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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, June 29, 2012 INCIDENTS Mount Rainier NP Memorial Service For Nick Hall Set For Today Ranger Nick Hall died on Mount Rainier on Thursday, June 21st, after he fell approximately 2,500 feet down the Emmons Glacier while assisting on an upper mountain rescue. Efforts to recover his body yesterday were suspended due to high winds. The highest priority for the recovery effort is the safety of all personnel involved. The memorial service for Nick Hall will be held today at the Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park. Nick's family, friends, colleagues and co-workers will be attending. The visitor center will be closed to accommodate the service. The service will be carried live via streaming webcast and can be watched at this link: HYPERLINK "http://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/2477" http://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/2477. The service will begin at 10:00 a.m. PDT and is expected to last 60 to 90 minutes. The webcast is being provided by the Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS) on their website, which is available on both government and personal computers. The Hall family has asked that donations in honor of Nick Hall be made in lieu of flowers. Donations that support search and rescue in Maine and assist the Hall family with expenses related to the tragedy may be made through the following accounts, either the National Park Foundation at HYPERLINK "http://www.nationalparks.org/nickhall_" www.nationalparks.org/nickhall, or Nick Hall Memorial Fund, P.O Box 431, Patten, ME 04765. Donations to the fund that supports Mount Rainier National Park's search and rescue program in honor of Nick Hall may be made to MORA Search and Rescue Fund (with checks payable to DOI-NPS), 55210 238th Ave E, Ashford, WA 98304. Cards and condolences may also be sent to the above addresses. American flags, which have been lowered to half staff this week in tribute to Nick Hall, are to be returned to full staff after sunset today. The wearing of mourning bands and ribbons will also conclude at sunset. Nick Hall had a passion for wilderness and possessed strength and courage that inspired those who knew him. Born and raised in Maine, Nick worked for four seasons as a climbing ranger at Mount Rainier National Park. He was a quiet youth who drew his energy from nature. Inspired and motivated by the outdoors, he lived his life embracing his passion for skiing and climbing mountains. “Nick possessed all the attributes desired in a mountaineering ranger at Mount Rainier,” recounted Randy King, the park's superintendent. “He had technical skills, experience, judgment, endurance, an ability to connect with people, a commitment to service, and ultimately, courage. Nick radiated an inner strength and was at home on the mountain.” Mountain terrain was home to Nick. As a boy in Maine, he discovered he was a strong skier and loved being on the slopes. After graduating from Katahdin High School, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and spent the next six years working in technical fields, including maintenance and repair of aircraft communications, navigation, and weapons systems. Following his military service, Nick enrolled at Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado, entering their recreation and outdoor education environmental studies program. “Nick was an excellent student... quiet in class, passionate about the outdoors, with a sly smile when amused,” recounted Matthew Ebbott, one of Nick's professors. After completing his program at Western State College of Colorado, he worked many jobs that offered him outdoor experiences. He began working as a river ranger for the Bureau of Land Management in Utah and spent a season aboard the Priest Point, a fishing vessel from Petersburg, Alaska. “Working on the Priest Point, spending a season in the open waters of the West Coast seine fishery, you're always on the outside waters, rolling around,” said Jeff Erickson, captain of the Priest Point. “You have to be strong to handle that. Nick was always a pleasure to have on the boat: he learned things quickly and dealt well with the late hours the job required. There wasn't much money in it… it was all for the glory, and he loved it.” “Being a marine and a park ranger show character beyond the normal person,” Erickson continued. “This is reflective of the way he was raised. He was disciplined and could handle the stresses of dangerous work and had a good time along the way.” Nick was also an accomplished skier and spent several seasons on ski patrol for Stevens Pass Ski Area in Skykomish, Washington, and Northstar Ski Area in Lake Tahoe, California. Before he became a climbing ranger for Mount Rainier, he was also a climbing ranger at Mount Baker for the U.S. Forest Service. “In August 2009, Nick was among three rangers who guided my party safely to the top of Mount Rainier. He helped me - as he and all climbing rangers at Mount Rainier do for thousands of climbers each year - to experience the power, challenge and beauty of this majestic and fearsome mountain,” recalled King. “The climb with Nick is among my most vivid and cherished personal memories; I feel his loss acutely.” “Mountains, like Mount Rainier, are inherently wild places. Risk and risk management are a component in the climbing experience. Rangers like Nick work hard every day to help climbers make good decisions on the mountain, to stay safe, to go home again,” continued King. “Nick died doing what he loved - saving lives during a highly technical rescue under difficult and unforgiving conditions.” [Kathy Steichen and Barb Maynes, PIOs] 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/): Richmond NBP - Since Saturday, June 23rd, more than 4,500 visitors have attended events at Richmond National Battlefield Park commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Seven Days' Battles. Commemorative events will continue through this coming Sunday. Office of Policy - The Office of Policy has released a new document that describes the NPS programs that fulfill the second part of the NPS mission. These are the programs that extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout America and the world. Mammoth Cave NP - Bobby Carson has been selected as the chief of the Science and Resource Management Division at Mammoth Cave National Park. Carson is a 35-year veteran of the National Park Service, with most of his years at Mammoth Cave. Pecos NHP - Loretta Lujan, administrative officer at Pecos National Historical Park, will retire on June 30th with more than 40 years of federal service. Southeast Arizona Group - Julena Campbell has been selected as the group's new chief of interpretation. She EOD's on July 1st. Upcoming Training and Conference Calendar - Added to this week's calendar is a call for proposals for the 2013 George Wright Society Conference on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |