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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Tuesday, June 6, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Grand Teton NP Three Drown in Snake River Boating Accident A Grand Teton Lodge Company scenic float trip raft on the Snake River overturned a half mile south of the old Bar BC dude ranch on June 2nd, spilling 13 passengers into the river. The company reported the accident to Teton interagency dispatch at 11:05 a.m., and a response was immediately launched. Rangers, rescue personnel, ambulances and EMS personnel on an interagency helicopter all headed to the accident scene. CPR was begun on two of the victims, but neither could be revived; a third was submerged in a log jam on the river and was deceased when found. Several other people from the raft were rescued by other scenic raft trip companies and by a ranger in a rescue raft and were taken to the Moose boat landing, where rangers and emergency medical personnel provided care. The three victims were a 63-year-old man from South Carolina, his 58-year-old wife, and a 69-year-old woman from Louisiana. All 13 people on the raft were wearing lifejackets designed specifically for this use. An investigation into the accident is underway; a cause has not yet been determined. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Specialist] Zion NP Trio Rescued from Heaps Canyon On May 31st, three men set out to traverse Behunin Canyon, a venture that requires eight rappels of up to 150 feet. They used a GPS unit as their primary means for locating the head of the canyon. The canyon that they found and entered, though, was Heaps Canyon. The heads of the two canyons are separated by a quarter mile, and the differences between the two routes would have been apparent if the men had used a map or a detailed route description. The Heaps Canyon route is a multi-day trip that includes swims through numerous potholes with water temperatures in the 40s and many rappels, including one of 300 feet. The men discussed discontinuing their trip when they failed to find anchors at the first cliff band, but they instead created an anchor and forged ahead. Once they realized their mistake, they were unable to return to the canyon rim. On the morning of June 1st, one of the men decided that he'd had enough of swimming through the frigid pools and climbed to a nearby knoll to await rescue. The other two continued into the narrowest section of the canyon. The three men were reported overdue on the evening of May 31st. A ranger patrol began a hasty search of Behunin Canyon the next morning, but determined by that afternoon that the men were not in that canyon. A helicopter search was then begun. All three men were located and equipment, clothes and radios were lowered to them. On the morning of June 2nd, additional equipment was lowered to the pair in the canyon, and they were able to complete the passage under their own power. The third man was flown out in the helicopter. Rangers are surprised that the two men who continued on down the canyon did not succumb to hypothermia. Thick wetsuits or drysuits are typically used to traverse the route. [Ray O'Neil, Plateau District Ranger] Sequoia-Kings Canyon NPs Hiking Fatality on Mount Mendel A 57-year-old woman from Laguna Hills, California, fell to her death on Mount Mendel in Kings Canyon National Park on Wednesday, May 31st. The woman and her hiking partner were attempting to climb to the 13,710-foot summit of Mount Mendel using a route on the East Face, rated a Class 3 climb. They were not able to reach the summit due to the poor snow conditions. The woman, an experienced mountaineer and a Sierra Club leader, slipped and fell more than 300 feet. Her hiking partner, also an experienced mountaineer, witnessed the fall. She climbed down to her partner and determined, to the best of her ability, that she had died in the fall. She then hiked out and reported the incident to the Inyo County Sheriff's Office. The park received the report of the accident late on the evening of May 31st. The next day, a three-person team of rangers climbed to the scene to investigate the accident and recover the body. The cause of the fall is under investigation. [Alexandra Picavet, Public Affairs Specialist] Rocky Mountain NP Missing Hiker Found On Wednesday, May 31st, rangers began a search for a 48-year-old Louisiana man. A missing person report had been filed on him the previous Monday, and rangers found his vehicle on Wednesday at the Colorado River trailhead. On Thursday, an employee of the Water Supply and Storage Company, which manages the nearby Grand Ditch water diversion, was hiking in the area and came upon what he believed was an “SOS” symbol marked out in the snow. He notified park staff, and searchers flew to the area and confirmed that he was correct. The searchers continued to fly over the area and soon found the missing man sitting on a rock, flagging the helicopter. The location where he was found was near the point where the Little Yellowstone trail intersects with the Grand Ditch, about six miles from the Colorado River trailhead. They dropped a radio, food and water to him. Ground searchers arrived shortly thereafter, found that he was mobile, and helped him to a nearby road. He was taken to Grandby Medical Center and kept overnight for observation. The man's wife and son traveled to the park from Louisiana and were reunited with him. Park staff are still trying to determine how many days the man was in the park's backcountry before he was found. Approximately 50 people were involved in the search. Rangers were assisted by personnel from the Grand County Sheriff's Office, Grand County SAR, Grand Lake Fire Protection District, Larimer County SAR and the Colorado SAR Board. [Kyle Patterson and Scott Sticha, Public Affairs Specialists] JOBS Redwood N&SP GS-025-14/15 Superintendent There is an opening for a GS-025-14/15 superintendent at Redwood N&SP. The announcement is PWRSEA-2006-37 and it closes on June 29th. The superintendent provides NPS leadership through a formal partnership with California State Parks for the management of Redwood National Park and three state parks (Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park). Together, these four parks contain 45 percent of all the old-growth redwood forest remaining in California. The superintendent is responsible for the onsite management and operation of program activities that include resource management and science, interpretation, visitor services, resource protection, facility management, and administrative programs to include human resources and budget. Applications should be mailed to the following address: National Park Service, Pacific West Regional Office, Attention: Human Resources, 909 First Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98104. [Bill Pierce, Superintendent] OTHER NEWS Other news of interest from today's edition of InsideNPS: Devils Tower NM institutes June climbing closure: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=4512" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=4512 Peregrine falcon restoration program at New River Gorge NR: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=ParkNewsEvents&id=23591" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=ParkNewsEvents&id=23591 News article on closure of Route 140 into Yosemite: HYPERLINK "http://www.mercedsunstar.com/local/story/12270466p-13006827c.html" http://www.mercedsunstar.com/local/story/12270466p-13006827c.html * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |