This is how I came down the first 500 feet or so of the mountain. I was strapped to a sled type stretcher and then they gave me a controlled toboggan ride down the hill with at least 5 guys on each side of me, one talking to me and a few controlling the safety rope that governed our descent. That was very bumpy. The 5 guys on each side stood still while they passed me down the hill, when my head had passed them, they had to scurry down the hill to grab my feet. I wish I could have watched that. Every 75 feet or so they had to stop and re-setup the safety rope.

There are so many stories to tell and there are so many people with their own stories to tell, I wish they could all be told. One group of searchers decided to continue searching though the night, but the storm was so bad they ended up spending most of the night seeking shelter under some rocks.

Carmen and John Good have their own stories that could fill a book, I hope some of them get posted here as they all deserve to be told.

If any of you rescue guys read this, please send me your name and your story, I want to know! kci@vaxxine.com

This is how I came down the next 1500 feet or so of the mountain. These trails zig-zag down the slope so my trip was much further than the straight down ride but it was less bumpy since they did go slow.

My first helicopter ride, the longest, from Circleville, WV to Cumberland, MD.. It took me 2 hours and 12 minutes to fly to Circleville but its a whole day trip by car in good conditions, let alone in a brewing storm. John Good had arrived just before dark on the day I crashed with some PA CAP folks. Carmen and John Godfrey, who volunteered to drive Carmen to Circleville on the day of my crash, arrived after dark, and in the storm. They had to talk their way through road blocks, setup due to trees blowing over, to get there. By the time I was found, Heinz and Karin had also driven through the windstorm from the Perry, SC competition and were there for Carmen.

I spent the night at Cumberland and look who caught up with me! John Good who, within a few minutes of our phone call, had pinpointed my position to within 1000 feet from my description to him of 'I'm on the last spine before Snow Mountain' and was so instrumental in having the search concentrated in that area. John stayed in a cabin on the mountain that night and did everything he could to help direct the search. John Godfrey had driven Carmen down to Circleville from PA, we didn't know John well before this but he and Sandra really became a part of our lives that day and during my hospital stay in Pittsburgh. John and Sandra really helped us to make the decision to choose UPMC where I believe I received the best care anywhere. Karl and Iris left the Perry competition and drove up to Cumberland to support Carmen. Andy and Lynne drove up from Perry too and stopped off at Cumberland to see us before they left to take care of our things and business in Hammondsport. Richard Kellerman and Paul Weedon also made the trip to Cumberland and were a welcome sight. Iris went way beyond the call of duty and ended staying in Pittsburgh for more than a week to support Carmen and I. Iris also took charge of keeping people informed of my condition. My sister Janis came to Pittsburgh and was with us for a few days.

We will be forever grateful to everyone who helped out and kept a vigil on Carmen and I.

Carmen and I finally get our first Lear jet ride, from Cumberland to Pittsburgh!

And another helicopter ride.

Safe in Pittsburgh ............

Well if you call 4 operations and getting this contraption on for 6 months that has 14 pins through my leg, safe!

By the way, one of the operations was to have a stent put in a thoracic abdominal aneurysm. This was determined to have been a pre-existing condition and perhaps the accident actually saved my life.

K1 - April 16, 2007 - beginning to end