Content by Bego Gerhart (1T836) --- HTML by Frank Mendonca (1T805) using Microsoft FrontPage

2002-  J-0  F-3
2001-  J-0  F-2  M-  5   A-11   M-   8  J- 6 [32]   J-  6   A-3   S-2   O-  2  [45]  N-5   D-1  [51]
2000-  J-2  F-4  M-  9   A-13   M- 14  J- 7 [49]   J-  3   A-2   S-9   O-  7  [70]  N-0   D-0  [70]
1999-  J-1  F-1  M-15   A-  4   M- 11  J- 8 [40]   J-  6   A-9   S-9   O-13  [77]  N-7   D-2  [86]
1998-  J-0  F-1  M-  5   A-18   M- 15  J- 3 [42]   J-10   A-2   S-4   O-  9  [67]  N-3   D-1  [71]  
1997-  J-4  F-6  M-10   A-  8   M- 16  J- 9 [53]   J-  4   A-6   S-5   O-  9  [77]  N-8   D-0  [85]            
1996-  J-4  F-5  M-  2   A-12   M- 14  J- 7 [44]   J-  5   A-5   S-5   O-  6  [65]  N-9   D-4  [78] 

Community Service Projects for Search and Rescue
  -  PSA notes on the Channel 6 scroll about how to be prepared outdoors, prevention, self rescue.
  -  Letter to "adventure travel" companies, motels:  Lost Person Questionnaire with notes on the right questions to ask if someone comes in with a report of someone in trouble.
  -  Half Marathon-  road closures and big help at the start and finish lines.
  -  Jeep Safari parking at the Arena for Boy Scout dinner night.  Herding jeeps, part 1.
  -  Saturday Line Up-  Herding jeeps, part 2.     

"We are like well ordered ants." said a famous Colorado rescuer

01- 51     12- 10- 01          Search in storm, above snow line     La Sal Mtns     Sand Flats Road
     The Dad, a friend, a child and an infant went "to play in the snow" at 4pm ( an hour and a half before dark).  Astrovan with street tires.  They didn't return to take the wife dinner at 6pm.  She called 911 and went looking also.
     Steve B and Louis went looking on all the main roads above snow line (6,000 ft that night).  Driving was tedious at best in the blizzards.  Frank was radio relay for part of this.  The Geyser Pass parking lot and North Beaver Mesa junction were checked out.  Brownell made it down the upper Sand Flats road into Cougar Canyon before getting stuck, unstuck and back out. 
     Curt Brewer joined the effort and drove up into the Park Creek drainage.
     Some SAR members who had been monitoring the radio traffic "drifted" down to the shed (this is probably a form of ambulance chasing).  By 10 pm, the reporting party had come to the shed and the wife was SURE (a mom's intuition, listen up) the subjects would be on the Sand Flats road.  There were many clues as to his whereabouts based on past behaviors, his knowledge of the mountains and roads and "impressions."  Rex dealt out assignments. 
     Frankie showed up with The Hummer.  He, Jeff and T Berry were to go up the Loop Road and ALL the way down Sand Flats.  Sam and Bego (with skis) went UP the Sand Flats.  At Maloy Park, the SAR Bronco got snowed to a stop.  The Hummer made it down to the end of Brownell's tracks, went around one more corner and there was the subject's van, stuck.  All were asleep with the engine and heater running.
Comments:  There was some concern about the engine running, windows up and possible carbon monoxide poisoning had we not found the van soon enough.  Turns out, they had checked to see if the exhaust pipe was clear of the snow.  It is also interesting to note that The Hummer got mixed reviews as to how well it did in those snowy conditions.
Responders:  Rex, Frank, Sam, Bego, Jeff, T Berry, Frankie Hummer
Guest appearance:  Curt Brewer

Gunslinger's First Law of SAR:      "SAR is for the serious, not the well meaning.

"Options, delegation, trust."   Nels N Niemi, explorer

 In Rescue magazine:  "An awful lot of rope rescue people have a hunger to embrace any system that can be promoted as "The Answer."  Why do they seek easy answers?  Probably because some rope rescuers are intimidated by  condescending intellectuals and are scared to do their own thinking.  Beware rescue system extremists."

