NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, July 16, 2012

INCIDENTS

North Cascades NP

Four Climbers Rescued In Two Incidents

The park's search and rescue team recently responded to two separate mountaineering accidents, evacuating four people from remote mountain peaks. On Friday, July 13th, after they'd successfully navigated through the remote northern Picket Range and climbed several peaks, a party of three climbers requested assistance. One of the three hiked out to report that his two partners had been hit and injured by falling snow from a steep wall above their camp in a basin below Luna Peak. Rangers evacuated the injured 29-year-old male and 29-year-old female climbers via a National Park Service-contracted helicopter from HiLine Helicopters to Marblemount, where the man was transferred to a local hospital by ambulance and the woman was released. On Saturday, July 14th, a party of seven was climbing the south side route of Sahale Peak. One member of the party inadvertently pulled out a large boulder, which struck him and then a member of the party below. Another member of the party hiked to Cascade Pass and contacted a wilderness ranger who launched a rescue response. Climbing rangers approached the two injured climbers on foot from Boston Basin and by helicopter from Marblemount. The critically injured 24-year-old woman was moved from the glacier by a National Park Service-contracted helicopter from HiLine Helicopters in a short-haul maneuver, and then transferred to an Airlift Northwest medical helicopter at a road site. She was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and was reported to have multiple fractures but was in stable condition. The 25-year-old male climber, who had minor injuries, was also flown out of the backcountry, but was released. Digital images of the Sahale Peak rescue are available for download and use at the park's HYPERLINK "http://www.flickr.com/photos/northcascadesnationalpark/sets/ 72157630591752592/" Flickr site. [Charles Beall, Acting Superintendent]

Rocky Mountain NP

Visitor Dies In Fatal Slide On Andrews Glacier

Rangers dealt with two medical emergencies and a falling fatality within hours of each other last Thursday:

Late that morning, park dispatch received a 911 call reporting that a 79-year-old man on the Gem Lake Trail was showing symptoms of a significant medical emergency. Rangers reached him at noon and carried him out on a litter. He was taken by ambulance to a nearby meadow, where a life flight helicopter picked him up and flew him to Boulder Community Hospital.

A 47-year-old Colorado man who was descending Andrews Glacier with some friends around 2 p.m. slid approximately 100 feet down the glacier onto some rocks. The person who called the incident into park dispatch reported that he wasn't moving. A park trail crew was in the area and reached the man's location shortly thereafter. His body was flown out and then transferred to the county coroner.

At about the same time, park dispatch received a cell phone call reporting that a 74-year-old man was experiencing some distress near Fern Falls, roughly three miles from the Fern Lake trailhead. Rangers left the trailhead about a half hour later and met the man and his friend hiking down the trail. He reached the trailhead around 5 p.m. and declined ambulance transport.

[Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]

Grand Teton NP

Missing Climber's Body Found In Mountains

Following a daylong air and ground search of the peaks of the central Tetons last Friday, rangers found the body of E.T., a 31-year-old climber from Salt Lake City. E.T. and three companions were attempting to complete a climb of the Cathedral Traverse on Thursday when he separated from his group and moved ahead of them on the route. E.T. apparently fell about 500 to 600 feet to his death shortly after leaving his friends. A long-time Bridger-Teton National Forest employee, he had worked ten seasons on the forest's trail crew. E.T. separated from his partners as they were completing the final rappels off of a shoulder peak west of Teewinot Mountain. His group continued the climb and summited Mount Owen, where they waited for their friend. After E.T. failed to meet his group on the summit, the three partners backtracked and attempted a search for their friend until 7:30 p.m. Park dispatch was notified of the missing climber at 10 p.m. after his companions hiked out to the Lupine Meadows trailhead. A SAR operation was organized for first light Friday morning and two rangers on a routine backcountry patrol on the Lower Saddle of the Grand Teton were contacted. Early on Friday morning, the two rangers climbed from the Lower Saddle to the second ledges on the North Face of the Grand Teton and began searching with binoculars for E.T.. Two separate hour-long reconnaissance flights were conducted by a Teton interagency contract helicopter on Friday morning but no conclusive evidence of his whereabouts was found. A second Teton Interagency contract helicopter responded to Lupine Meadows just before 11 a.m. With the help of a second helicopter, rescuers decided to focus on two specific areas. One helicopter was sent to a landing zone on Teton Glacier, located in the cirque of the Grand Teton, Mount Owen, and Teewinot Mountain; the second ship was assigned to operate out of a landing zone in lower Valhalla Canyon located northwest of the Grand Teton. The ship based out of Valhalla Canyon short-hauled one rescuer into crevasses and moats that cleave the permanent snowfields. The second helicopter based from Teton Glacier flew additional reconnaissance flights with three rangers inside the ship. Due to conditions and hazards in these areas, rangers determined it would not be safe to insert rescuers onto snowfields for a ground-based search. Rangers located E.T.'s body on the East Prong feature between Teewinot and Mount Owen about 500 feet below an area that requires a notably challenging climbing move. One ranger was inserted via short-haul to the location and prepared E.T. for a short-haul extraction. E.T. was flown from the mountain to Lupine Meadows, where his body was turned over to the Teton County coroner's office. [Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, 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/):

Independence NHP - Freedom Week 2012 at Independence National Historical Park was highlighted by music, speeches, a number of First Amendment activities, the symbolic tapping of the Liberty Bell, and the public reading of the Declaration of Independence.

Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings, newly introduced bills, and the status of legislation of interest to the National Park Service. This report covers activities during the week ending on July 13th.

Learning and Development Division - The recipients of this year's Albright-Wirth grants have been selected. The program received 450 project proposals in FY 12 from NPS employees representing diverse career fields from across the Service, totaling $2,122,800 in grant fund requests.

* * * *

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).

--- ### ---