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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, March 5, 2007 =============================================================================================================== NOTICE Over the past several years, I have maintained two Morning Report mailing lists for those of you who for one reason or another don't have easy or timely access to the web posting (found at HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport). One mailing list edition has been transmitted via Lotus Notes, the NPS email system, and has been for Blackberry users who have problems with HTML files; the other has been an automated mailing list that is linked to the web page itself, which transmits an HTML version as an email message. The problem with the latter is that any change or revision to the Morning Report web page, no matter how minor, generates new mailings. Effective today, I have therefore combined both mailing lists into one master list. Those of you who were on the automated web mailing list will now get this abbreviated Blackberry edition - it includes all incident reports, plus links to other significant stories. Please let me know if you have any trouble with reception. Bill Halainen Editor INCIDENTS Mount Rainier NP Skier Dies In Avalanche S.Q., 54, of Burien, Washington, died in an avalanche on Saturday, February 24th, in the rugged Mount Rainier backcountry adjacent to the Crystal Mountain ski area. S.Q. and his partner ducked under the boundary ropes near High Campbell Chair for a final run of the day shortly after 2:00 p.m. During the descent, S.Q. was caught in an avalanche. His friend watched him ride along on top of the sliding snow for several seconds before disappearing from view. Both skiers were wearing avalanche beacons, which transmit a signal to help searchers. Ski patrol members from Crystal Mountain and a ranger from Mount Rainier responded and began a search. They located S.Q.'s lifeless body on the surface of the avalanche debris and evacuated the body to Highway 410. S.Q. had 15 years of skiing experience and had skied the area many times. He was at Crystal Mountain with his wife and two teenage children for the weekend. The avalanche forecast for Saturday afternoon was for high avalanche danger above 4,000 feet. Crystal Mountain had received more than 60 inches of snow in the past six days. [Lee Taylor, Public Affairs Officer] Grand Teton NP Snowboarder Rescued From Backcountry Rangers, county SAR personnel and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ski patrol staff rescued a backcountry snowboarder late on the afternoon of February 28th after he became stranded on a cliff in Granite Canyon. T.C., 27, from the United Kingdom but currently living in Norway, entered the park's backcountry from the resort with three companions, intending to snowboard out-of-bounds from the resort. T.C. became stranded on a cliff in the Northwest Passage area and was unable to climb back up or continue boarding down. T.C. was in voice contact with his companions, who descended into Endless Couloir, and their conversation caught the attention of an off-duty ski patroller who was in the vicinity at the time. The ski patrolman used his cell phone to call for assistance. Three Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ski patrollers picked up a rope and technical gear at their rescue cache before skiing to the Northwest Passage area. One patrolman was lowered down to T.C.'s position, placed a climbing harness on him, then lowered T.C. over the short cliff to a point where he could safely traverse back into Endless Couloir. The rope was then tied off and the patrolman rappelled off the same point. The traverse out of Granite Canyon back to Teton Village is relatively flat with a few uphill sections. Exiting the canyon with a tired snowboarder in unconsolidated snow — and the increased exposure time spent crossing run out zones of several avalanche paths — prompted the decision to use the Teton County contract helicopter to expedite the final stage of T.C.'s rescue. Additional factors taken into consideration for using a helicopter evacuation included the lateness of the day, approaching weather, and considerable avalanche danger. Rangers were able to use the same helicopter landing zone in Granite Canyon that had been packed down for the rescue of an avalanche victim on the previous Sunday. T.C. and his companions were unaware of avalanche conditions in Granite Canyon, were not carrying any avalanche gear with them, and were unfamiliar with the area and the complex avalanche terrain in which they intended to snowboard. They were also unprepared for the relatively flat trail that skiers traverse to return to Teton Village as they exit the Granite Canyon area. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer] OTHER NEWS The following stories can be read on either the InsideNPS web site (if you are within the National Park Service) or at the InsideNPS public ‘news digest' site (if you are outside of the NPS). The web sites appear below: Rocky Mountain NP - The park is about to begin a major rehab of Trail Ridge Road. Shenandoah NP - The park is developing a plan for dealing with chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer. CWD has appeared in deer in the area. Yosemite NP - The park reports on a successful structural fire training session. InsideNPS: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/ NPS Digest: HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/ * * * * * Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-426-2430). --- ### --- |