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I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived

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Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived

#151

Post by showdead »

techsupporter wrote: post #145
philjr wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Some days you are the dog, some days you are the tree / fire hydrant" is the canonical quote. I would assume the fire plug is the name of one of the things that failed while he refueled. Doesn't quite go together in my head, but once you understand the original quote it makes sense. Some days you're on the giving end, some days you're on the receiving end.

At least where I’m from (Texas, where the story teller at least spent time), hydrants are called fire plugs. I’ve no idea why but that’s what I know them as.

The term comes from the history of firefighting: http://www.firehydrant.org/info/hist-fp.html

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived

#154

Post by monsieurbanana »

kamaal wrote: post #129
Johnny_Brahms wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This depends on the type of avalanche. I know,because I was caught in one. The one I was in was relatively minor and made up of a large part newly fallen snow. I had stopped for a break and managed to get my skis back on, but the thing overtook me hundred meters later. I had managed to get to higher ground relative to the rest of the slope, which is probably what saved me. I broke one leg and both my arms and got a p…

Wow! Firstly I would like to say this was one of those rare HN comments which blows you mind away. Very nice to hear you survived such a bad accident. >>I am lucky to be alive. It is amazing though how clear you can think in life threatening situations. David Allen talks about these situations in this talk. In the moments of crises, the brain brings about all its focus to the highest priority task at focus. Its almos…

Students have known that since the dawn of time. It's why they don't work until the night before the deadline, when the urgency is enough to allow them use 200% or their brain's capacities in order to obtain a passing grade.

The cherry on top: they can now spend the time until their next deadline thinking about the amazing grades they would get if they worked more than one night per month.

Source: me

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived

#155

Post by turk184 »

uitgewis wrote: post #110
ForFreedom wrote: post #108

Thats an awesome read!!!!! Will a passenger from a passenger airline survive if falling from 15,000 feet?

Unlikely. The only reason he was able to survive IMO is that his pilot chute deployed, slowing him down.

Actually, on 2nd read, his chute didn't fully open but was slowing him down some. Then at the very last moment it unfurled? The writing is not clear, but it makes it sound like his parachute slowed some of the fall at least.

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived

#156

Post by muzani »

monsieurbanana wrote: post #154
kamaal wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow! Firstly I would like to say this was one of those rare HN comments which blows you mind away. Very nice to hear you survived such a bad accident. >>I am lucky to be alive. It is amazing though how clear you can think in life threatening situations. David Allen talks about these situations in this talk. In the moments of crises, the brain brings about all its focus to the highest priority task at focus. Its almos…

Students have known that since the dawn of time. It's why they don't work until the night before the deadline, when the urgency is enough to allow them use 200% or their brain's capacities in order to obtain a passing grade. The cherry on top: they can now spend the time until their next deadline thinking about the amazing grades they would get if they worked more than one night per month. Source: me

Cortisol does wonders, but only for the short term. It basically destroys part of your body to supercharge the rest.

Later on in life, plenty of companies try to make use of it, pushing people into long hours and short deadlines, and find that it doesn't work as well.

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived

#157

Post by Chris2048 »

agumonkey wrote: post #116
Chris2048 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did something similar in Nice. Standing a little inshore, the top of the water hitting my torso was moving faster than the water around my legs. I ended up being flipped backwards, and dumped on the floor with my back bent right back. I was lucky the tide wasn't stronger, it was hard enough swimming back to shore with my back hurt as it was.

Right, it's crazy how water can bend your body that much. I guess every part in the wave carry enough force to keep bending you in every angle. I also had pain in my spine for a while. I'm everything but supple.

You're right, when something pushes you you can usually swerve or redirect the motion. When the water hits you, even the water moving around you pins you in place, and the water behind sucks you in the same direction - it's impossible to pivot without gravity!

I have a healthy fear of standing up in the ocean now...

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived

#158

Post by muzani »

iopuy wrote: post #27

Earlier this year on a white water rafting expedition I had the misfortune of falling out of the raft and into a series of category 5 rapids. It was absolute chaos. The force of large bodies of moving water is astounding. Any notion of "swimming to safety" is ludicrous. A more accurate description is "being washed to safety" because you have no control over the larger movements of your body. I've heard in avalanches…

Might I ask why you go white water rafting? It baffles me as it seems like a really dangerous hobby.

I actually understand skydiving, bungee jumping, or climbing Everest, because they are controlled risks, but white water rafting seems very chaotic.

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived

#159

Post by bitL »

kamaal wrote: post #129
Johnny_Brahms wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This depends on the type of avalanche. I know,because I was caught in one. The one I was in was relatively minor and made up of a large part newly fallen snow. I had stopped for a break and managed to get my skis back on, but the thing overtook me hundred meters later. I had managed to get to higher ground relative to the rest of the slope, which is probably what saved me. I broke one leg and both my arms and got a p…

Wow! Firstly I would like to say this was one of those rare HN comments which blows you mind away. Very nice to hear you survived such a bad accident. >>I am lucky to be alive. It is amazing though how clear you can think in life threatening situations. David Allen talks about these situations in this talk. In the moments of crises, the brain brings about all its focus to the highest priority task at focus. Its almos…

> In the moments of crises, the brain brings about all its focus to the highest priority task at focus.

I had the same during an almost traffic accident when a truck wasn't giving me the right of the way from a side road. Brain just switched to autopilot and managed to go inches away from both truck and barriers on the other side of the road. No damage done. It was kinda amazing, being an observer only.

Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived

#160

Post by nicpottier »

bitL wrote: post #133
nicpottier wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Avalanches act very much like liquids while they are still moving, swimming upstream is indeed the common advice and it has definitely worked. That is why one of the newest devices to survive one (if you are caught) is basically a life preserver: https://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/page/avalanche-pack These serve the dual purpose of protecting your head and decreasing your density so you float to the top of the sn…

Avalanche bags work nicely in small slab to medium powder avalanches where you might end up upside down a few feet under the surface and suffocate without these bags. It won't help you with most killer avalanches such as large powder ones (220mph and acting as concrete when they stop, filling your cavities), heavy wet ones in spring taking grass, rocks and tree trunks, and most importantly large frozen slab avalanche…

> It won't help you with most killer avalanches such as large powder ones

This is tautological. Yes, few people survive killer avalanches, because that's what defines a killer avalanche.

Many avalanches encountered by backcountry skiers especially are not these giant killer ones, and can be survived either by skiing out of them or having the proper equipment and training. Your odds aren't great, but they aren't nothing either or people wouldn't bother carrying the gear. (beacon / shovel / probe / avy bag)

Anyways, this is sufficiently off topic, but your characterization of avalanches is movie-like-stuff. Huge avalanches happen but they aren't the typical case. Most are small / medium slides triggered by humans in the backcountry.

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