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A differerent SAR
#5868 07/09/10 09:06 AM
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Denali National Park & Preserve (AK)
Military Assists In Evacuation Of Mentally Ill Climber

A 25-year-old solo climber from Pennsylvania was evacuated from the 14,200-foot camp on Mt. McKinley on July 7th after his erratic behavior and alarming statements revealed signs of mental illness with a likelihood of causing serious harm to himself or others. Prior to flying to the Kahiltna Basecamp, the solo climber told a Talkeetna resident that he intended to paraglide from the summit, an activity prohibited in Denali by federal regulation. When NPS staff members in Talkeetna were informed of this, rangers confronted the man, who signed an affidavit saying that he would not bring his paragliding equipment on the mountain. After he began his ascent of the West Buttress on June 28th, other climbing parties on the route made numerous reports to rangers that the soloist demonstrated unsafe glacier travel, a lack of appropriate gear, improper disposal of human waste, littering, and unusual inter-personal interactions. When he reached the 14,200-foot camp, Denali mountaineering volunteers and rangers evaluated the climber, who was cold, wet, and in distress. While treating the man for hypothermia, rangers discovered paragliding equipment in his sled. The paraglider was seized, at which time the individual's behavior and language grew increasingly unusual and erratic. Two NPS volunteer medical professionals at the camp consulted over a 24 hour period by telephone with the park's medical director in Anchorage about their patient observations. A determination was made that his behavior and condition presented a potential risk to his life and others. Under provisions of Alaska State law, a 72-hour protective custody order was prepared by the medical director in Anchorage. It was deemed unsafe to transport a mentally unstable person within the small confined cabin of the park's high altitude helicopter. Denali staff therefore requested military assistance through Alaska's Rescue Coordination Center. Two Army Chinook CH 47 helicopters from the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade out of Ft. Wainwright responded to Talkeetna on the morning of July 7th and transported two Denali law enforcement rangers to the 14,200-foot camp. NPS personnel at the camp had the man strapped and secured on a backboard when the single Chinook landed early in the afternoon. He was placed in the aircraft and flown directly back to Ft. Wainwright. Alaska State Troopers assisted the park by taking him into custody upon arrival and transporting him to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. [Submitted by Maureen McLaughlin, Public Information Specialist]

Re: A differerent SAR
Ken #5869 07/09/10 09:12 AM
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Wow. Just amazing!

Thanks for posting that, Ken.

Re: A differerent SAR
Ken #5871 07/09/10 12:40 PM
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Incredible!


If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracle of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.
- Lyndon Johnson, on signing the Wilderness Act into law (1964)
Re: A differerent SAR
CaT #6030 07/15/10 11:17 AM
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Yosemite National Park (CA)
Man Rescued From River At Top Of Cascading Waterfalls

On the afternoon of July 6th, Wawona rangers responded to a report of a man stranded on a rock in a small pool among cascading waterfalls in Chilnualna Creek. Incredibly, the 21-year-old man sustained no injuries after falling into the creek and being swept over a 10- to 15-foot-high waterfall into a small turbulent pool. He was able to climb up onto a small rock in the middle of the pool, but had no way to reach the shore and another waterfall below him. A short-haul rescue was attempted, but determined to be too hazardous. Rescuers were able to rappel to him, then ascended with him approximately 30 vertical feet back to the top of a rock ledge on the shore. Had the man continued over the next waterfall, the fall would have likely been fatal. Investigation of the incident revealed that he was one of a group of ten young men who had been climbing around the waterfalls and that they had attempted multiple creek crossings, one of which took him into the swift moving water. They persisted even though they knew the water was high from runoff. All ten were issued citations for creating a hazardous condition and one citation was issued for possession of a controlled substance. [Submitted by Chad Andrews, Park Ranger]

Re: A differerent SAR
Ken #6032 07/15/10 12:03 PM
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Playing Chicken with a stream.... I wonder what that controlled substance was.

Re: A differerent SAR
Steve C #6033 07/15/10 12:10 PM
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Originally Posted By: Steve C
Playing Chicken with a stream.... I wonder what that controlled substance was.


Evidently it didn't control them enough to quit while they were ahead. The gene pool continues.

