Kids & Family
After Near-Death Fall From Mt. Whitney, California Teen Finally At Home: Reports
A teen is healing after falling 100-feet while hiking, but the accident is a blank nearly three months later, his dad says.
INYO COUNTY, CA — According to the laws of physics, a 100-foot fall should be deadly for anyone weighing more than 10 gallons of paint or a big bag of sugar.
But Zane Wach, 14, who survived just such an ordeal after plummeting at least that far to the ground beneath during a Mt. Whitney hike with his father in June, is now on track for a full recovery, the SF Gate reported.
The Santa Clarita teen, Zane Wach, still can't remember much about the accident or things that happened shortly before the hike, his father told reporters.
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The father, Ryan Wach, said his son can't remember climbing Mount Whitney on June 10, or inexplicably walking off a granite slope, or falling to the earth below from a height equivalent to a 10-story building.
Zane had begun hallucinating and appeared disoriented on the way down the mountain.
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Calls about the fall came in shortly before 8 p.m., but it had occurred more than 3 miles from the trailhead along a steep area, and rescuers were unable to reach the father and son until after midnight. Zane was loaded onto a helicopter after 1 a.m., according to Inyo County Search & Rescue.
Mount Whitney has the highest peak in the lower 48 states, according to the Sierra Mountain Center.
Altitude sickness is known to cause such symptoms. Ryan Wach said that medical professionals also suggested that overexertion and sleep deprivation could have played a role in what happened.
After the fall, Zane was flown to the Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas, where doctors induced a medical coma, and the process of healing began.
In the meantime, members of Zane's swim team have collected more than $39,000 in donations on GoFundMe for him and his family. Recovery was "...slow but steady, and every small gain feels like a miracle," his family reported on the site in July. "This road will be long, but we remain hopeful."
Less than a month later, Zane still faces a long road ahead, but Ryan Wach said the teen is looking forward to a father-son hike.
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