COUNTY  EMPLOYEE  OF  THE  YEAR  2001 :             CURT  BREWER    1 T  4

"Like putting bullfrogs in a wheelbarrow."-  Soliciting others to write for Silt

Charging for SAR--  newspaper article sent in by Gary "Plans" Haynes

Charging for SAR comes up on various SAR lists with frequency.  Here is a current incident in Colorado.  Article below.

Snow boarder To Be Charged $1,900 For Rescue      Ski Area To Bill Man Who Went Out-Of-Bounds

Wayne Harrison, Senior News Editor, The DENVER Channel

     A California Airman will be billed $1,900 for his rescue after he got lost snowboarding in the Steamboat Ski Area New Year's Day.
     Chris Dicicco, of California City, Calif. was cited for violation of a ski area closure after he said he ducked under a rope in the resort's South Peak area and got lost and trapped south of the Steamboat, Colo., resort. That could result in additional $300 fine.
     Steamboat spokesman Mike Lane said accessing the backcountry through ski resorts is illegal and the ropes are there because the terrain poses a threat to skiers and snowboarders who go into out-of-bounds areas.
     Lane said that Dicicco will be billed for the six-hour search and rescue operation, which was conducted primarily on snowmobiles.
     Dicicco was visiting his brother who lives in Steamboat when he crossed the ski-area boundary and became lost in a draining area. He is stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Search and Rescue     Arches Natural Park     1- 7- 02
      Just listening to the radio traffic:  Arches rangers hiked out toward Delicate Arch to find a lost group who reported themselves lost by 911 cell phone.  Messages between the group and the rangers were relayed thru dispatch.  "Can you see this light?"  "Yes"  "How far away is it?"   "Get on a nearby high spot and stay there, yelling at our lights." "The lights just veered off."  "OK"  and so on til all parties met.  Clear, coolish night.

Outside Magazine for February has a cover story on Search and Rescue.  One article is about the infamous Rocky Mountain Rescue Group.  Some quotes from that article:  "Chuck and his colleagues won't take orders, don't wear uniforms and each year handle more missions than any other volunteer SAR squad in America.... completes roughly 80 missions a year...  most of the 63 members hover somewhere between 25 and 30-- they all look well, wonkish."  "Jenny Paddock, 39, ... one of the most highly respected dog handlers in the state."  "Even more unnerving is the fact that no one is wearing a uniform, or even a patch and no one seems to be in charge."  "We're like well ordered ants."  In his car: "I've got every thing I need for a couple days in the mountains... I've even got the directions to my GPS in case I get stupid."  "Join RMR and see Colorado by headlamp."  "I've got a hunch."  "You see, they (the team members) know.  Nobody needs to order anybody anywhere.  The truth is, we're so darned experienced we don't need it."

July 4, 1955- The Eggert-Hatch river trip:

Ran to Hite. Dark Canyon Rapids easy if you run right and pull hard left at end. Still H2O after D. C.
At Hite, Ruben Nielson--gas & oil.-&ferry. Watch cable! Go right side. In summary I would say Cataract is easy in spots and surprisingly difficult in others. Bad areas are the Big Drop, Gypsum,
and Dark Canyon.

Olympic Torch Run          2- 4- 2002
Utah selected for the 2002 Winter Olympics 5 years ago.
Planning began:  The day the torch was scheduled to come to Moab.
Rex  started attending meetings:  October, 2001
THE Briefing at NPS HQ:  23 Jan 02
-period of last minute adjustments in timing, people placements,  additional personnel......
Friday night:  Request for rope hand lines to be installed at the icy spots on the trail.
Saturday:  Handline areas scouted.  Trail crew chipping and melting ice.
Sunday, Feb. 3 (Operations logged as incident #02-1):
Handline crew out early.  Expanded trail crew working feverishly.  Many people looking........
Page out (noon) for SAR sherpas to carry loads up the trail to our staging areas. 
Jeff's travel trailer becomes "SAR Base" in the parking lot.  New generators used.  Good deal.
Loads up.  Handlines in.  Karen sees the last people out and locks the gate.
Scrabble, jungle style (any word) won by JRIG, SUD (singular of suds) and AZT on a red sq.
Pizza w/ anchovies on half ("Booo," some said)
Monday, Feb. 4,  (Operations logged as incident #02-2):
Operational period 3:  0300 hours wakeup call
A BIG pot of coffee is brewed in 3rd quarter moonlight at 8 degrees F. 
By 0415, SAR has deployed, by 0500 everyone and everything are in place.  Nice.  Cold.
By 0600, SAR and EMS has wheeled out a broken ankle and dealt with an asthma sufferer.
An auspicious start but nothing else happened.
0730, the Torch at Delicate Arch.  Stephanie, granddad, the 4 winds, flute, sunrise.
SAR back at base by 0900 hrs.

