Mt. Hood Tragedy Recalls "Near Death" for Dr. Bernie Dahl on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire


by Bernie Dahl - Date: 2006-12-30 - Word Count: 683 Share This!

As the Mt. Hood tragedy of three lost climbers played out in Oregon and in the media, I found myself once again forced to revisit his own Mt. Washington near-death experience.

I was very lucky when Mike Pelcher, the rescue team leader, made the pronouncement to his beleaguered team, "There is a man dying up there. Let's give him five more minutes."

It truly was a dark and stormy night, perhaps the darkest and stormiest night of my life, for I came within five minutes of death . . . my death . . . because my rescuers were about to give up! As a physician and a pathologist for more than 30 years, I had developed a close professional relationship with death and dying . . . but not with my dying . . . certainly not with my death.

Rescued from his near-death experience, I -- now a motivational speaker and seminar leader -- went on to share my "Lessons for Living from a Mt. Washington Misadventure." In my inspiring talks about self-discovery, he warns: Be prepared to die! Have a plan to live! Do it now!

In New Hampshire, Mt. Washington is known for its fierce, unforgiving weather, and the media in New England, prompted by the Mt. Hood story, have contacted me about his mountain rescue.

Their calls have reignited my interest in finishing my book, a hybrid book on the mountain story, the admonitions and the philosophical part, 'Journey Into The Self.' I have presented my story at keynotes and workshops more than 50 times. From the scripts, I have crafted a draft of a book, tentatively entitled simply 'Misadventure.' "

My story of being lost on the mountain, the successful use of my cellular telephone and my dramatic rescue was the subject of a subsequent reenactment which was filmed by The Discovery Channel Network for its Storm Force series on The Learning Channel.

Here is the beginning of Chapter 1 -- A Simple Hike . . . a Deadly Quest:

Without a moment's hesitation, I turn onto the new trail. Now I am ascending into the screaming wind towards the summit. This is not the goal of the new plan: the goal is to find the Auto Road and get down off the mountain, as fast as possible.

Snow stings my face with its fury. Rime ice, formed from frozen fog or clouds by the blistering wind, covers my clothes, face, and glasses. I notice that the cairns, the piles of rocks that mark the trail, are now wider and higher and are spaced closer and closer together, an ominous sign that this area must experience really harsh winter weather. I take each step slowly and carefully, for this trail is now much rougher; it seems to be composed of large rocks covered with an increasing and varying depth of snow and ice.

My heart is beating rapidly, more out of fear than exertion, for my ascent is very slow, very deliberate. In spite of the roaring wind, I can hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears. Although I know I am close to the Auto Road, I also know I am in big trouble. I feverishly search for the second sign, the one that should direct me onto the Auto Road. Where is it? Is it covered with rime ice? Has it been taken by some hiker as a souvenir?

I must continue hiking even though I am still ascending into the wind. Worse yet, it is now late afternoon. Soon, the night will envelop the mountain and me. My wide-open world is now closing in. A powerful blast of wind and snow suddenly strikes me…then again, like the icy breath of an angry mountain god. I am now in true white-out conditions. Where is the next cairn? I desperately continue -- five paces, then ten. No cairn. I retrace my steps to the last cairn. I find it. If only I had a hiking partner, we could take turns finding the next cairn, which are usually within 15 to 20 feet of each other. Together, we could leapfrog our way to the Auto Road and home. I start this process again…and again… I cannot find that next cairn.

I am solo. I am stuck. I stop.


Related Tags: inspiration, rescue, near death, be prepared to die, have a plan to live, journey into the self

Bernhoff A. Dahl, M.D., author, public speaker, keynote speaker, consultant, humorist and veteran mountaineer shares his life-threatening experience in a positive, motivational and inspirational message focused on three admonitions: Be prepared to die! Have a plan to live! Do it now!

For more information, please visit www.MtWashingtonMisadventure.com. Dr. Dahl is available for interviews about his near-death experience on the mountain and the life lessons he learned.

Bernhoff Dahl (DrBDahl@aol.com) President Trionics International, Inc. 66 Upper Oak Point Winterport, ME 04496 Phone : 207-223-9998 Fax : 207-848-5649

Dr. Dahl is the author of the International BestSeller Optimize Your Life! The One-page Strategic Planner (vist www.TrionicsUSA.com for details)

Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

© The article above is copyrighted by it's author. You're allowed to distribute this work according to the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license.
 

Recent articles in this category:



Most viewed articles in this category: