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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, August 15, 2011 INCIDENTS Grand Teton NP Two Climbers Rescued In Separate Incidents Rangers twice last week rescued injured climbers from park peaks. A climber attempting to scale the Middle Teton on Tuesday required rescue by rangers after sustaining injuries from a fall. S.Z., 43, of Madison, Wisconsin, and two companions were on the approach to Buckingham Ridge, the southeast ridge of the Middle Teton, when S.Z. pulled off a loose block of rock and fell about 15 feet. The Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received an emergency phone call from a member of S.Z.'s climbing party just after 9 a.m. A contract helicopter flew rangers to a backcountry landing zone in the South Fork of Garnet Canyon, and the rangers then hiked to S.Z.'s location, arriving on scene at 11 a.m. They determined that S.Z. would not be able to hike out of the canyon on his own due to the nature of his injuries and prepared him for a helicopter evacuation. He was flown via short-haul to the South Fork landing zone and then taken to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson for further treatment. S.Z. and his climbing companions were unroped on the approach and scrambling on fourth-class rock. Each of the climbers had appropriate climbing gear; they were all wearing helmets and carrying ice axes and crampons at the time of the accident. On Thursday, rangers conducted a 1,200-foot technical lowering operation on the north side of Nez Perce Peak to rescue a 21-year-old climber who fell about 100 feet and suffered injuries that made it impossible for her to hike further. L.M. of Royal Oak, Michigan, was HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glissade_(climbing)" glissading a snowfield to the west of the Hourglass Couloirs when she ran into the rocks at the base of the snowfield. Rangers, who were assisting another hiker with minor injuries, received notice of L.M.'s accident at 11 a.m. Once they reunited the hiker with his party, they hastily made their way to L.M.'s location on Nez Perce Peak and arrived on scene at 11:30 a.m. After reaching L.M., rangers determined that high winds were not favorable for a helicopter short-haul operation. Two other rangers on routine backcountry patrols (one on Disappointment Peak and another between the South and Middle Tetons) were summoned to assist with a ground-based rescue. An additional ranger and three Teton interagency helitack personnel were flown up from the valley by contract helicopter into to assist in the technical lowering operation. L.M. was placed in a rescue litter and rangers rigged ropes to carefully lower her down the snowfield to the Garnet Canyon Meadows landing zone. Rangers lowered L.M. 300 feet at a time in four separate sets. The last set placed her at a location near the landing zone at the Cave Couloir in the upper meadows of Garnet Canyon. She was then flown to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson for further treatment. L.M. and her four climbing partners intended to summit the Middle Teton. Two of her partners turned around earlier in the day, while the rest of the group continued up but strayed off route. After realizing they were in the wrong location, L.M. and her climbing partners started descending in an attempt to find the correct route. Although L.M. was carrying an ice axe, rangers do not believe she was wearing a helmet or carrying crampons on her mountain trek. This incident marked the third rescue this year involving a climber or hiker who received significant injuries while glissading down a snowfield. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Specialist] Organ Pipe Cactus NM Drug Smuggler Sentenced To Prison Rangers using a thermal imaging device spotted a group of ten people with large backpacks crossing the desert near the park's visitor center last February 10th. When they moved to intercept the suspected smugglers, the men dropped their packs and fled. Rangers arrested F.J.F. at the scene. A total of eight large backpacks of marijuana weighing just over 360 pounds and another filled with food were seized along with two-way radios and solar charging panels. An NPS special agent responded and provided assistance with interviews and the investigation. On July 14th, F.J.F. was sentenced to 13 months and one day in federal prison on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He'd previously pled guilty to the charge. [Matt Fisher, Special Agent] OTHER NEWS The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/): Isle Royale NP - On July 26th, a significant artifact from an Isle Royale shipwreck was returned to the park - the helm of the Algoma, a passenger liner that sank off the southeast shore of Isle Royale on the night of November 7, 1885. Workforce Management - Nominations for NPS Service-level and Departmental honor awards are currently being accepted. The nomination period ends on August 31st. Office of Human Resources - Shean Rheams has joined the National Park Service as the agency's new security officer. He is in charge of maintaining a compliant and effective Servicewide personnel security and identity management program. Photo. * * * * The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced with the support of the Office of Communications and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov). --- ### --- |