Have you been close to death and how did it feel?

[thenlguru]

Have you ever been close to death and how did it feel?

When I was 12 years old we were with family in one minor skiing center, I was going up with the skii-lift but when I was supposed to get out of it my jacket got stuck. The lift started drag me fast to the big iron pillar since i was pretty light. They stopped the lift just before I hitted the pillar, if that wouldent have happened I would most likely be dead now.

Still 10 years later I remember exactly my thoughts when it was dragging me on land.

"This is it and mommy I love you" then tears came to my eyes, no big white light or anything else cool.

I havent udes ski lift after that.

[BusterStacks]

Dude I couldn't get off once and rode it ALL the way back down and ALL the way back up again. It sucked, but I didn't almost die.

[Shajen]

When I was 17 I hit a deer on my motorcycle at about 65mph.

My final thoughts before it hit was WTF are those lights coming at me, followed immediately by OH [censored], A DEER.

[pshreck]

This is really stretching it when it comes to a 'near-death' experience.

[thenlguru]

Yeah I quess you are correct. But thats how it feeled when I was 12.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
When I was 17 I hit a deer on my motorcycle at about 65mph.

My final thoughts before it hit was WTF are those lights coming at me, followed immediately by OH [censored], A DEER.

[/ QUOTE ]

nice

[Duke]

My dad was dead for 15 minutes while having open heart surgery. He saw... nothing. No lights, no nothing.

If he was religious at all before that, that kinda killed it for him.

~D

[BusterStacks]

edit: deleted after reading post below.

[tdarko]

when i was 17 i was coming home from a baseball showcase in brenham texas (with my parents) when a guy on the other side of the highway fell asleep and drove of the road down into the median(about a 20 foot wide grassy area for you non-texans). my father see's him and starts to slow down, the car is coming at an angle toward us, then when it hits our side of the highway the car is propelled in the air (it hit a 3 or 4 inch raise that seperated the highway and median). the car was in the air and headed toward the front driver side corner horizontally in the direction toward the back corner passenger side (i know that must sound confusing), so my dad swerves the car to the far left of the highway and floors it underneath the car, back of the propelled car crushed the passenger side of our car (my mom needed about 30 stitches from the broken glass) and landed on top of the car next to us killing a husband and pregnant wife. it was the most horrific experience in my life so far, though i know it doesnt compare to some of the ordeals people have endured its all i got.

[sfer]

When I was 4 I fell into a swimming pool when no one was around. The building super happened to wander out and he rescued me.

It felt wet.

[thirddan]

similar stoyr, i was young around 4, got my hand stuck in the drain of my spa, parents thought i had just gone under the water... and my mother had jump in and pull me out...don't remember what i thought, but i still have a scar on my wrist...

[wacki]

Well if people are giving serious responses:

Ok, let me count the ways...

Got mugged, the first hit was in the back of my head, but all I felt was a pop in the front of my face. I didn't even see it coming. When I came to, I was covered from head to toe in blood and on my way to the hospital. Apparently I was saved by a 90lb woman.

Bike wreck, flew 30-40 feet and my shoulder/head head landed on pavement which snapped/cracked my neck. I still can't believe it didn't break.

Bouldering accident #1: I was a bit cocky and went too high. Fell 20-30 feet and landed on my back. Broke my chestplate, that thing took forever to heal.

I've had a few scares in my caving career. When they fill up with water, it is never a good time.

Climbing accident #1:

Walking along the top of a cliff, the moss/thin layer of dirt gave way underneath me and I started sliding with it. As my body went over the edge, I was able to grab a root no bigger than a pencil. The rock ontop was smooth and wet so it was very hard to grab onto. I screamed for help but my buddies had just gone back to camp 5 minutes before and I was all alone. That was not fun.

I could go on, but it would only get boring.... I have to get to the lab. Cya.

