Officers for 2006: Commander Rex,  V-C Bego,  Training by Frank,  Equip by Sam,  paper for Nancy.

Rescuers of the Year for 2005:  Jim Gostlin and Bego Gerhart

Being in Rescue Management is a bit like this:
"Boats, they told Major Powell, had been carried into overwhelming whirlpools, or had been sucked with fearful velocity underground, never to reappear, for the river was lost in subterranean channels for hundreds of miles" Ernest Ingersoll The Crest of the Continent 1883

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

05-98    11-5-05    Motorcycle Down    Golden Spike Trail
   This guy broke his Tib-Fib just above the boot top in a fall off his bike.. They cell phoned 911 and had coordinates. They were up by the Golden Spike rim so we said it would be awhile getting there.
   Paula decided to call CareFlight in view of the long, bumpy ride out and the impending coldness cuz we would be after dark transporting him out.
   The helo landed on a level spot near the patient that just fit the skids. The next best LZ was a ways away up the hill.
   We got back to the parking lot right at dark. Fun to be on Golden Spike in the daylight.
     Responders: John, Mike, Bego, James McM
                 EMTs: Paula and her daughter

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part of risk is the ungovernable element of chance. The element of chance is a universal characteristic of fire fighting and a continuous source of friction. Chance consists of turns of events that cannot reasonably be foreseen and over which we nor the fire have control. The uncontrollable potential for chance alone creates psychological friction. We should remember that chance favors neither belligerent exclusively. Consequently, we must view chance not only as a threat but also an opportunity, which we must be very ready to exploit.
---> General Robert Gray USMC

"From small incident to large incident, you must be able to identify the main problem while working in an environment full of friction and uncertainty. "

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rock Rescue by Jim Gostlin    Nov 5 and 12
   Nov 5 we went up by the Sand Flats Booth cliff and set up a lowering and raising system. There weren't enuff of us to go over the edge for real but fun was had with it all.
     Responders: Jim, Barbara, Dave, Bego, Mike
   Nov 12 was on the Fire Training Tower practicing ascending and rappelling and changeovers.
     Responders: Jim, Bego, Dave, Matt

05-99    11-13-05    Overdue Motorbiker    White Wash to Dubinky, maybe
   The RP said via cell phone that his buddy had been overdue for 2 hours and was somewhere on a singletrack between White Wash and Dubinky. That's a mighty big area with many single tracks.
   If he was injured and down somewhere, it might take a long time to find him. If he's still moving maybe he'll find himself. And that's what happened as we made our search plan at the Shed.
     Responders: Dave, Bego, Jim, Barbara, Mike, Cody, Duckie, James Mon, Jeff Arbon

Dave Fincham got a ride with St Mary's CareFlight "ride along" program.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Hypothermia is easier to prevent than to treat.      --> Thermoregulation is all

   It's ski time: for the daily avalanche advisory-- www.avalanche.org ... click on to the La Sal Mtns

   Wx conditions at site: www.met.utah.edu/cgi-bin/roman/meso_base.cgi?stn=LSMU1

   The Salt Lake Tribune has the snow advisories for the La Sal in the paper. This will cause more skiers
      to come here now, upping the probability of some mayhem. KNOW before you go.
      Learn beacon, shovel and probe. Ski far apart, one in the danger zone at a time.

   Think radio relays in "over the hill" areas or "around the mountain" areas like some of the ski places

   And you know what? Hooray for Dispatch.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joshua Tree National Park (CA)    PVC Potato Cannons Seized from Scout Troop

On the morning of Saturday, October 29th, park employees received reports of a disturbance from visitors who were camping in the group campsites at Indian Cove Campground. Protection rangers responded. During the subsequent investigation, the rangers confiscated seven cannons constructed from PVC piping which were being used to shoot potatoes into the area of the campground through the use of a gas propellant. The cannons ranged in size from two to six feet in length and are defined as destructive devices under the California penal code. Other miscellaneous PVC piping, which was used for making the potato cannons, and three five-pound bags of potatoes were also confiscated. A local California Boy Scout troop occupied the site. The site permit holder was issued a violation notice for possession/use of weapons. The Scoutmaster and group leaders were given multiple verbal warnings for disorderly conduct, sanitation/refuse violations, food storage violations, and miscellaneous traffic offenses. [Submitted by Judy Bartzatt, Chief Ranger] Ed : I have mixed emotions here. What's wrong with having a potato cannon? Lots of physics, math, and chemistry to learn in ballistics. Just don't shoot it up in a public campground. It's an outrage that the leaders "earned" all those citations. Pick up your Conduct yourselves like REAL Boy Scout leaders should. Judgment, ethics and fun.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canyonlands National Park (UT)    Falling Fatality