Probably grass or crack. Not the kind you walk on or the kind you make your way up a fiver.


Journey well...
Re: A differerent SAR
Steve C #6063 07/16/10 07:53 AM
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Originally Posted By: Steve C
I wonder what that controlled substance was.

Definitely not brain matter....

CaT


If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracle of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.
- Lyndon Johnson, on signing the Wilderness Act into law (1964)
Re: A differerent SAR
CaT #6239 07/23/10 11:02 AM
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Grand Teton National Park (WY)
Climber Killed, Sixteen Injured During Lightning Storm

Rangers launched a multi-faceted, complex rescue operation to reach numerous climbers who were injured by lightning during the passage of an active and severe thunderstorm in the Teton Range on Wednesday, July 21st. Lightning bolts struck at a number of locations on the 13,770-foot Grand Teton at around noon, and 16 climbers received moderate to severe injuries from indirect electrical charges radiating from the lightning. One climber who was still missing on Wednesday evening was discovered during an aerial search by helicopter yesterday morning. Brandon Oldenkamp, 21, of Sanborn, Iowa, apparently fell about 2,000 feet to his death when he was impacted by a lightning strike. His body was located off the Northwest Face of the Grand Teton below a feature called the Black Ice Couloir. Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received an initial cell phone call at 12:25 p.m. on Wednesday from one of the climbing parties, requesting help for injured persons. Rangers were staging a rescue mission for that climbing party when another cell phone call was received from another climbing party that had also been hit by lightning. Eventually, a third group made contact to summon help and the rescue mission increased in size, scope and complexity. Rangers summoned the Teton interagency contract helicopter and began to fly rescue personnel and equipment to the 11,600-foot Lower Saddle of the Grand Teton. Once equipment and staff were in place there, rangers quickly climbed to various areas on the Grand Teton where the injured people were located. As they reached the separate climbing parties, they provided emergency medical care and prepared the injured people for evacuation from the mountain. The 16 climbers all received lightning-related injuries--burns and varying levels of neurological problems--as they were indirectly affected by an electrical charge from one or more lightning strikes. The rescue mission continued in the midst of rain squalls, thick clouds and additional thunderstorms throughout the afternoon and evening hours of Wednesday. The rescue operation involved a sequential evacuation of the 16 climbers. Two climbers reached the Lower Saddle on their own, but were flown via helicopter to the Lupine Meadows rescue cache. Seven climbers were able to make their way down from a ledge above the Black Ice Couloir at 13,200 feet with the assistance of professional guides from Exum Mountain Guides. The remaining seven climbers, located between 13,300 and 13,600 feet, were reached by rangers and transported via short-haul to the Lower Saddle, where they were treated by an emergency room doctor from St. John's Medical Center before being placed in a second helicopter to be flown to the to the Lupine Meadows rescue cache on the valley floor. The passage of a late afternoon thunderstorm temporarily delayed the transport of the climbers from the Lower Saddle. As weather conditions improved, the aerial evacuation continued until all the injured persons were delivered to the valley floor and waiting ambulances that then transported them to St. John's Medical Center. The rescue is one of the largest missions conducted by Grand Teton National Park staff, given the number of injured people, the vertical terrain of the incident and inclement weather conditions. [Submitted by Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]

Re: A differerent SAR
Ken #6244 07/23/10 03:21 PM
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History repeats. I ran across this yesterday. It is a post by Richard P on the WPSMB on July 27, 2003.

Quote:
This story was in today's L.A. Times:

Mountain Climbers Hit by Lightning; One Killed

From Times Wire Reports

Lightning struck and killed an Idaho woman and injured five others as the group climbed the 13,770-foot Grand Teton, a national park spokeswoman said.

Park spokeswoman Joan Anzelmo said the dead woman, Erica Summers, 25, and her 27-year-old husband, Clinton, and four others were among 13 climbers who had divided themselves into four groups for the climb on Grand Teton's Exum Ridge on Saturday.

Each group had at least one experienced climber.

"They all felt rain sprinkles and they didn't sense a big storm," Anzelmo said

Re: A differerent SAR
AlanK #6327 07/28/10 10:56 AM
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Zion National Park (UT)
Two Short-Haul Rescues Conducted Over Two Days

After much rigorous planning, training and implementation, the park launched its short-haul program with two missions on two consecutive days last week. On Friday, a 61-year-old man from Salt Lake City suffered an angulated ankle fracture while in the upper reaches of the Left Fork of North Creek, an area popularly known as "The Subway." He was short-hauled out, transferred to an ambulance, and taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, with ranger/paramedic Rob Wissinger as his attendant during the operation. On Saturday afternoon, a severe thunderstorm dropped an inch of rain in less than a half hour in some areas of the park, causing flashfloods in several canyons. One was Spry Canyon. The mouth of that canyon is visible from the switchbacks on the main park road. After the storm passed, an off-duty ranger reported seeing a flashing light at the top of the last rappel in that canyon. Two rangers investigated and found that three men had been flushed out of the canyon by the flood; two had been washed over 40-foot and 60-foot drops and a third had been washed over the 40-foot drop and was at the top of the 60-foot drop. Two of the three men had sustained potentially life-threatening injuries requiring immediate evacuation, so a short-haul operation was conducted. The two men were then transferred to two different Classic Lifeguard air-ambulances and flown to Dixie Regional Medical Center, where they underwent surgery. The third injured man was assisted out by foot, then transported by ground ambulance to the medical center. The rescue effort required the use of about 20 park personnel and three helicopters. Paramedic/rangers Wissinger and Brandon Torres were involved. [Submitted by Cindy Purcell, Chief Ranger]

Re: A differerent SAR
Ken #6333 07/28/10 10:59 PM
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Thanks, Ken.

I had to Google "short haul rescue" to figure out exactly what they were talking about.

From the Riverside County Fire Department Short Haul Rescue page:
Quote:
Short-Haul is an emergency rescue tool designed to quickly retrieve an individual out of a dangerous situation and place them in a safe location. Short-Haul involves a rescuer being lowered on a rope from a hovering helicopter to the victim below. After the rescuer rigs a harness to the victim, or, if injuries warrant, places the victim in a stokes basket, the helicopter then lifts both to safety a short distance away.

Re: A differerent SAR
Ken #6479 08/05/10 08:04 PM
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Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Hiker Struck By Lightning Rescued By Park Staff

Rangers received a phone call late yesterday morning reporting an injured man on Longs Peak. He'd been found by hikers in the area of The Narrows at roughly 13,800 feet. According to the initial reports, the 31-year-old Minnesota man had hiked to the peak the day before and spent an unplanned night in the backcountry. He was conscious and able to walk slowly with assistance, but was unable to recall what had caused his injuries. As a trail crew headed to his location, dispatch received additional calls from visitors who reported that they were helping the man down the trail and were also providing him with dry clothing, food and water. The crew reached him in early afternoon at The Ledges. Based on an assessment of his injuries, including numerous burns, it was determined that he'd been struck by lightning sometime late on Tuesday. The trail crew provided immediate care and got the man to the Agnes Vaille shelter, where they waited out an intense storm with lightning, hail, heavy rains and low temperatures. They then resumed their slow hike down the trail and connected with rangers at The Boulderfield around 4 p.m. The rangers provided him with emergency medical care. He was then littered to a location where a medevac helicopter was able to pick him up and take him to St. Anthony Central. About 35 people were involved with this rescue, including a paramedic from Estes Park Medical Center. [Submitted by Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]


El Malpais National Monument (NM)
Unexploded Bomb Found In Park

While working on the Barbell Fire in the Cerritos de Jaspe region of the park, resource advisor Steve Baumann found the shrapnel and casing of an exploded bomb and what appeared to be an unexploded bomb from the World War II era. The fire crews were evacuated and an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team from Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque was requested. The McCartys Crater area in El Malpais was used as a bombing range from 1942 to 1944, when 100 pound "iron bombs" loaded with TNT were dropped on targets to train bomber crews. Over the past 23 years at El Malpais, there have been five "unexploded ordnance" (UXO) incidents that required an EOD team to evaluate and dispose of bombs. On July 23rd, the Kirtland EOD team cleared the area, inspected the vintage weapon, and detonated the bomb. With the UXO neutralized, fire crews returned to managing the Barbell Fire. [Submitted by Dana Sullivan]

Re: A differerent SAR
Ken #6480 08/05/10 08:10 PM
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Long's Peak - The Narrows - just about the worst possible place on that mountain to be incapacitated. Talk about crapping out your roll of the dice . . .

