Nicolas Brinkman said on 6/22/2016:
I would like to take a moment to acknowledge Wolfgang Schweiger today, June 22 2016.
Today marks the 12th anniversary of the day that my life, my mother and sister’s lives, and my father’s life changed forever. It has taken me nearly this many years to fully understand exactly how much my father’s body and brain had to overcome in order to make the miraculous recovery that he made. I was 9 years old at the time of his accident and all that I understood was that he was severely injured and slowly recovering. I now realize that I likely would not have a father today without the world class doctors at St. Anthony hospital and Craig rehab facility, the amazing support from friends and family, the countless hours of care and effort my mother devoted to my sister and I and his recovery, and most importantly my father’s incredible determination to heal. I am immeasurably grateful to still have him in my life and I would like to extend that gratitude to everyone who played a part in his recovery.
Dad, you’re one tough son of a bitch. I’ve learned so much from you and I wouldn’t be who I am today if things had gone differently in 2004. You’re the only 12 year old I know who has that much body hair. I love you.
—–
My understanding is he was not wearing a helmet. – Tom
—–
Wolfgang Schweiger hurt in Boulder Canyon
Submitted By: Malcolm Daly on Jun 29, 2004
Add Comment
The Daily Camera Story, and updates:
I have good news about Wolf today. Heidi (Wolf’s wife, for those unaware) called last night and left us an encouraging message. She said Wolf was awake a lot yesterday. He actually stood with some help and sat in a chair. He looked at her and smiled and recognized a few more people, and did everything the doctors asked. Though he didn’t talk at all yesterday, he has previously……different parts are resting and healing at different paces. The outlook sounds very positive, and we are all amazed to hear this kind of report so early in his recovery.
With Wolf’s condition steadily improving, we feel it’s an appropriate time to provide additional assistance to the family. We have researched a few options that we feel may be helpful, but will speak directly with Heidi this morning to confirm her and her family’s needs. We still encourage people NOT to visit Wolf yet, as he needs incredible amounts of rest for his recovery to continue. However, Heidi wanted to express, once again, her appreciation for everyone’s support and concern.
———————-
Wolf continues to improve but at the same time, is experiencing some setbacks. They discovered Wolf’s left wrist is dislocated / broken and may require surgery. Apparently, Wolf has had considerable swelling throughout his body, including both wrists, and the injury wasn’t discovered until this weekend. His swelling, however, has now started to dissipate and his other injuries continue to heal well. The accumulation of fluid in his lungs has led to a mild case of pneumonia which they are treating with antibiotics.
Wolf has, at times, been responsive to voice commands, having squeezed a hand when requested, and has even opened his eyes to recognize a few people. He has even responded verbally from time to time. Wolf continues to drift in and out of responsiveness, but again, that is expected and shows positive signs of the slow comeback expected with type of injury. Doctors assure us that he is experiencing a very positive recovery for this stage in the game.
As a reminder to everyone, Wolf’s recovery will be a slow and lengthy process. He is still not ready to receive any visitors. What he needs most right now is rest and your positive thoughts and prayers. As more news becomes available, and as we determine the best ways to help him and his family, I will share that information.
————————–
Longtime climber hurt in fall at Boulder Falls
Helicopter landing on Colo. 119 delays traffic for rescue
By Amy Hebert, Camera Staff Writer
June 23, 2004
A longtime Boulder climber suffered serious head injuries Tuesday when he fell about 25 feet because his partner accidentally released their rope, rescuers said.
Wolfgang Schweiger, 45, was conscious but unresponsive when rescuers reached him about 300 feet above Boulder Falls off Colo. 119, said Dave Booton, Boulder County emergency services coordinator.
The accident happened about 4 p.m. as Schweiger was belaying back down after ascending an unknown route, Booton said. Without realizing the rope was too short, Schweiger’s partner, whose name was not released, fed the whole length through his belaying device, Booton said.
“As he’s lowering him down, the rope just pulled through his belay plate, and the guy just fell 25 feet,” Booton said. “This happens more than it should.”
Schweiger was airlifted to St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver after a complicated two-hour rescue effort that involved moving him over the falls on a stretcher suspended from a makeshift zip-line. His condition was not available late Tuesday.
The helicopter landed on the highway, bringing commuters between Boulder and Nederland to a standstill between about 5:30 and 6 p.m.
Erik Su, who was climbing nearby, said he looked up and saw Schweiger fall and expected to see the rope stop his descent.
“Then I saw him bounce on the ground,” Su said.
Schweiger is a seasoned climber who’s well known in Boulder’s climbing circles, said Gary Neptune, owner of Neptune Mountaineering. Neptune said Schweiger is a sales representative for Petzl, a company that makes climbing gear, and 5.10 climbing shoes.
“He’s just a really good climber, but very low-key about it all,” Neptune said. “You couldn’t have a nicer guy or a more honest business associate.”
Neptune said sport climbing, which is “highly controlled” with pre-placed anchors and planned routes, can be deceptive because people sometimes take their safety for granted.
“It’s possible that because of the generally safe manner of what they were doing, they let their guard down a little bit,” he said.
Ram
Even he knows to wear a helmet
http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/…s-holiness-dalai-lama-dons-b-cycle?source=rss
A helmet on His Holiness: Dalai Lama dons B-Cycle headgear in Boulder
By Mitchell Byars
Staff Writer
Boulder Mayor Suzanne Jones shares a laugh with the Dalai Lama after she gifted him a helmet during the morning session in the Coors Event Center at the University of Colorado Boulder on Thursday. More photos: http://www.dailycamera.com (Autumn Parry/Staff Photographer) June 23, 2016
Photos: The Dalai Lama at the Coors Events Center on the University of Colorado Boulder Campus
‹›
People traveled from far and wide to hear what goes on in the head of the Dalai Lama. But for a few minutes, it was the thing on the Dalai Lama’s head that drew everyone’s attention.
