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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, March 9, 2012 INCIDENTS Grand Teton NP Two Backcountry Skiers Killed In Avalanche Rangers yesterday recovered the bodies of two local and expert backcountry skiers who were the focus of a search and rescue mission earlier in the day. C.O. and S.R., both of Jackson, Wyoming, were buried by a large avalanche sometime Wednesday, March 7th. The avalanche began near the summit of 11,355-foot Ranger Peak in the northern end of the Teton Range and ran to the base of the peak, depositing a large debris field in Waterfalls Canyon. During an aerial reconnaissance flight around 9 a.m., rangers picked up two positive beacon hits from the debris field. Seven rangers were flown to the area to begin a physical search of the field using probe poles. They reached the first body around 11:45 a.m. and second around noon. A Teton County Search and Rescue contact helicopter and crew assisted in the search and rescue mission, and Teton interagency helitack personnel assisted with the temporary helibase established at the Colter Bay swim beach on the east shore of Jackson Lake. The avalanche danger was listed as moderate on Wednesday afternoon, and low on Thursday morning, according to the Bridger-Teton National Forest avalanche center. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer] 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/): Aztec Ruins NM - Aztec Ruins held a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the park's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the last Friday in February. The park is part of the larger Chaco Culture designation. Yosemite NP - Both traffic lanes on the Big Oak Flat Road will reopen at 6 a.m. on Saturday. A closure and road repairs were necessary after a large rockslide severely damaged the road on Sunday, January 22nd. Office of Communications - DOI has announced $46.9 million in historic preservation grants to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and three independent Pacific island nations. Pacific West Region - Rory Westberg, deputy regional director for resources management and planning, will retire on March 30th after almost 32 years with the National Park Service. Servicewide Training and Conference Calendar - A compilation of upcoming training courses and conferences across the nation, plus online training. The following are new additions to this week's calendar - eight new TEL station broadcasts, a law enforcement control tactics instructor refresher in Alaska, and a wildland fire origin and cause determination course in Tennessee. * * * * 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 the Assistant Director for Information Resources and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov). --- ### --- |