********** January 1, 1999 **********
New Mom and Dad: Kim and Lloyd Shafer dispatched Benjamin Bryant Shafer Way cool. 10- 23 on 1 Jan at 3:08 am.
********** January 4, 1999 **********
| Winter Rescue Team Meeting 1- 4- 99 |
| A good showing again this year with much winter- ski- avalanche experience in the group And there was Jeff Davis, rescuer of the year, too. |
********** January 8, 1999 **********
| Avalanche Awareness Week: Lecture at the MIC, skills at the trailhead. Jan 8, 9, 10. |
| From the La Sal Avalanche Forecast
Center newsletter written by Faerthen Felix, the forecastress: "Thanks to everyone
who participated in events during Avalanche Awareness Week. Classes were a success again
this year with 11 people viewing the avalanche awareness slide presentation, 17 attending
the avalanche class session at the MIC and 15 people participating in the field session.
Channel 6 TV ran the program "Winning the Avalanche Game" (produced in UT). La Sal Avalanche Forecast Center: www.avalanche.org/~lsafc |
"Those standing in the middle of the road are likely to get hit by cars going in
both directions."
| 98-773 - Zion NP (UT) - Search and Rescue | |
Vince Gonor, 25, and his climbing
partner, Leif Enbertson, 20, were attempting a technical climb near Moonlight Buttress
late on the afternoon of December 27th when Gonor fell between 20 and 30 feet and
sustained a major head injury.
Enbertson reported that Gonor went into an immediate seizure, then was unconscious for about 15 minutes while hanging in his climbing harness. Enbertson rappelled off the wall, contacted another group of climbers, asked them to go for help, then climbed back to the accident scene and lowered Gonor to a ledge. A four-person technical SAR team led by assistant chief ranger Dave Buccello began a night technical rescue operation. They were supported by another dozen members of the park staff. Gonor was provided with advanced life support while being lowered over 600 feet from the ledge. The rescue operation was completed at 3 a.m. Gonor was taken by park ambulance to St. George, then flown to Las Vegas by air ambulance. He remains in critical condition and in a medically induced coma to help him recover from his brain injury. Gonor was not wearing a climbing helmet. In addition to the complicating factors of a technical rescue at night, rescuers had to deal with freezing temperatures, wind, rock fall hazards, and evacuation across numerous rivers. [ZION, 12/29] |
Zion National Park
Think the Y2K bug is weird? What happened at Y zero K? How did they fix going
from BC to AD. And what will be the deal at Y5B when the sun burns up?
********** January 12, 1999 **********
| GCSAR meeting 1- 12- 99 |
| The Officers proposed some by law changes. There is much discussion about what to do with the folks who don’t participate in the org very much. The Training Officer got a lot of great ideas for this year’s training schedule. PSAR effort toward the Channel 6 scroll. |
Training: Intro to the Lift Evacuation Plan, being written for Portal Vista by
Bego. The Question: Who will be on Portal Vista’s Lift Evacuation Team??
| 99-10 - Mesa Verde NP (CO) - Search and Rescue | |
New Jersey visitors Ellen Levine, 35, and Charles Polick, 37, became lost while hiking in the Cliff Palace area on January 10th. Rangers noticed their rental car parked in an area which is closed at dusk. A hasty search was conducted, but no sign of the occupants was found. Rangers began an extensive search the next morning which involved park staff, search dogs, Civil Air Patrol aircraft and local search units. Levine and Polick were found out of the primary search area five miles north of the point last seen after they built a signal fire on January 13th. They were mobile during most of the search and had covered about nine miles of rugged canyon terrain. Both suffered from cold and dehydration; they were flown out by air ambulance but not hospitalized. [ MEVE, 1/13] |
Mesa Verde
And Only Thirty-Nine Days Until Spring - The temperature at Denali National Park
hit a new record low of 54 degrees below zero last week. The previous record was 52 below
zero. As of Friday, the temperature had risen to a balmy 40 below...
********** January 16, 1999 **********
| Winter Rescue Team 1- 16- 99 |
| This energetic band of snowies went up to Geyser Pass Trailhead and trained with the implements of winter rescue: beacons, shovels, toboggans and snowmobiles. Not much snow. Fun time. Digital beacons take practice. Doing multiple digital beacons takes practice. The team discussed what to do with training funds that Nyland said were available. Possibilities include basic avalanche control using explosives and helicopter protocol. |
Firefighter of the Year-- goes to Archie Walker. Archie is a local fellow with
wife, kids, Grigri.
