Ep 55 - Buried Alive in a Crevasse - Rita Hansen

the Sharp End Podcast

Sports

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2020

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Summit day on Mt. Rainier had just begun. Less than an hour out of high camp, carefully leading her team up a well-trodden boot track, Rita Hansen suddenly plunged into a crevasse. After falling more than 60 feet, she was completely buried by falling ice and snow. Amazingly, Rita was basically unharmed. But she couldn’t move. In episode 55 of the Sharp End, Rita shares the details of her 2007 accident and rescue, a story she has never told publicly before. The Sharp End is presented by Mammut, with additional support from Desert Mountain Medicine and Suunto. This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.

Transcript

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0:00.0	So I got up there yelling out for her, there was no response. It was pitch darkness, but there was this very
0:08.6	slight glow coming from her headlamp, but it wasn't, I mean for all of us that have seen
0:16.5	headlamps, right? Like there's a big difference between just a bright headlamp
0:19.8	that is undisturbed. This was just more of a very dim glow and it was reflecting off of the
0:26.3	walls of the crevass and just kind of this crazy blue purplish tone and I kept on yelling so I mean I guess it was worse because I could you know I could see some glow from the headlamp but there was no response coming from her but I couldn't see her like I
0:44.9	couldn't really make out her body or anything just as little glow of the
0:49.5	headlamp so as I kept on yelling for her and not getting a response, you know, I basically went into, I don't know,
0:59.2	state a shock, just basically figuring she was dead.
1:25.0	This is the Sharp End podcast. I'm Ashley the creator and hostess of the show. the Since 1862, Mamut has been making gear that allows you to confidently go. In these challenging times, make sure that you are recreating responsibly and adventure locally. This month, Mamut is giving away their award-winning
1:33.0	Duquesne Spine Pack and their Duquesne High Gore-Tex boots.
1:36.4	Follow along on Instagram to win this year for your next adventure.
1:39.8	Make sure to follow the Sharpen Podcast and Mamut NA for a chance to win.
1:45.0	Thank you to our friends at Desert Mountain Medicine and Suinto for supporting the show.
1:52.0	So the man that you heard at the beginning of a woman who shares
1:53.0	so the man that you heard at the beginning of the show
1:55.8	was Moriel Hansen
1:58.4	the son of a woman who shares her story with us today
2:02.4	I cannot even imagine what Moriel felt when he stood
2:06.1	there and looked down inside the crevas, thinking that his own mother was dead.
2:18.4	The sense that it happened in August of 2007, 13 years ago. This story has been rattling around on this woman's head for that long. She often feels like it happened yesterday. Rita is now ready to talk about it,
2:27.0	and I'd like to welcome her to the show. Today, she's going to tell us about her climb on
2:31.5	Mount Rainier when she was buried alive. My name is Rita Hanson and I'm actually based here in in Central Oregon. I work in
	...

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