Thursday, November 02, 2023

Thursday Night Solo, Hunts and back

Up from home to the top top of Vic, half dying on the steep climbing.  Quick blat down round the jumpies and and hard right into Coffee Break climbing gently up to the Traverse.  Misty fog lingering in spots around here, with various views diminished, vanished or there.  Stopped up top of Huntsbury and had a quick snack and break.  Then dropped into top of Four Pause for a nice blat down this bony rutty trail.  Yumpity bump, missing the 2nd jump, and then whoah..., dude slowing me just before the bottom gap jump, bypassing it cos there's a guy lying on the ground on the landing pad. Not in a good way.  His mate was on the phone to the emergency services, describing where they were.  Raspy sounding breathing, so maybe his lung was punctured?  Nasty rasping sound... I couldn't help, wasn't carrying my space blanket (which I'd have given if I was), his mates had it in hand, so I took off, continuing down the 'easy' tussock route, through the cattlestop, part way down the singletrack then peeled left through tussocks and clambered over Rocky, nearly crashing, then down all the way, bypassing or taking various of the jumps, all the way to the bottom of the Huntsbury Track. 

Back up the gravel road expecting an ambulence up behind me or chopper flying over any minute, but none.  Eventually back up to the guys, dude still on his back, still sounding dreadful, - he'd cased the jump.  They said they were sending a chopper...  Ground  up the gravel grovel and up onto the Traverse again, bomb bomb, lots of runners and walkers, chatted with a girl in an Montana State Uni top, "MSU!  I lived in Bozeman in the early 90s. - started mountainbiking there, 30 years ago!"  On around Traverse, big group of walkers hustling out of the way, and then bomba domb down over the jumps, straight through the cattlestop and down the rabbit paddock into the rocks, and gums, wend wend, out to skidder, over 19th, then into 235 all the way through out onto H'Ell and down the road back up around to home.... 

Home about 10 minutes when I finally heard and saw the chopper past, weaving its route to avoid the foggy mist... that was a long wait for the poor injured dude. 

Vitally statistical 13.8 kms with 481 m climbed

No comments: