Edson man trapped for three days
Andrea Sands, edmontonjournal.com
EDMONTON - An Edson sheep hunter trapped in a mountain canyon for three days was so desperate to get warm that he set his shirt on fire to generate heat.
Roy Getson, 25, was plucked by helicopter Thursday morning from the three-metre wide canyon in the mountains about 40 kilometres northwest of Nordegg. He was hunting big-horn sheep alone Monday when he slipped and fell about 15 metres into the gorge as he stopped to take a scenic picture.
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AAAAFont: "It's something I've done 100 times before in different places, and this time I fell in," Getson said Saturday from his home in Edson.
"It was a fairly straight fall down into the water."
Getson landed in a shallow creek. He was only about one and a half kilometres from his truck at the time.
The married father of two young girls had only a few scrapes, but he had no gear to help him scale the smooth rock face. Stranded in the ravine, he picked his way down the creek that led back towards his truck. His clothes were eventually soaked.
"All I had on was just a day pack that hardly had anything in it," he said.
"I always carry two pairs of socks with me. I had my hiking boots, a pair of jeans, two shirts on - a fleece shirt - and my jacket, tied to my backpack."
Eventually, Getson's path was cut off by a steep cliff and waterfall.
He laid his wet clothes on a rock, hoping they would dry, and got ready to spend the night in the canyon.
"I had a fleece neck warmer. I put my feet in it and put that inside the backpack, zipped the backpack up over my legs, threw my jacket over top of my legs and put my fleece shirt back on. I used garbage bags to break the wind. It got below freezing that Monday night too."
Getson spent Tuesday struggling to stay warm as it rained and snowed. He ate small pieces of the only food he had - a roll of garlic sausage - and drank water from the creek.
He fired off rifle shots in the dark, hoping anyone nearby would suspect a poacher and call parks officials to report illegal hunting.
With no kindling and desperate for warmth late Tuesday night, Getson set a shirt on fire. "Even though it was wet, it went up pretty quick."
Hypothermia began setting in and Getson started to feel warm despite the bitter weather. He didn't sleep.
"I kept thinking about the kids and I had my digital camera so I kept looking at pictures of the family."
By that night, Getson's wife, Rhonda, knew something was wrong. Her husband was supposed to be home Tuesday afternoon and he still hadn't called.
Panicked, Rhonda phoned her father and brother, who drove out to the mountain and located Getson's truck. First thing Wednesday morning, Rhonda called RCMP and Fish and Wildlife officers to report her husband missing.
At around 3 p.m. Wednesday, Getson saw a helicopter fly by. As the chopper did several sweeps of the area, Getson fired off shots from his rifle to help rescuers pinpoint his location.
"They flew back and forth a bunch of times, but they never did see me. I had my neck warmer - it's orange fleece, so it's bright - and I tied a rock into it and threw it up over the ledge," said Getson.
"It wasn't too long after that I hear one of the rescue guys calling."
Rescuers hiked and rappelled into the canyon Wednesday night, bringing Getson food, water and a sleeping bag. The next morning, they clipped Getson into a harness and lifted him out of the gorge by helicopter.
Getson said he won't go hunting alone again. "I'm going to start carrying more safety gear too - safety blankets and flares," he said.
asands@thejournal.canwest.com
©Edmonton Journal 2007
Andrea Sands, edmontonjournal.com
EDMONTON - An Edson sheep hunter trapped in a mountain canyon for three days was so desperate to get warm that he set his shirt on fire to generate heat.
Roy Getson, 25, was plucked by helicopter Thursday morning from the three-metre wide canyon in the mountains about 40 kilometres northwest of Nordegg. He was hunting big-horn sheep alone Monday when he slipped and fell about 15 metres into the gorge as he stopped to take a scenic picture.
Email to a friend
Printer friendly
AAAAFont: "It's something I've done 100 times before in different places, and this time I fell in," Getson said Saturday from his home in Edson.
"It was a fairly straight fall down into the water."
Getson landed in a shallow creek. He was only about one and a half kilometres from his truck at the time.
The married father of two young girls had only a few scrapes, but he had no gear to help him scale the smooth rock face. Stranded in the ravine, he picked his way down the creek that led back towards his truck. His clothes were eventually soaked.
"All I had on was just a day pack that hardly had anything in it," he said.
"I always carry two pairs of socks with me. I had my hiking boots, a pair of jeans, two shirts on - a fleece shirt - and my jacket, tied to my backpack."
Eventually, Getson's path was cut off by a steep cliff and waterfall.
He laid his wet clothes on a rock, hoping they would dry, and got ready to spend the night in the canyon.
"I had a fleece neck warmer. I put my feet in it and put that inside the backpack, zipped the backpack up over my legs, threw my jacket over top of my legs and put my fleece shirt back on. I used garbage bags to break the wind. It got below freezing that Monday night too."
Getson spent Tuesday struggling to stay warm as it rained and snowed. He ate small pieces of the only food he had - a roll of garlic sausage - and drank water from the creek.
He fired off rifle shots in the dark, hoping anyone nearby would suspect a poacher and call parks officials to report illegal hunting.
With no kindling and desperate for warmth late Tuesday night, Getson set a shirt on fire. "Even though it was wet, it went up pretty quick."
Hypothermia began setting in and Getson started to feel warm despite the bitter weather. He didn't sleep.
"I kept thinking about the kids and I had my digital camera so I kept looking at pictures of the family."
By that night, Getson's wife, Rhonda, knew something was wrong. Her husband was supposed to be home Tuesday afternoon and he still hadn't called.
Panicked, Rhonda phoned her father and brother, who drove out to the mountain and located Getson's truck. First thing Wednesday morning, Rhonda called RCMP and Fish and Wildlife officers to report her husband missing.
At around 3 p.m. Wednesday, Getson saw a helicopter fly by. As the chopper did several sweeps of the area, Getson fired off shots from his rifle to help rescuers pinpoint his location.
"They flew back and forth a bunch of times, but they never did see me. I had my neck warmer - it's orange fleece, so it's bright - and I tied a rock into it and threw it up over the ledge," said Getson.
"It wasn't too long after that I hear one of the rescue guys calling."
Rescuers hiked and rappelled into the canyon Wednesday night, bringing Getson food, water and a sleeping bag. The next morning, they clipped Getson into a harness and lifted him out of the gorge by helicopter.
Getson said he won't go hunting alone again. "I'm going to start carrying more safety gear too - safety blankets and flares," he said.
asands@thejournal.canwest.com
©Edmonton Journal 2007