[jasonHoldEm]

When I was in my early teens I recieved allegy shots. For those not familiar with the process they inject you with a (very) small amount of what you are allergic to and over time you build up a resistance to it. I'd go to the Doctor's office after school one day a week, get the shot, wait ten minutes or so, and then they'd check the reaction size to measure how I was doing to determine when the appropriate time to increse to the next dosage.

I was just starting my shots (maybe a month or two into them) and the bottles got mixed up by the nurse, instead of pulling from the first bottle she pulled from the last one giving me an injection 10,000 times more powerful than I was supposed to recieve. I had gone back to the waiting room and after a few minutes I started sneezing and then a few moments later I started going into full blown anaphylactic shock.

I remember grabbing my throat being unable to brethe, standing up to try and get to the front of the waiting room, and falling down on the floor. Everything was in slow motion...as I'm headed to the floor I remember quite clearly the look of terror on the receptionist's face as she saw me falling and then begining to jump out of her chair to go get help. I hit the floor and don't remember very much for the next few minutes, just pieces of things - strong arms grabbing me and dragging/lifting me into a examination room, something being stuck in my mouth (I later learned this was a failed intubation attempt, unsuccessful because my airway was completely closed), and a number of injections.

I woke up strapped down to a gurney and puking in an ambulance and then being absolutely freezing. The paramedics had every single blanket in the ambulance on me as well as a fireman's coat and it didn't help any. We got to the emergency room and I threw up again, some more hot/cold flashes, injections, etc. and then I finally started to come out of it. Spent the night in ICU covered in hives and pretty [censored] miserable, but went home the next day without any lasting side effects.

I'm certain that if it had taken five minutes longer and I had left the doctor's office before going into shock I certainly would have died, as things turned out it was pretty damn close I guess. The worst part was probably right at the begining, the panic of not being able to breathe and then a strange acceptance of my fate...in a way it was relaxing. No lights or tunnels or anything, just darkness and relaxation. That being said, I wouldn't recommend it and plan to avoid death as much as possible in the future.

J

[astroglide]

[ QUOTE ]
strong arms grabbing me and dragging/lifting me into a examination room, something being stuck in my mouth, and a number of injections.

[/ QUOTE ]

so i guess it wasn't a jewish hospital?

[tek]

If it was, they would have performed a wallet-ectomy /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Snowslide]

One time when I was maybe 5 or 6, my parents went out for the night and left me with a babysitter. We lived out in the country, and the baby sitter came straight from work, and had a shower while my parents finished getting ready. The baby sitter was almost finished the shower when my parents knocked on the bathroom door telling her their ride was there, and she said she would be out in a couple minutes, so my parents left. There were left overs on the counter for the babysitter, and I grabbed a piece of chicken as I watched my parents drive away. The shower was still going. I started choking on a chicken bone, and kind of panicked, I just stood there, choking, not knowing what to do. I watched my parents get to the end of the driveway (being in a farming community, the drive way was probably 500 yards long), I remember seeing the car turn around, after that I don't really remember much. Basically, my mom left her purse or something, and came in to find me on the floor with a piece of chicken beside me, and game me the hymlec manouver (sp), and I can sorta remember gasping for air. My throat hurt like hell, but I was fine. Probably killed a few brain cells though!!
Wow, this turned into kind of an essay.
I mooned about 200 hells angels once too. I did not realize how stupid this was at the time. I was 17.

peace,
*mike*

EDIT:
To answer the question how it felt, kinda sureal I guess. It was not until I was much older that I realized how close I was to dying.

[ChoicestHops]

Ive almost overdosed on coke and alcohol before. Did only about a half gram, but drank way too much. I think I had about 3/4 of a bottle in a few hours. I was sitting there trying to go to sleep, and it felt like my heart was going to explode. My heart felt like it was beating 3-4 times a second. The tv was on, but I kept losing focus and everything was very dizzy.

Ive got about three near-death accidents under my belt as well.