********** January 17, 1999 **********
| 99- 1 | 1- 17- 99 | Search for "oh Nothing" | Crescent Junction | IC = 1 T A6rt |
| Weird: In the vicinity of
the Crooked Wash Rest Area on I-70, a passer-by told an anonymous trucker who cell phoned
dispatch about a cave-in in a cave, one Native American female trapped. Rescuers responded with rescue gear and cribbing. They searched east and west of Crescent Jct. and several dirt roads. To quote: "Nada, Zippo." Comments: A UFO deal. Responders are now a bit different than before. Responders: Frankd, Kennyd, Rexd, Daved, Samd, Dand, Jeffd, Georged, Mattd. |
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The cobra will bite you whether you call it cobra or Mr. Cobra.
********** January 28, 1999 **********
| GCSAR meeting 1- 28- 99 |
| Amoco donated 1000 gallons of gas again.
These folks should get an Oscar. We’ll do the GCSAR business supporter Sticker thing
again this year, by popular demand. Much discussion about future Tramway responses to
Behind the Rocks. Some By-Law changes were made. Get your copy at the office. Proper
attendance is a must. Training: The Map Thing. We broke up into 3 groups with Frank showing computer mapping capabilities (it’s incredible), Bego describing coordinate systems and Jennie teaching finding stuff on maps. A progressive night at the map house. Can you read a useful set of coordinates from most any map?? |
"I’m absolutely sure there is no life on Mars-- it’s not listed
on my teenage daughter’s phone bill."
| One Too-Short Story by Matt: |
| "That German tv thing was more
interesting than I originally planned. They decided to show some rappelling after I talked
with 'em awhile the first night. So the following morning I lug 400' of line to the top of
Alcove Spring. Faces east, gets early sun, trail to the bottom for cameras, legal, etc.
Figured it'd be perfect but had no time to scout it the previous day. I hadn't been there
in years but had rapped off other navajo layers in ISKY which were definitely less than
300'. Alcove Spring would be the same, right? 400'? Sure that's enough. So I put two wraps
around a pj about 50' from the rim, huck the remaining rope, clip in and head down with
cameras rolling. That pile of rope you normally see on the ground wasn't there. Hmm. OK,
swing the rope back and forth and sheeeeesssshhh... the end is swaying in the air.
"Hey guys, uhm, say how far from the ground is the end of the rope?" These guys
start mumbling in German and I barely hear them say "30 meters." Oh boy. Rope
stretch ain't taking care of that. That there is one big cliff. And steep too. A great rap
for someone looking to get big, easily accessed air. The German dudes loved it. Raved
about how it's so adventurous around here, that things don't always work as planned. They
seem to think people run out of rope all the time. I'm glad they saw it that way. At least
they got plenty of juggin' footage!" Comments: The perfect example: If you go down a rope, take "get back up it" equipment. |
ADVENTURE:
There are many kinds of adventure, but most of them fit into one of two main categories.
There are adventures that happen to you with no design on your part: they blindside you,
and are likely to awaken you (perhaps in spite of yourself) to unexpected and sometimes
dangerous aspects of life that you had hitherto blithely ignored. But there are also
adventures that you choose to experience, that you deliberately commit yourself to in an
act of free will. Either kind, by definition, involves risk, hazard and danger. The root
meaning of the word "adventure," in fact, is ominous--- "adventura: that
which is about to happen to someone." Even in what can be called "voluntary
adventure," that sort of adventure which you choose of your own free will, you are
voluntarily submitting yourself to something that might well fly out of your control and
make you a passive victim of blind chance, no matter how skilled you might be. I once
heard an explorer comment: "I hate the very word adventure-- it means that something
has gone wrong."
[ From the introduction to "No Picnic on Mt. Kenya," by Felice Benuzzi.
Felice and 2 buddies escaped from a WW2 prison camp in Kenya, made an audacious ascent of
Mt. Kenya at 17,000’ plus, and sneaked back into the prison camp undetected 18 days
later. All that on a meager 10 day food supply with ice axes and crampons made in PoW camp
].
| From FIRE RESCUE MAGAZINE: |
| Every year Fire Rescue Magazine and others sponsor Combat Challenge, the Firefighter’s Olympics. In the women’s results, Martha Ellis of Salt Lake City Fire Dept has taken the title 4 years in a row. Most firefighters agreed that the "100’ dummy drag" is the most difficult part. |
1 T 7 offers this: "If you drink, don’t park. Accidents cause
people."