Shortly after midnight on November 2nd, a dispatcher at the San Juan County Sheriff's Office was contacted via an On Star system vehicle distress call. The caller reported that a man about 37 years old from Nederland, Colorado, had accidentally fallen over a 40-foot cliff within the park (inside San Juan County) and sustained fatal injuries. The sheriff's office contacted the park's chief ranger and a coordinated response was begun. The victim had been on a bike ride with 13 friends and acquaintances on the White Rim Road within the park. They were camped at Murphy's campsite when the accident occurred. The site is reachable by ground via a difficult six-hour drive in a four-wheel-drive vehicle or by a strenuous two-hour hike. Responding rangers completed the hike around 4 a.m., contacted members of the group, secured the scene and began an investigation. Two San Juan County officers responded after first light in a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter, which was used to recover the victim's body via a long-line operation. It was delivered to the county coroner at a helispot at the Island in the Sky Visitor Center. Alcohol consumption may have contributed to the accident; the investigation is continuing. [Peter Fitzmaurice, Chief Ranger]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

U.S. Naval Observatory    The Dark Days of Winter

The period between the first week in December and the first week in January could well be called the "dark days" for the mid-northern latitudes. At latitude 40 degrees north, earliest sunset occurs around 8 December each year, and latest sunrise occurs around 5 January. The day with the least amount of daylight is the winter solstice, the first day of winter, around 21 December. Why are not all these dates the same? The answer is not simple. There are two effects which, together, determine the local time of Sun phenomena, such as sunrise, sunset, and transit. One is the called the Equation of Time, the other is the Sun's declination.

The Equation of Time is a way of describing the variation in the time of Sun-related phenomena within our standard 24-hour timekeeping system. In any time zone, the Equation of Time is simply the difference between 12:00 noon on a clock and the actual time of the Sun's transit (sundial noon) across the central meridian of the time zone. The time between successive transits of the Sun - the length of the solar day - varies considerably over the year. It is itself determined by two factors, both dependent on the position of the Earth in its orbit. Suffice it to say that from mid-November to early February these two factors work together to make the solar day longer than 24 hours: in late December, as much as 30 seconds longer than 24 hours. Since we don't adjust our clocks for this effect, the Sun's transit moves later and later each day during this period.

All other things being equal, the times of all Sun phenomena are tied directly to the time of transit. But all other things are not equal. The Sun's declination, its angular distance above or below the equator, changes on a yearly cycle, causing our seasons. The Sun's declination determines the maximum height of the Sun in the sky on any given day, hence the azimuth of the sunrise and sunset points, and the length of time the Sun is above the horizon. Most of us know the Sun is at its "lowest point in the sky" on the first day of winter, so we expect the Sun to be above the horizon the least amount of time that day.

So two effects determine the times of sunrise and sunset: the Equation of Time and the Sun's declination. But their relative magnitudes vary. In late December, the daily rate of change of the Sun's declination is quite small and is, of course, zero at the December solstice; "solstice" means "Sun stationary". However, the daily rate of change of the Equation of Time reaches a maximum just a few days later. Thus in late December it is the Equation of Time that has the dominant influence over the changes in sunrise and sunset times from one day to the next. In fact, the Equation of Time dominates, at latitude 40 degrees north, from about 8 December to 5 January. Outside of these few weeks, the Sun's declination changes are dominant. These two dates represent the dates on which the magnitudes of the two effects "cross over" at this latitude. (At higher latitudes, the crossover dates are closer to the solstice since the declination effect is greater there.)

The 8 December crossover day is the date of earliest sunset. Why? In the weeks before solstice, the two effects act in opposite directions on the time of sunset: the declination effect pulling it earlier and the Equation of Time pushing it later. On 8 December the Equation of Time begins to dominate and sunset begins to move later. Meanwhile both effects are pushing sunrise later and later. After solstice, the situation reverses. Both effects push sunset later. But for sunrise, the declination effect now pulls it earlier while the Equation of Time effect continues to push it later. The Equation of Time prevails until 5 January, when the declination effect takes over and sunrises begin to move earlier. So 5 January is the date of latest sunrise.

A similar situation occurs at the summer solstice, although the effect is not as extreme. Solstice occurs around 21 June, but at latitude 40 degrees north the earliest sunrise occurs around 14 June and the latest sunset around 28 June.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm going south until they don't know the word snow shovel." Corky Brewer

           Wind Chill  ---  as of 11-1-01

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 winds above 25 mph 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 bivvied 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.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

05-100    11-25-05    Basejumper    Hung Up on Side of Cliff Mineral Canyon Steep
   John 1 T 812 was one of the shuttle drivers for the basejumpers participating in their "Turkey Trot" jump fest. He was right there and became the RP by cell phone from up the road a half mile from the rim. Cell phone reception from there is surprising. That's good tho cuz the radios don't hit the repeater from there.
   We paged GCSAR and all other Rock Rescue personnel in the area. By the time we all got going, someone in the subject's group had rappelled down and completed their own rescue. Good. They left a parachute dangling from the wall.
   1 T 12 spoke with the subject on his way out to AMH in a private car. He had knee, ankle injuries.
     Responders: Bego, Frank, Dave, Barbara, Matt, John, Shawn
                NPS: Jeff Webb, Kevin Moore, Alyssa Van Schmuss, Jason Ramsdell
                EMTs: Phillip, Coffee Bob

05-101    11-25-05    Basejumper Hung Up on Side of Cliff-II    Mineral Canyon Steep
   This will be all about The Horsethief Connection. Three GCSAR members went cruising out the Mineral Bottom Road to help at the scene. After some radio discussion about distances and frequencies, Frank and *Sally parked on the road up by HorseThief Ranch. Dave hung out right on the very rim, line o sight down to us. The correct places to keep the radio network back to Dispatch. Nice touch.
   Frank and *Sally generated coordinates on the Laptop which were relayed to Farmington AirCare dispatch. ETA 1 hour. Final approach Fx on NLEC. Huge LZ. Dust and Tumbleweeds. No wind.
   This 60 yr old had hit the wall also, hanging by his chute about 100' above the talus. He was going in and out of consciousness as someone in his group rescued him from the cliff. Even as his people carried him on a backboard down the talus his LOC was not good. His people carried him down to the road. 502 arrived shortly after that. He was put in the ambulance to warm up til the helo arrived. The patient was flown to St Mary's with a possible hip fracture.
   And an outrageous sunset coming home. It doesn't get much better.
     Responders: Bego, Frank and *Sally, Dave, Barbara, John, Shawn
                NPS: Jeff and Kevin
                EMTs: Phillip, Coffee Bob

05-102    11-26-05    Motorcycle Girl Off Cliff    Poison Spider
   Just above the 2nd switchback on the Poison Spider Trail, this 21 year old gal went off the road and crashed in the rocks 40 feet down a steep slope. She broke ? her Femur.
   Shawn 1 T 12 took the EMTs up to her while we brought the Rangers up. She was Rangered down to the ambulance in the parking lot.
   Kris "crash" Hurlburt drove the 3 seat Ranger in. Good deal.
     Responders: Nancy, Bego, Kris
                EMTs: Jason, Phillip, Craig

David Roberts, famous American mountaineer, giving one piece of advice to young climbers:
"Never confuse skill with luck. It takes a hell of a lot of luck to survive mountaineering, and only a small part of that is due to skill." [Ed: Suits me]

Winter Rescue Team    Ski Swap    12-5-05
   Huge success on a small scale. A few Good Deals went down. Thanks to all who came.
   $ 120- some dollars was advanced to the Friends of the Avalanche Forecast Center. To be used on the Weather Station.