[Wayfare]

[ QUOTE ]
The worst part was probably right at the begining, the panic of not being able to breathe and then a strange acceptance of my fate...in a way it was relaxing. No lights or tunnels or anything, just darkness and relaxation. That being said, I wouldn't recommend it and plan to avoid death as much as possible in the future.


[/ QUOTE ]

I hope it's that way when it's my turn to go...

[Ten7offsuit]

Tried to kill myself when I was 18, just overdosed on some pills and tried to go to sleep. My body went insane, my skin turned white as hell, I started breathing heavily, I just lost all energy and coordination, I could barely walk in a straight line, I had such little control over my body, so I just kind of lay in my bed getting ready to die.... it was scary as fu[/i]ck, but an interesting experience.

[Matty]

[ QUOTE ]
Bike wreck, flew 30-40 feet and my shoulder/head head landed on pavement which snapped/cracked my neck. I still can't believe it didn't break.

[/ QUOTE ]Bike or motorcycle?

I came about two inches (quite literally) from a head on collision going 95 mph once in high school while racing Indiana backroads after school let out. The whole time I was thiniking "[censored] [censored] [censored] [censored]". afterwards it was "I'm a [censored] idiot I'm a [censored] idiot I'm a [censored] idiot." I almost felt like turning around, finding that poor lady, giving her a baseball bat and letting her beat the crap out of me. I didn't get a good look, but I think there were kids in the car.

Besides that, my step-dad stabbed me in teh back once, but it wasn't anywhere near life-threatening. Just sorta traumatic.

[nothumb]

Wow Jason, that is definitely up there on my list of ways not to die. Choking, strangulation, drowning all sound like the worst.

Let's see. I fell asleep at the wheel of my ex-girlfriend's car when I was 16. For those of you from the East Coast I was on the Taconic Parkway. I woke up as I was running off the road and managed to cut the wheel so I slid out and hit the only guardrail for 20 miles broadside. Wake up a split second later and I have a steering column in my stomach. That was maybe the worst shock I've been in. Escaped serious injury but I felt so sure I was gonna die. Worst part was I had just dropped her off @ Laguardia to fly to France for her grandfather's funeral. She was not a happy camper.

As wacki probably remembers, my girlfriend's ex-boyfriend broke into my house and tried to slash my throat with a chef's knife. I caught the blade on my hand and took it away from him, while pleading for my life. Lost a chunk out of my finger/palm and had a minor puncture wound near my collarbone. Didn't sleep too well for a while after that one either.

NT

[Victor]

I was mowing my lawn one day when I was stung on the lower ankle by a hornet. This was 4 years ago and I was 20. It hurt a lot and I was pissed because now my lawn would not be finished before I had to go deliver pizzas. As I was taking a shower my whole body was itching and I felt very hot. I did not look at myself in the mirror after my shower due to the steam. Before I left for work my head was throbbing relentlessly in addition to the itching around at my armpits, elbow pits and behind my knees. This is strange so I finally look in the mirror and my whole upper body is red especially at the joints.

I show my mom and she freaks and drives me to the hospital. Once there I am questioned about my medical history by first the receptionist and then a nurse. Meanwhile, my condition deteriorates very rapidly and I can barely breath or see, save very intense swirling colors. Now the doctor is asking me the same [censored] questions as before. I can only say," I need help," and then I pass out. I come to, a few seconds later with a few needles in my buttcheeks and am fully recovered in a few days.

I had nightmares for a few years.

[natedogg]

When I was an intern on capitol hill for a summer, I was confronted one night by a young black teenager with a gun. I ran as soon as he brandished it and it took him a couple seconds to pull it from his belt. This may have saved my life because I was too far away and he started to chase me but I was faster and got away.

I didn't really have time to reflect on my life or fear of death. I just ran.


This was a particularly violent summer where lots of people were getting shot and killed by callous D.C. teens with guns. It was practically an epidemic. I think there was one week with 15 murders. I'm quite sure this kid would have shot me.

natedogg

[tolbiny]

Jesus.
I didn't know that.