Re: A differerent SAR
Bulldog34 #6482 08/05/10 10:20 PM
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It amazes me how people can be struck by lightning and survive!

Re: A differerent SAR
Steve C #6614 08/13/10 06:42 PM
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water trouble:
==========================

Mount Rainier National Park (WA)
Eleven-Year-Old Boy Drowns In White River

An 11-year-old boy and a 51-year-old man lost their footing in the White River yesterday morning and were swept downriver. The incident occurred just inside the north boundary of the park near the US Forest Service Silver Springs guard station. The two had been camping in the area with the boy's uncle and friends. They had crossed the White River. but were unable to find a suitable log to get back across the river. They were attempting to ford the river to cross back, with each holding onto opposite ends of a walking stick, when the boy lost his footing. The man grabbed the boy's sweatshirt, but they were both swept downstream and under several logs. The man held onto the boy for approximately a quarter mile before he lost his grip. He was able to get to shore and begin a search, but the boy continued to be swept downriver, where search crews later found his body. NPS rangers worked with Pierce County Sheriff's deputies, Greenwater Fire Department volunteers, and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest rangers on this incident. Uwe Nehring was incident commander. [Submitted by Patti Wold, PIO]


Yosemite National Park (CA)
Seriously Injured Teen Extricated From Under Bridalveil Falls

Park dispatch received a 911 call from a visitor at Bridalveil Falls on the afternoon of August 5th, reporting that a 16-year-old boy had fallen 30 to 40 feet and was unconscious. A number of visitors had seen him scrambling on the large boulders below the falls, then slip off the face of one of them and out of their view. Rangers, Medic 3 ambulance and a SAR carryout team responded. An air ambulance was also requested based on the visitor report that the boy was unconscious. Rangers found that the boy, who was at the edge of one of the pools directly under the 640-foot waterfall, was gravely injured. The first park medics to arrive in the area immediately called for a short-haul extraction, based on the terrain and seriousness of the boy's injuries. Helicopter 551 with pilot Richard Shatto and a spotter were flown to the scene. Shatto positioned the helicopter in the spray of the giant waterfall, then slowly lowered medic Keith Lober, dangling from the 150-foot short-haul line, down to the site. SAR personnel helped Lober hookup the teenager, who was already packaged in a litter. He was flown out just a bit more than an hour after the initial call for help. The boy was flown to the trauma center at Memorial Hospital in Modesto, where he was treated for his life-threatening injuries. The IC was ranger Chris Bellino. [Submitted by Ed Dunlavey]

Re: A differerent SAR
Ken #7944 10/01/10 09:37 AM
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Oct 1, 2010
Death Valley National Park (CA)
Ailing Hiker Rescued From Panamints

While the response to the above-noted bus accident was in progress, rangers were notified of a SAR in progress involving two young men who were attempting to hike from Badwater to Mount Whitney. The two men got as far as Hanaupah Canyon in the Panamint Range, and then decided to discontinue the hike. They'd gotten back to Shorty's Well at the base of the eastern edge of the Panamints when one of the men began exhibiting signs of distress and couldn't go any further. His companion hiked across the salt flat to their vehicle at the Badwater parking lot and drove to the bus accident scene and reported the incident to the rangers there. China Lake Naval Air Station's SAR helicopter was dispatched. The crew found the man and transported him to the Furnace Creek Airport, where he was evaluated by a team of ranger-EMTs and was released. He appeared to be exhausted and suffering from minor dehydration, but was otherwise uninjured. Ranger Matt Martin was IC. [Submitted by Brent Pennington, Chief Ranger]

Re: A differerent SAR
Ken #7953 10/01/10 12:06 PM
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Sheesh, people sure try unusual things! Driving back from Death Valley last night, there was a guy with a backpack walking along the road near Panamint Springs. At least along the road, he could flag down help if he needed it.

It was 106 in DV yesterday at 6 PM.


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