| CALIF. LAW ON CHARGING FOR RESCUES GETS FIRST TEST: |
| After several months in court (of
course), two males were ordered to pay the costs of their rescue, as part of State law
which prohibits skiing or snowboarding in an area posted as closed to the public. The law
allows a county to bill a person over 16, up to $5000.00. The pair got lost in the fog, one had fallen 60’ over a cliff and was suffering. They found shelter in a cave and started a fire with a lighter and a $5.00 bill. The rescue involved 65 people and the helo that spotted them first, 4 miles out of bounds. They "knowingly trespassed." From the discussion in the article: "... Throughout the United States, charging for Search and Rescue is controversial. The Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) has gone on record against charging for SAR activities. The contention, in part, is that relatives or friends of a lost or distressed person might be reluctant to report an incident if they're concerned with a costly rescue." |
Fire Rescue Mag mentions our last mountain-biker-over-the-edge in the column titled: "More
Recreational Darwinism"
And finally, Fire Rescue Mag notes that Moab FD member August Brooks reports,
"I spend my whole life on hold."
| Gary Haynes gets Arches SAR --> |
| From: Jim-ski-basketball Webster After a long and diligent search, working on a register of highly skilled and capable candidates that anyone would envy, I have made a selection to fill the position vacated by Galen Howell last year. Gary Haynes will be the new park ranger at ARCH. He has many skills, and work and life experiences that are a great fit for the job here. He will fill the bill as a fully functioning RMVP ranger (resource management and visitor protection/patrol ranger), and will have many collateral duties as we all do here. Included in those duties will be the ARCH SAR coordinator. I'm exited about the new addition to our staff here. |
Deja Moo: The feeling that you’ve heard this bull before.
"Putting an ice axe in the hands of a would-be mountaineer often represents the
only danger on a climb."
| Regarding Certification...applies to SAR too. Coming soon, to your neighborhood.............. |
| Quoted from "Comments regarding the
Colorado Plateau River Guides By-Laws" by Michele Hill in The Confluence 5:3, Fall
1998. [This part is from the By-Laws] "CPRG is organized for the following purposes: .......(e) To create a forum that will promote professionalism within the guiding community of the Colorado Plateau." [This part is from her comments] "One concern is that training will be mandated to guides. At the national level, America Outdoors, there is a movement to investigate certification of guides... . CPRG wants to fill item (e), create a forum that will promote professionalism within the guiding community on the Colorado Plateau and be proactive in sharpening our profession. This does not equal certifications that cost more money... . CPRG’s momentum is in creating a proactive system of training that can be construed as distinguished professionalism... . My point is: Accredited Guide training... shrug." |
"A high degree of spiritual development, a romantic temperament and a profound
knowledge based on experience of mountain conditions are the best safeguards against the
insane impulses and hysterical errors which overwhelm the average man." Said
Aleister Crowley, British dude.
********** February 1, 1999 **********
| Winter Rescue Team meeting- 2- 1- 99 |
| Saturday, Feb. 20th: The Mock Disaster
in the North Woods. Faerthen wrote a great piece on LSAFC and avalanches in the Feb.
"Moab Happenings." Friends of LSAFC bought Faerthen a big, fast computer. New
USFS video for snowmobilers: "Riding Safely in Avalanche Terrain." The
snowmobile has become the most efficient avalanche locating and triggering device ever
invented. The Avalanche Review publishes Beacon Study: Longest Range- 1. Barryvox VS 2000; 2. Pieps Opti4; 3. Ortovox M1; 4. Arva 9000; and 5. Tracker DTS (the only USA made one in the test). The testers concluded that longer range slows the search on a small avalanche path and shortens it on a large one. Most people are buried on small paths. Fastest Search Time: 1. Tracker; 2. Ortovox; 3. Pieps; 4. Barryvox; 5. Arva To read the report: http://www.caic.state.co.us/LVS98_page.html. Same http address: "Companion Rescue and Avalanche Transceivers- The US Experience" LSAFC performed avalanche education in Price, UT and to 50 Boy Scouts and their leaders at Ron Holyoak’s cabin in Dark Canyon. BSA won’t do an Avalanche Awareness merit badge. 10,000 Thank yous Faerthen- you D best. |
I think it was the cave-heads who worked this out for rappelling into the unknown. If
you drop a rock into a dark and scary limestone pit in Mexico and count seconds until you
hear the rock hit the depth is figured thus: D = 11 t2 + 8.9 t - 7.7
********** February 9, 1999 **********
| GCSAR meeting 2- 9- 99 |
| Fund Raisers: The idea is to get a 2
seater Polaris 6 wheeler. The County didn’t fund it so we’ll just do it
ourselves. OK. So, if we create a big public relations campaign toward one goal and
combine these monies, we’ll have it: 1) Sell "Support GCSAR" stickers to businesses and individuals. 2) GCSAR golf tournament. 3) Donations from corporations, ie. Perpetual Images, Ferrellgas, Field Services, etc. 4) kickbacks...... 4) Sales of equipment we don’t use anymore. 5) Some $$ from our checking account. Training: Kenny did some patient packaging with the Stokes litter and 6 folks practiced rappelling and ascending on the fire training tower. Seems like Rex and John are all hooked into this traveling on rope stuff now. A few did the climbing wall. We got in trouble for using a bowline around the waist (worked for 100 years). |
Be Careful with your radios. Repair bills have spent 1/2 our repair money and
it’s just March.