[EliteNinja]

This is an insane thread!!!!

I had a severe asthma attack when I was 3 years old. Couldn't breathe. Was in the hospital for a week. That's all I got...

wacki, you gotta tell us everything!!!

[Alobar]

The last day of school my senior year, my friends decided it would be funny to slip me LCD and speed. I had gone to sleep and woke up on his couch at 2am tripping out, no idea what the hell was going on. I've got a heart dealy where im not supposed to have stimulants (caffine, nicotine, [censored] like that makes my heart skip beats and stuff), so it really messed me up. At one point I remember it felt like my heart had litterally exploded and I couldn't breathe, everything slowly started going black and I realized I was going to die. Scariest moment of my whole life.

Sophmore year in college, we played our rivals at football. I decided to get drunk with my friends (first time I had been drunk in over 2 years, see above story for the reason). So I get pretty bombed, and we win the game, I rush the field with everyone else and end up hanging on the goal posts as we are trying to rip it down. Since I went to an AG school, our goal posts werent the normal yellow kind, but were made by the welding college and were like 10 times as heavy. Anyway, im hanging and the next thing I know Im on the ground. "no biggy" I think, I'll just wait until everyone gets up then I'll jump back up on the posts. Then I realize the reason im on the ground is cuz we actually succeded in bring the goal posts down, and now im pinned by the neck under the main cross bar and its being dragged forward. I remember screaming and this look of horror on this guys face who was standing above me. I thought I was gunna be the dumbass in the paper the next day "student dies in football celebration". It twisted the [censored] out of my neck, and ripped a HUGE chunk of skin out of me. Bled like crazy and I couldnt really turn my head for about a week. I also lost my shoe /images/graemlins/frown.gif heh.

[daveymck]

[ QUOTE ]
As wacki probably remembers, my girlfriend's ex-boyfriend broke into my house and tried to slash my throat with a chef's knife. I caught the blade on my hand and took it away from him, while pleading for my life. Lost a chunk out of my finger/palm and had a minor puncture wound near my collarbone. Didn't sleep too well for a while after that one either.

NT

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats mad and puts the problems we have had with our lasses ex into perspective him taking us to court a couple of times trying to get more access pales into insignificance compared to that.

Apart form that mine are nearly drowned probably about 8 years old in the sea at Scarborough, couldnt swim girl was in trouble near me I went out to try and help lost my footing ans that was it, up for air twice only had my hand above the water when someone pulled me out. Memory is quite clear of that even so long ago.

Few years later in Blackpool at the PLeasure Beach (like a theme park place) my parents and sisters went on the horses merry go round, I went off on my own to the arcades etc some guy tried to abduct me at the dogems, managed to get away from him and off to find my parents.

[thatpfunk]

[ QUOTE ]
The last day of school my senior year, my friends decided it would be funny to slip me LCD and speed. I had gone to sleep and woke up on his couch at 2am tripping out, no idea what the hell was going on. I've got a heart dealy where im not supposed to have stimulants (caffine, nicotine, [censored] like that makes my heart skip beats and stuff), so it really messed me up. At one point I remember it felt like my heart had litterally exploded and I couldn't breathe, everything slowly started going black and I realized I was going to die. Scariest moment of my whole life.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is [censored] up dude. Did your friends know you had a heart condition? Did you just ride it out or have to go to the hospital? I am not sure I would be friends with them anymore. Acid can be [censored] up enough, they could have at least let you know.

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]

That is [censored] up dude. Did your friends know you had a heart condition? Did you just ride it out or have to go to the hospital? I am not sure I would be friends with them anymore. Acid can be [censored] up enough, they could have at least let you know.

[/ QUOTE ]

I dont think they knew about my heart. They wouldnt take me to the hospital either (I kept asking them too), I think they were scared theyd get in trouble.....and yeah, I dont talk to them anymore, and have serious trust issues as a result, heh.

[MarkL444]

i almost drown in the ocean when i was a kid. it sucked.

[Myrtle]

1968.........off the coast of Vietnam.......landing on a carrier “on the line”.........in the middle of a typhoon.

I am a Navy aircrew member on a C2A.....twin engine turbo-prop with the big guppy belly and rear ramp. We carry high priority passengers and cargo from the Philippines to ‘the line’ (the ‘line’ is the carriers stationed of the coast of Vietnam) to Danang field in-country.

Earlier that day (back at Cubi point in the Philippines) we got word that one of our C2’s was ‘down’ at Danang for electronics failure. It was determined that they needed a number of different components to get the radios and nav gear back up. I’m an electronics technician, so I grab what they need and hop the next C2 heading there. We have to make a stop on one of the carriers before we go to Danang.

It’s a good 4-5 flight to the line from Cubi point. I’m already pretty tired, and as we approach the ship, it’s clear that the weather is not good, as it is a pretty turbulent flight. Now, you gotta understand that the kind of turbulence that I’m talking about is probably something that most folks have never experienced. The C2A is much smaller that a 737 and, as a small aircraft, is significantly affected by turbulence.....Let’s put it this way, if you’re not strapped in, you’d be spread like peanut butter all over the interior of the aircraft. This is primarily a cargo plane....the inside is unfinished with support struts all over the place.....pretty much acting like a strainer should you hit them with any force.

The pilot flying is probably the best pilot in our squadron....as we’re on approach to the ship, it’s very clear that he’s having a hell of a hard time staying on glide path. Oh, did I mention that it’s the middle of the night, and 100% pitch black? FYI, on night ops on a carrier under combat watch the deck is bathed in faint red light.

So, here we go 130 knots or so, trying to catch the hook......the C2 is bouncing around in the turbulence to beat the band. We hit the deck....HARD.....miss the hook (we call it a ‘bolter’) and off we go again, around for another pass. At this point, I’m getting worried....we’re getting low on fuel and we won’t have much left for too many more passes. We’d better catch the hook this next time around.

Around we come again. I’m in the rear jump seat at the right of the C2. It has a window, so as we’re approaching, I can see the dim red glow and the deck. We hit the deck again, and the view is somewhat surreal. It appears that time is slowing down. I can clearly see all the deck crew watching us. It’s like watching the crowd at a tennis match, as their heads all move in-sync as they watch the ball go back and forth, but it’s all happening in slow motion. Their heads swivel from left to right, watching our progress, and BAM....we bolt again as we hit the deck.

I’m 21 years old at the time...have a wife and 2 young children, and now I’m plenty scared! As we’re coming around for the third pass, all of a sudden it hits me..... “We’re going to crash and we’re all going to die”. It wasn’t a feeling of fear or panic......it was a very calm acceptance of the finality and reality of the situation. I can remember kind of mentally ‘shrugging my shoulders’ and just sitting back and waiting for the inevitable. I will tell you that it is truly amazing as to how many different thought can go through one’s mind in such a short period!

In we go for the third pass.........another bolter......another view of the deck crew watching us......Oh, [censored]!!.....How much fuel do we have left? Around we go again...it takes about 4-5 minutes or so to make another approach....... certainly enough time to think about many things.

On the fourth attempt.......We catch the hook! Amazing!!! But, the C2 doesn’t stop bouncing around. It was then that I realized that the carrier was pitching and bobbing like a cork in a maelstrom. As the deck crew took over and tied us down, we could hardly stand upright....it was that rough, but it was a pretty good feeling to be able to feel how rough it was........to be able to feel anything at all!

