Climber survives 1200-foot fall; lives to learn that his friends drank his scotch

Those mountain first aid classes paid off for one climber and his friends. He survived a 1200-foot fall while climbing in the Northern Cascades, and lived to tell the tale.

Kevin Weed, a climber with 20 years of experience, said everything had been going fine on the third day of his group’s climbing expedition. That day they were on their way to Luna Peak.

The sun had warmed up the top layer of snow Weed was treading on, and three inches below the surface was ice. Then Weed found himself slipping, falling down a hill with a 30-40 percent slope.

He tried to stop his fall but at about 800 feet, he finally knew the attempts were futile. The snow was gone and replaced with bare dirt and rocks, so he turned his back toward the mountain, and with his backpack on absorbed the rest of the fall. It was at that 800-foot mark that he passed out and fell another 400 feet.

“It was a miracle I came out the other end,” Weed told the Dori Monson Show. While his life didn’t pass before his eyes, he does distinctly remember apologizing to his wife.

“I remember talking with my wife, and saying I was sorry. And she said she would be okay and things would work out – that’s the dream that I had.”

It was an important message for Weed. His family endured tragedy last November when his 20-year-old son passed away.

Still, somewhere along the way, his friends had reached him, started talking to Weed and woke him up. “From that point forward it was time to think about living again.”

The group was able to alert search and rescue, though for a brief moment, they thought the helicopter had passed them by. But within a few hours he was safely rescued off the mountain and the Snohomish man made it to Harborview Medical Center.

He’s had surgery and there are likely more surgeries ahead, but he’s recovering at home now. Weed said that his 1200-foot tumble won’t keep him away from climbs in the future. After proving that he’s in shape by attempting a triathlon or two, he expects to be climbing again next season.

Weed emphasizes he couldn’t have recovered without his family. And definitely couldn’t have survived without the help of his experienced climbing friends who were “super stars, superheroes.”

The group watched the helicopter take their friend to safety and while they didn’t continue on the 10-day climb, they made it to that day’s intended destination: Luna Peak.

That’s where Weed said they took some photos, finished off his bottle of scotch and headed home.