********** February 20, 1999 **********
| 2- 20 Portal Vista Lift Evacuation Team Training. |
| The birthing of Emmett’s evac team. Instructress Lee Kelly led the drill with 8 other folks. Join the team. PV will donate $7.00 per hour of training to your favorite charity. [This is not true now. Team members paid directly. See 2- 27- 99 entry.] You get free passes for you, family and friends. And, you get a T-shirt that the team will design. Training is each Saturday. Until the 12th, trainings are held at Klepsig’s hay barn on Cane Creek Blvd. where a mock chairlift is set up. On the 13th, training moves to the lift proper. The "rescue community at large" invited to the training on March 14th. This is the last training before the Utah Tram Safety Committee "demonstration" on the 15th. Comments: I would encourage everyone in the rescue community to stop by any of their trainings, if just to see. If an evac happens, it will be ALL of us. |
Acronym of the month: PHO = Potentially Hazardous Object
| 2- 20 Portal Vista: The Erection of the Thing. |
| "I wish I were a young buck again" really doesn’t visit me often but..... Here was the scene: With a big helicopter, big steel loads (up to the bull wheel at 5300 lbs), big bolts, brass balls and adrenaline, the CTEC team put up all 10 towers, cross arms, top station with bullwheel and some other stuff in 1.7 helo hours. What a show. Team of eight (I think) on the hillside, racing downhill after finishing one tower to receive the next with out skipping a beat. The helo never stopped. The sequencing, accuracy and danger were all there. The lead guy has been doing it for 13 years and has a huge grin on about it. Woo. |
Desert Haiku: Drought/Even the wind/Searches for water.
| 99- 2 | 2- 20- 99 | Almost rescue on Castle Rock | Castle Valley | IC = 1 T 8 |
| Dispatch called 1T8 that
there might be some climbers stranded on Castle Rock. 8 said that he had talked with them
the night before...they were asking directions...said they wanted to climb Castle Rock but
didn't know where it was (always a good sign)...from back east somewhere. So 1T8 drove
up... could see their lights...and said it looked like they were signaling him for help.
He asked dispatch to call 801 and page GCSAR. 1T8 and 801 drove to a point where they
could make voice contact. The climbers said they were ok...did not need help. It looked
like they were coming down the trail...three flashlights strung out along the topmost
talus...they had a long way to go. Comments: It could have been a helluva night if the climbers had needed help. Sherpa intensive. Would have called for Arches Helicopters to lift us in. Tra la la boom dee-A: Short haul at night? 801 says: "I love those rare rescues where I get home before everyone else." Back at the shed, we were all bummed out about being 10-22d. Responders: Frank, Kenny, Brad, Bego, Sam, Daves Mason and Lyle, Lee, Matt |
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Overheard: "A horizonless expanse of certification exudate."
********** February 25, 1999 **********
| GCSAR meeting 2- 25- 99 |
| For Officers On Call during the
weekends, the pay is $20.00. More ideas on the 6 wheeler fund raiser. Rex will see about
any City monies available.. Training: Search Dogs starring George, Nancy & Jimmy and the dogs. Three victims were sent out, one of them being Alicia Cooper. Three dawg teams went searching. It can be said that urban searching and rural searching are different things. |
********** February 27, 1999 **********
| 2- 27 Portal Vista Lift Evacuation Team training |
| The group has the ground-based T-seat
rescue method dialed in. New news: Lift Evacuation Team members are now paid directly. Before, your money was headed for "charity." Team members are now "on the payroll." This had to do with how insurance really works and doesn’t work. Anyway, money for something and the tickets are free. Jeff Brown and Lee Kelly are in the leadership / consultant groove. |
Be opinionated.
| "Silt Happens" Back Issues |
| #98-6 (Nov-Dec 98) --
Thanks Yous; Tramway and rescue plans; Cellular Phonefinder; Practice Safe Response;
Pipeline Go BOOM #98-5 (Sept-Oct 98) -- Credit for Responding; Colin Smith @ NPS SAR; Response Statistics; Old Men Do Cliff ResQ; Documentation; SLTrib: $ for SAR #98-4 (July-Aug 98) #98-3 (May-June 98) #98-2 (Mar-Apr 98) #98-1 (Jan-Feb 98) #97-6 (Nov-Dec 97) |