We refueled, offloaded some cargo, waited for daybreak to catapult of the ship to Danang..... I still had a downed C2 there that I had to fix. During that time, the storm moved off, and when we saw the first wisps of dawn, the sky was reasonably clear. We ‘cat’ off the ship, and off we go to Danang.....a very short hop, no more than a half hour or so. It’s still an eerie pre-dawn when we hit the tarmac at Danang. The field is lit up, and there are lots of clouds and vibrant colors in the sky.....To this day I can still remember how pretty it was. We pull the C2 in our parking spot. In Danang there are ‘revetments’ to park aircraft. Picture a big garage, without a roof, made of walls of poured concrete, with separate spots for each aircraft, and a concrete divider between each spot, to isolate each plane from the one next to it.

We drop the rear ramp on the C2 and begin to unload. It’s still pre-dawn...this is my first trip ‘In-county’ (into the combat zone). By now, it’s been well over 30 hours since I’ve slept. I have two heavy pieces of electronics on my shoulder (probably 120 lbs. or so) as I wander off looking for the other C2 with problems. It’s somewhat quiet, but even at that time of the early morning, there’s still plenty of activity on the field.

All of a sudden, alarm sirens start going off all over the place. I then hear small arms fire, and at the same time everyone starts running everywhere! I’m standing there, with the gear on my shoulders, and I haven’t got the slightest idea where to go or what to do, so I start running to.....where? Beats the hell outta me, but seemed like a good idea at the time, as everyone else was doing it??!! The arms noise is getting more intense....I’m still less than 50 yards from our plane, and all of a sudden there’s a loud “whooshing” noise, followed very shortly by an overwhelming BOOM!

It turns out to be a rocket attack, and a rocket has just hit an A3 parked in the revetment next to our C2. It’s hard to write this because it all happened so fast, yet things appeared to be happening in slow motion! As I didn’t know wtf to do, I still had the gear on my shoulders. I’m a big guy in good shape (6’3” 225 lbs. at the time), so it’s not that I was terribly hindered by the extra weight.....it just never occurred to me to drop the gear and run for the nearest cover. OK...now I’m running to......btf outta me where......I see a sandbagged open shelter, head towards that, and as I’m ready to get in, the blast from the exploding A3 catches me, and I go ass-over-tea-kettle into the bunker....still carrying the gear, but upside down now, landing on my head. I wrenched my neck pretty good, and it later turned out that I also tore my left rotator cup.

I’m now in the hole with other guys who know what is going on. It’s clear we’re under attack, and no-one seems to be terribly concerned about it......everyone is somewhat nonchalant about it! OK....I follow suit.

In a while, the all-clear siren sounds, and we all go back to our business. I’m now beyond tired. I find the C2. It takes about 2 hours to r&r the gear. I check out the systems and they’re all now working, so....mission accomplished.

Our C2 was not damaged at all in the attack, so we prep it to get out of there. Before we can, all of us (enlisted men, that is) get commandeered to help unload a big cargo plane that just pulled in........Oh, for joy! It’s now mid-morning......over 100 degrees on the field, I still have my full flight suit on.....It’s freakin HOT!!! By the time we unload the plane, my flight suit is totally soaked.

We are then kicked free, get back to our C2 and get the hell out of there. Once we get to altitude, I fall into a deep sleep....totally exhausted. I wake up a bit later, pull out a cigarette, start to light it up and.........aarrrgghhhh!!! I can’t inhale!! Long story short.......instant pneumonia!! Off duty for almost 2 weeks........was absolutely miserable......If not for the apricot brandy that a friend slipped me in hospital, I don’t know what I would have done! By the way, it didn’t take very long for me to find out that the rocket attack at Danang that I had just experienced was the opening salvo of the Tet offensive......lucky me.......being able to get outta there before the [censored] REALLY hit the fan!

Anyhow, I guess that’s my “near-death” experience. At the time, it didn’t seem like that big a deal....maybe it really wasn’t. I look back at it now, and the most vivid memory of it all was bouncing of that deck, and watching the deck crew watch us bolting....all bathed in that eerie red light. It’s strange the things that stay with you..........