The Tibetan was given a B-Cycle helmet and jersey by Boulder Mayor Suzanne Jones as a gift before the first of his two scheduled teachings at the University of Colorado’s Coors Event Center on Thursday.
“It was Bike to Work Day yesterday,” Jones said.
Boulder Mayor Suzanne Jones helps the Dalai Lama adjust a helmet that she gifted him with during Thursday’s morning session of his teachings at the Coors Events Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder campus. (Autumn Parry / Staff Photographer)
Much to the delight of the crowd, His Holiness put on the helmet, and the slightly ill-fitting headgear sat lightly atop his head for several minutes before he took it off to continue his speech.
James Waddell, the executive director of B-Cycles — a nonprofit bike sharing organization — said a city official approached him about giving His Holiness a branded bike jersey.
“He called me and said, ‘Do you have a jersey for the Dalai Lama?'” Waddell said. “That’s one I’ve never heard.”
Waddell gave the city a jersey and also tossed in a branded bike helmet he happened to have.
“I was sure he wasn’t going to put either of them on,” said Waddell. “I didn’t even know the mayor was going to be presenting it to him on stage. I thought it would just be a private gift-giving thing.”
Advertisement
But sure enough, photos of the Dalai Lama holding the jersey and donning the helmet were all over social media.
“It was a pretty cool thing to see,” Waddell said.
The helmets were actually made by a Portland, Ore.-based company called Nutcase Helmets, which made B-Cycle a batch of the custom promotional helmets in exchange for some branding on their bikes.
Meghan Sinnott, the marketing manager with Nutcase, said the company had no idea about the presentation until they saw the photos pop up online.
“It was quite an honor to be on the head of His Holiness,” Sinnott said. “We are obviously big fans at Nutcase of everything that he does.”
While The Dalai Lama said he is too old to ride bicycles anymore, Sinnott pointed out that the helmet is certified for both bicycle and skateboard riders if he changes his mind.
“He’s safe no matter what he decides to do,” Sinnottt said.
Sinnott said the company affectionately refers to the people who wear their gear as “nutcases,” though she hesitated to bestow that title upon the religious leader.
The Dalia Lama with his gift of a bike helmet at the Coors Events Center on the University of Colorado campus. (Autumn Parry / Staff photographer)
“It was a funny moment, because we often joke, ‘so-and-so is a nutcase,'” Sinnott said. “You can’t really call His Holiness a ‘nutcase,’ but he certainly has our spirit.”
The Dalai Lama is no stranger to donning the native headgear of whatever city he visits, often donning caps of the local sports team or university while touring.
Sure enough, His Holiness donned a CU Buffs visor for his second teaching.
But nothing may have won the Dalai Lama more points with Boulderites than the helmet, though he may not have won any style points for way it was precariously perched on his head.
“No matter how big or famous you are, it kind of proves that helmets can look kind of dorky on everyone,” Waddell said.
Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, byarsm@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/mitchellbyars.
bhalvers2002
Helmets a must.
Last Friday, a group of 2 put into Kolob just ahead of us. We bumped into them again about rap 5 or so, at the end of what many do as a 2-stage rap. Long rap of 100 feet or so (1st picture) and then you get to a pool and swim until you reach a chockstone (2nd picture), and rap another 30 feet. The group ahead did the 1st part of the rap and then rapped off the existing webbing at the chockstone. Apparently, the webbing blew out at the chockstone (my guess is was old and likely not well inspected) once on rappel and the guy fell backwards, hit his head on the rock, briefly blacked out and went into the pool, which was deep enough to produce nothing more than a big splash. He quickly came to when he hit the pool. Fortunately, he WAS wearing a helmet and he didn’t appear more than just shaken. I assume they finished the canyon just fine because we never saw them again.
His partner was NOT wearing a helmet. I can only guess how this would have changed their trip (and ours) had the other guy experienced the fall.
Stillnoeyeddeer
I find it ironic that some folks don’t see the value of wearing a helmet in a canyon. A safety training officer for a large energy company that I work with insists that if an accident were to happen every time we “cut a corner” or failed to utilize personal protective equipment, lock-out/tag-out, etc., we would be steadfast in obeying the safety polices. However, an accident doesn’t happen every time we don’t wear a helmet. Nor does an accident happen every time we accelerate through a “pink” traffic light. Because there was not a negative outcome by our actions (or lack of), our behavior is reinforced. We cut a corner, got away with it, and it saved us time and energy. By luck and by chance, we continue to get away with it. Time and time again.
Until….We Don’t.
ratagonia
Applies to a lot of other aspects of canyoneering…
Tom
AW~
Hmm, sounds like you arent all there…you need to stay in your home, glued to fakebook ghettos. Very safe. Wear the helmet and the collective will take care of you and stop the evil nazis. Unlimited first descents too.
stefan
… and also why we put them on before/beginning a canyon:
M.R. Kelsey wrote: “… Then it’s down to the dark bottom with 2 potholes (they should be never too deep). It was there MRK slipped and fell backwards about 1m hitting his head on the wall; it was then we all put on helmets! It was not a serious thing, but with all the sweat, blood was running down his face all day long …”