaska, usually the beginning of October, it is the worst time for any outdoor activity until there is substantial snow. Everything is rocky and icy. So I am trying to look at the bright side of things and see that although I am looking the next two months of activity I am otherwise right up against the usual downtime anyway and will be back in time for snow travel.

Re: Mint Hut, Mint Glacier and a Dislocated Shoulder
Chicagocwright #43891 08/07/15 05:37 PM
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CW, that's one helluva tale! Very glad you eventually made it down OK. As SB said, now that it's over it's a war wound to reminisce over countless times in the future.

I had a similar, but not as extreme, experience four years ago while climbing Cathedral Peak in Yosemite with Bob Pickering. The winds that day were ferocious and I was literally blown off the face during the last pitch. I felt an excruciating pain in my shoulder and then my arm went completely numb. I huddled on a three-inch ledge 400 feet up the face for a couple of hours until Bob and a couple of folks from another climbing team could rig up a series of belays to allow me to walk down the wall to safety.

I can empathize with suddenly being a one-armed climber in a very precarious situation, but unlike you I was never in any real danger of falling since I was in a harness and Bob was leading. Even with the howling winds preventing us from communicating, I knew he'd anchor me off solidly before coming back down to investigate.

Your situation had some serious pucker factor, and I applaud you for keeping a cool head during an intense trial. My shoulder turned out to be a pinched nerve - I can't imagine going through all you did with a shoulder completely out of its socket. Very well handled - a lot of folks would have panicked and gotten themselves into deeper kimchee. Hope the healing is as quick as possible.

Re: Mint Hut, Mint Glacier and a Dislocated Shoulder
Bulldog34 #43907 08/08/15 10:29 PM
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Most of the video is pre-injury and there is only one picture of my friend close to the slope where I was injured.

[video:youtube]http://youtu.be/cV3K50gCjfs[/video]


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