Why did I bother posting this today? I just happened to see the topic in this string, read the other posts and it got me thinking about things, as today is my birthday, and I guess we all have the right to reflect upon this kind of stuff on our birthday.

Today is Tomorrow’s Yesterday.........We can never have Yesterday back.......Live Today to its Fullest.........


Sorry if it’s trite........It’s how I’m feeling at the moment.

Myrt..........

p.s. Both our pilot and my fellow crew member were later killed in a crash as they attempted a carried landing.....One of the props came off during approach and sliced the fuselage in half....all within site of the flight deck. I still think about them ..........May they rest in peace.

[daveymck]

Great story, but all this time I thought you were female.

[thatpfunk]

fwiw, this is an internet forum and all, but thank you. seriously.

[Shajen]

WOW.

[Myrtle]

Davey,

Here's where "Myrtle" comes from........

Back in the mid nineties, when I started playing seriously, my then 4 year old daughter bought me a small, green, Japanese 'good luck' turtle to keep in my pocket whenever I played.

The turtle ended up being hot glued on top of a small rock to use as a card-weight/protector at the table. I still use it whenever I play live.

Of course, it had to be named, and daughter came up with.......

.....Myrtle the Turtle, (or as they say in da Bronx...Moitle da Toitle).

I adopted that name when I started playing online, and use it here as my ID.

[Jake (The Snake)]

[ QUOTE ]
But thats how it feeled when I was 12.

[/ QUOTE ]

So you're 12 and a half now?






Sorry I couldn't resist. I'm sure it was very traumatic.

[bholdr]

I've been involved in several minor car accidents that i'm sure weren't as close to fatal as i remember them. and once i got hit with 220 volts on one hand and the other hand in a stainless steel sink full of water. not pleasent, ut an electrictian i know says it wouldn't have killed me.

so i geuss i've only almost died once:


I was 19- snowboarding in the alpental backcountry at snoqualmie pass, washington. I know the area well, and am very comfortable picking my way down icy 50 degree pitches, etc. the friends i was with were both experienced mountanieers, we had all the proper gear; peeps, shovels,
radios, etc. what i didn't have is an ice axe an ice axe and crampons, but we were going downhill, right?

heh. wrong.

the fog rolled in for just long enough for us to take a wrong turn, and then, like it was toying with us, it lifted to reveal our prediciment. we were perched in a narrow gap between ridges, on a 40 degree pitch. we couldn't see the transition out of the drainage, but we could see the tops of trees (the area hasn't been logged for 60 years, so that's not a good sign.) and jagged rocks about 100 feet below. no screwing around, now, it's you-fall-you-die.

My buddy scott, the most experienced of our trio says: "i've been here before, there's a shelf to the right that you can hop to and traverse on, then it's an easy ride out. I'll go and see if we can get there from here."

two minutes later he'd ridden about 40 feet and could see around the bend: "it's there, no problem! one at a time guys, becons on!" and he dissapears around the corner.

Steve and i start inching that way- the snow under our feet is sluffing away as we ride and grabbing my board and his skis, trying to pull us over the edge. i make progress by taking the handle off of my shovel and using it as an impromptu ice axe, anchoring each few feet that i slide. This takes about ten minutes, and thankfully, the activity has kept my mind off of those rocks. then scott appears below: "the shelf's gone!"

me: "what the fu** do you mean it's gone?!"
scott: "it slid as i rode it!"
me: "so now what?"
scott: "i don't know i can't see"
steve: "brian, do you have a ciggerette?"
me "shut the fu** up steve!"
scott: "maybe you can jump it! it's only forty feet or so!"
steve "onto rocks!"
scott "i can't see! want me to call patrol?"
me: "what the hell are they gonna do?"
steve: "i could really use a smoke"

now comes the time to think about my mortality. we stand there, getting tired, as just holding our position is strenous. it's gonna get dark in an hour, but we probably can't hang on anyway. sh**.

i think: 'do i believe in god?'
i answer my own question: 'no.'
this is when i knew i was in trouble- i rarely ever think about things like that.

scott's climbing a little pinnicle to try to get a look at our position, steve looks like he's gonna cry, i'm happy that i took a dump a couple of hours previously- it was really sh** yer pants time. we try to edge our way back up, but it's one foot up, slide down two. hmm.

***

we were up there for what felt like hours, though in retrospect it was probably only about forty minutes. a looooongg forty, though. i had some very uncomfortable thoughts, the kind that only strike you when death is present- yours or that of someone you love. i had run out of adreniline and was starting to feel pretty rotten about the whole thing, queationing my abilities, our judgment, even my love for the sport. i almost started praying, like a doomed man does, thinking about making deals with the god i didn't believe in...

***

but i ran out of time. the sun went over the horizon, which means the run would be freezing up. steve looked at me and said "lets ride the shelf anyway" i say "ok you first" (which was dumb, 'cause whoever went first would get whatever was left of the rideable surface). He goes, i follow about ten seconds later, just in time to see him fall off. without thinking about it i went about ten feet farther and jumped- there wasn't really anywhere else to go and i must of thought that i could have helped him, though i don't know why.

it was about a thirty foot drop. we landed in neck-deep powder, in (miracously?) the only area without big pointy rocks. steve landed head first, and when i managed to figure out what was going on, his feet were kicking in the air about five feet away from me, as he shimied loose, laughing like a fool. i was too, i think, high from the adreniline rush of a lifetime (i thought i was spent).

we had our smoke and traversed back to the lodge. the next day (with ice axes, tele skis, and crampons) we returned to the same spot- only to see the "DANGER- CLIFFS!" sign that the fog had obscured. sometimes climbers/ skiers/ etc feel that the mountain that they're on has a will of it's own, and tries to lure them to their deaths. i don't believe in that crap, but i was certianly spooked.

***

and here's something really creepy about that mountain: there is a for-real no-sh** indian burial ground up there. a local climber got lost up there last year- he was missing for three days and lost both feet to frostbite- he reported that in his delirium a native wrapped in furs had hounded his steps, telling him to give up, that he was dead already, that he shouldn't have come there.

they found footprints that followed his track. (makes me shudder when i think of it)

[astroglide]

[ QUOTE ]
they found footprints that followed his track. (makes me shudder when i think of it)

[/ QUOTE ]

i bet it was dimebag darrel!

[ilya]

I almost died from internal blood loss once as a result of a surgery [censored]-up. This was after they'd let me out of the hospital. I'm sitting on the couch in my living room and I go to sit up and suddenly I get this horrible pain on my right side. It hurt a lot for a couple minutes, and felt really hot. I'm not sure why but I immediately *knew* that it was life-threatening. Anyway, I puked when trying to get up and had to sit back down and wait for the ambulance to arrive. The pain stopped after a couple minutes, I guess because I had lost too much blood. All the color drained from my fingernails and lips and eyes; I looked fvcking creepy. But I was neither scared nor upset. On the contrary, I felt very calm and relaxed. I think it must have been all the blood loss. When the paramedics got there, they freaked out a little because I had no measurable blood pressure, but I was like, 'whatevah!'
I guess my point is that if you're gonna die, you could do a lot worse than blood loss.

[InchoateHand]

Depends. Once it felt not so good. Another time it felt very wonderful, in a sleepy sort of way. At least until the Narcan.

[whiskeytown]

I'd say about 2 hrs from near certain death was as close as I got. - give or take...gave me [censored] Post Tramautic Stress for about a yr. afterwards....

it doesn't really scare me at all anymore - unless I get married and have kids, then I'll probably want to live as long as possible....otherwise I'll just say a prayer and wait for the rods to be thrown...

RB

[ricochet420]

I actually have died. No special lights, nothing. Just pull the switch, you're done. Then they brought me back. UGH, I hate them.