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You Have to Get Me Out of Here--Lissa Halls Johnson
The skies above the old Colorado mining town of Telluride were a bright Rocky Mountain blue that Saturday, May 27, 1989. It was a perfect day for rock climbers to test their skills.
Katie Kemble, a 34-year-old nurse and owner of a climbing school, had taken time off from her work to come here. Before she left, Katie and a half-dozen others had gotten together at her home, where she chatted with Ric Hatch, a 34-year-old salesman from California. Ric had heard Katie was a strong, disciplined climber, and he wanted to get to know her better. He wondered how a woman so small and soft-spoken could have such strength and endurance.
When they arrived in Telluride, the group discussed plans for a climb up Ophir Wall, a notoriously difficult cliff. Its sheer granite face juts up hundreds of feet, with only a few handholds to bear a climber's weight. This had always been the part of her vacation Katie loved best. At breakfast, Katie was paired with Ric. As they climbed up and down the wall that morning, she realized she was beginning to like her good-natured new friend.
By 2:30 that afternoon, Katie had finished climbing. Ric was on his last climb.
For a moment, Katie allowed the peace of the gorgeous spring day to embrace her. Sitting cross-legged and sheltered by the cliff, she was unaware of the 54-mph gusts sweeping over the top of the wall.
"Rock!" Ric's warning jerked her to attention. Rocks the size of garbage cans were crashing down the cliff and exploding around her.
Katie leaped to her feet. Then, with a loud crack, a rock bumped off Ophir's face and hit the back of Katie's left leg. The force of the blow threw her five-feet into the air.
Katie landed on sharp stones and felt burning pains in her left leg. Glancing down, she could see only two broken bones protruding below her left knee. Half her leg was missing!
Ric quickly came down while Katie looked around her for the rest of her leg. She found it lying close to the left side of her body. It was still attached to her knee by an inch-band of skin and muscle.
As a nurse, Katie knew she could bleed to death in a matter of minutes from an open leg artery. At her climbing school, Katie had taught the techniques of self-rescue. Through years of guiding difficult journeys, she had disciplined herself to control her emotions. "Face the fear, know what you have to do and do it" was her motto. Forcing pain off from her mind, Katie carefully lifted the almost severed leg and straightened it out. It felt odd-soft and warm, without the sensation of belonging to her body.
Ric was now beside her, a look of horror in his eyes.