From   THE  BOSS:  Sheriff Nyland

"You all are commended for your participation in the torch relay.  I was monitoring the frequency's and everybody did a great job.  Everything  else went great through the entire event."

From Logistics Section Chief  Steve Swanke

And thank you!!  Things went well.  It was excellent planning and great execution.  How often has someone broken their leg in the dark, 1.5 miles from a trailhead, in the winter, and had the services of emergency responders within five minutes of the accident?  I would guess not often.

New GCSAR member:  Jim Davis, 1T814

02- 3     2- 15- 02     Dogs unable to find their way home     Hurrah Pass
     A him and a her were camped on Hurrah Pass Thursday.  Their dogs took off down the west side of the pass.  On their way home, the dogs didn't stay on the road but followed the base of the cliffs back to a point 400 feet below the pass- and they stayed there, within earshot of camp.  The guy tried to downclimb the cliff and came up 50 feet short.  He came into town looking for help to get down the last 50 feet of cliff.
     We responded to Hurrah Pass and it became obvious that the way to retrieve the dogs was to hike in from the bottom, just like the dogs did.
     Sam, Jim and Frank took the RP's down on to the Jackson Hole road and they all hiked a rather circuitous route toward the dogs.  Rex, Dave and Bego were at the top of the cliff guiding the hikers by radio.
      Jim found the dog route and woof, woof back to the cars in gathering darkness.
Comments:  It was interesting being in the "crow's nest" watching the hikers, dogs coming together.
Responders:  Rex, Sam, Jim, Frank, Dave, Bego, Frankie, Lee

   One day two stupids were driving down the road, drinking beer.  The passenger Bubba said, lookey thar up ahead, Earl. It's a po-leece road block! We're gonna get busted for drinking these here beers.
     Don't worry Bubba, Earl said We'll just pull over finish drinking these beers, peel off the label and stick it on our foreheads, then throw the bottles under the seat.
     What fer? asked Bubba.
     Just let me do the talkin, okay, Earl advised.
     They finished their beers, threw the empty bottles under the seat and  slapped the labels on their foreheads. When they reached the road block, the sheriff said, Have you boys been drinking?
     No sir , said Earl. We're on the patch.

Avalanche Rules of Thumb...   By Ron Perla (one of the original snow scientists from the 60's on)

1. Consider the general rules NEVER TOUR AFTER A STORM. The question is how soon after the storm are  conditions safe? One hour? One day? One month? A whole season?
2. When conditions are unstable, the wise travel only for the rescue of fools.
3. When it comes to judging slope stability, the rule of thumb is: That there are no rules of thumb.
4. A ski tour disaster is triggered by someone's  intuition that a slope is stable.
5. Next time you come to an avalanche slope, ask not only "will it slide?", but also, what will happen if  it does slide?
6. While crossing an avalanche slope, he who hesitates is lost.
7. The family that tours close together gets buried close together.
8. The weekend ski tour begins with a Friday night call to the snow ranger or ski patrolman.
9. Carry a probe as you would have others carry a probe for you.
10. A fact for what it's worth: No one wearing an avalanche cord has been recovered dead.
 

ACCURACY  OF  COORDINATES

DMS       Degrees, Minutes, Seconds
N  38*  34'  27.4" W  109*  32'  50.7"
1 second of latitude is about 101 feet 1 second of longitude is about 80 feet
Therefore, tenths of seconds are not that important.
N 38* 34' 27"  and  W 109* 32' 50" is sufficient.

DM.M     Degrees and decimal minutes
N  38* 34.457' W  109*  32.844'
One tenth minute latitude is about 607 feet, one tenth minute longitude about 484 feet.
1/100 min= 60 ft 1/100 min= 48 ft
Therefore, 1/1000 of a minute is not important.
N 38* 34.45'  and  W  109* 32.84' is sufficient.  Pilots like it this way.

UTM     Universal Transverse Mercator  (We are in Zone 12 S)
All numbers represent real meters on the ground.
06 26 539 42 70 329
06 26 540 is 1 meter off 42 70 300 is 29 meters off
Therefore, one zero at the end is not important, 2 zeros is usually OK.

New Wind Chill   ---  warmer than the old at medium winds. as of 11- 1- 01

See the new wind chill chart and a comparison of the old vs. the new at: http://205.156.54.206/om/windchill/index.shtml

Starting around   -19 degrees, exposed flesh will freeze within one minute.  EEK
You will not freeze below the still air temp, you will just get there faster.


Heat Loss:  Below the thermoneutral zone there lies 2 actions:  reduce heat loss, increase heat gain.

Heat is lost from the body in 3 non evaporative ways-  radiation, conduction, convection
    and 2 evaporative ways-  perspiration, respiration


Hopping around in your non-winter world, 50- 60 % of your heat is lost by radiation.  Most of the rest thru evaporation.  Most clothing available today does not effectively reduce these forms of heat loss.

However, when the big Brrr comes, convection is often the major route of heat loss, especially in the wind and more so in a strong wind.  The new chart makes strong winds warmer than the old chart.  Conduction is the winter heat loss route in cold water immersion.  Convection and conduction can be reduced by modern layered clothing.

Convection is blowing on your soup.  The amount of heat lost by convection is determined by the temperature difference between the air and the body surface... and the speed of the air.  the greater the temperature difference, the larger the heat loss.  Quite low temps of still air can be tolerated, just ask the 4 American climbers who bivied at 28,000 feet on Mt. Everest in 1963, pre Gore and fleece.

It is the wind that kills.  The amount of heat loss increases as the square of the wind velocity, not in direct proportion.  A wind of 8 mph removes 4 times as much heat- not twice as much- as a wind of 4 mph.  The trend begins to fall off as wind speed passes 25 mph but by then most folks will be indoors.

The original heat loss studies were done by Paul Siple, the Eagle Scout that Admiral Byrd took with him to Antarctica in 1939.  His was the wind chill chart de jour until last fall.  The new chart corrects some of Siple's assumptions.  New charts use wind speed measured 5 feet above the ground (human face height), not 33 feet (standard anemometer height); be based on a human face model; incorporate modern heat transfer theory (heat loss from the body to its surroundings, during cold and breezy/windy days); lower the calm wind threshold to 3 mph; use a consistent standard for skin tissue resistance; assume worst case scenario for solar radiation (clear night sky).

Wind chill does not affect your car's antifreeze protection.  It will have an impact on how quickly your home's exposed water pipes freeze, but has little impact on whether they would freeze.

The importance of wind chill index is as an indicator of how to properly dress for winter weather

#00-5 (Sept.-Oct. 2000) Brad finds a son; a relatively quiet couple of months.
#00-4 (July-August2000) -- Airplane crash, a note from Colin, the search for Jeff Firak
#00-3  (Apr-June2000) -- Stuck on the Tombstone, the usual lost and dried bikers, Chris's Mill Creek adventure, Clinton stabilizes Frank's porch
#00-1,2,&2.5 (Jan-Apr2000) -- Nathan jumps, Matt splats, waiting for high water, confluence disappears, Mill Creek wall strike

#99-5 (Sept-Dec99) -- The "Mari" incident, Westwater drowning, Jeeping off Gemini, Stuck on Fine Jade
#99-4 (July - August 99) -- NPS Whitewater Rescues; Prepare Fair; Tracking by Sgt.Green; Credit for responding, finishing the job; Air Life's preferred radio freq; The Puke Frog returns; Lightning
#99-3 (May-June 99) -- Cataract High; Web rescue; Disaster Brothers; Search Training; Short Haul at altitude; Leadership; Rescue: Who pays
#99-2 (Mar-Apr 99) -- River Peak Flow Forecast; Arches Rock Rescue; Lift Evacuation Team; Huge Fund Raiser; Thanks Brad; Knotcraft
#99-1 (Jan-Feb 99) -- Adventure; "Too Short"; Gary Haynes; Evac Team Paid Now

#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)
#97-5 (Sept-Oct 97)
#97-4 (July-Aug 97)
#97-3 (May-June 97)
#97-2 (Mar-Apr 97)
#97-1 (Jan-Feb 97)