XX-xx    12-8-05    Near the White Wash Dunes  --  An assist with Brent Pace and the Tow Truck
   Dispatch gave coordinates for a guy who had high centered his SUV and blew out his oil pan. Something about he had an international satellite phone? He wanted a tow truck. With the sun setting, he would also get cold cuz he couldn't run his engine.
   A look at the coordinates located him "along the fence" on the road that crosses White Wash and goes over toward Ten Mile.
   Brent responded from the top of Sego Canyon. I left town for I-70 at Floy to meet the tow truck. Meanwhile Brent got to the guy, the tow truck showed up, we went in, Brent came out a ways to lead us in. We used GCSAR radio Fx locally.
   All of the sand in the wash was frozen hard and quite bumpy. Could drive anywhere.
     Responders: Brent, Bego, Andrea, Tow Truck

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Brad Dimock adventure travel guide, philosopher and publisher <fretwaterpress.com>:
My good friend and counselor just lobbed this one at me yesterday as we were discussing the peculiar strain of depression often found in boatmen. Melville, Moby Dick:

"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off- then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

05-103    12-14-05    The Train Wreck    Just west of Cisco
   An Amtrak passenger train hit a diesel semi truck at a dirt crossing. Flat track, flat road, plenty of visibility for everybody.....
   The truck driver was ejected. The train finally got stopped several hundred yards down the track.
   Emergency Manager Corky Brewer and EMS personnel went thru the train to treat the injured. And there were only three minor injuries out of about 110 people. Miraculous.
   Kent Green became the IC. Lookouts were posted a mile each side of the scene to make sure no other trains got thru. Dispatch called NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board). Questions were answered concerning the diesel fuel leaking on to the ground. Amtrak officials and Union Pacific track guys assessed their tasks. On and on..............
   Here's the other miraculous: When the UP crew got there, it took only 30 minutes to get the derailed engines back on the track. Would like to have seen that.
     Responders: Rex, Bego, Frank, Dave, Barbara. Sam & Rena got the Command Post but 10-22d.

Winter Rescue Team and GCSAR Winter people train at Geyser Pass    12-17-05
   Beacons (with prizes) were searched for, probe lines, snowmobiles. Hot drinks and Chili served up by Dave and Barbara. Yum.
     Responders: TBerry and Zane, Max, Eli, Frank, Dave, Barbara, Christa, Jacob, Bego, Craig, Jeff,
                 Mike, Aug, Kris, Jim, Margy and KD, Steve 2 Brown Dogs, more?
                    (Group picture on the LSAFC website)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone should take a turn being an instructor at some training during the year. Sign up now, with Frank.

also

NIMS- by October we need more training:
http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/IS/crslist.asp click on IS800, IS700, IS100

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

05-104    12-25-05    Fall on Ice    The Wetlands
   Paged out as an ice skater had fallen thru the ice down in the Wetlands.
   Cold water immersion. Thin ice.
   Upon arrival, he had fallen down on the ice, not thru the ice. Good thing.
   EMS stabilized this possible broken femur and we put this guy in the Cascade Toboggan that we use in the snow. Once off the ice, he was put in a Stoke's Litter and wheeled out the path to the ambulance.
   According to the report, "Moab Fire Department provided additional man power." Thank yous.
     Responders: Dave, Frank, John, Barbara, Margy, Mike, Aug, Cody
                MFD: 601 Brewer, Engine 2 and Fire Rescue

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Skating away on the thin ice of a new day..." Jethro Tull

Dakota Snow Storm -- reported in the North Dakota News This text is from a county Emergency Manager out in the western part of North Dakota state after the recent 100 year snow storm.

Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered from a Historic event --- may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions" --- with a historic blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10's of thousands.

FYI:
     George Bush did not come....
     FEMA did nothing....
     No one howled for the government...
     No one blamed the government
     No one even uttered an expletive on TV...
     Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit
     Our Mayor's did not blame Bush or anyone else
     Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else either
     CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snow storm
     Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.....
     No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House....
     No one looted....
     Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something
     Nobody expected the government to do anything either
     No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera
     No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found

And
     Nope, we just melted the snow for water
     Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars
     The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a penny
     Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snow bound families
     Families took in the stranded people - total strangers
     We Fired up wood stoves
     Broke out coal oil lanterns or coleman lanterns
     We put on an extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die"
     We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being
         immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks.
     Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early...we know it can happen
         and how to deal with it ourselves.

"In my many travels, I have noticed that once one gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% most of the world's social problems evaporate."