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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, February 3, 2014 INCIDENTS Hawaii Volcanoes NP Rangers Rescue Hiker Stranded In Heavy Snow On the morning of Thursday, January 30th, rangers rescued a lone hiker who became stranded on Mauna Loa after a winter storm brought heavy snow and high winds to both the summit and lower elevations. A.S., 36, visiting from New York, began a grueling 18-mile trek from the top of Mauna Loa Road at 6,662 feet towards the summit of Mauna Loa on Sunday, January 28th. He reached the 13,677-foot summit on Tuesday after dropping off his heavy gear at a lower elevation. The snowstorm struck on his late-afternoon descent, creating blinding whiteout conditions, and night soon fell. A.S. made a few futile attempts to locate his pack and then decided to hunker down in the snow until daylight. His only protection consisted of the clothes he had on; supplies were limited to a bottle of frozen water. Earlier on Tuesday, park management closed the mountain to visitors because of the dangerous weather. A.S. was the only registered hiker. Rangers tried unsuccessfully to call his cell phone; they then drove up Mauna Loa Road and confirmed his car was there. Ranger John Broward decided to launch a helicopter search for him when the car was found to still be there on Wednesday afternoon. A.S. was located by 9 a.m. “I've done many crazy hikes, but this one pretty much tops the bill,” said A.S., an experienced hiker who successfully summited Mauna Loa last winter. After locating his pack Wednesday morning, the deep snow made it impossible to gain much ground, and he spent a second frozen night on the mountain. A.S. worried that he'd die on Mauna Loa, and was astonished when he heard the helicopter. “Even the most experienced and prepared hikers can get into trouble in the park,” said Broward, who serves as the park's search and rescue coordinator. “What saved Alex is that he had a backcountry permit so we knew he was up there, he is extremely fit, and he stayed calm. We're all fortunate this had a happy ending.” On Thursday afternoon, his face sunburned and wind-whipped, A.S. applied for another backcountry permit, for the park's remote coastal area. “This time I'm going to the sunny part of the park,” he said. [Jessica Ferracane, Public Affairs Officer] OTHER NEWS The following stories are among those in today's InsideNPS. To see the full text, 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 Morning Report web page ( HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/): Lake Mead NRA - Volunteers and biologists in eight survey boats spotted 132 bald eagles during this year's interagency mid-winter eagle survey around Lakes Mead and Mohave. Keweenaw NHP - On Christmas Eve, which marked the centennial of the 1913 Italian Hall Tragedy, a ceremony was held at the site of the hall, which is situated in the heart of Keweenaw National Historical Park. 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 in Congress for the week ending January 31st. Park Facility Management Division - Vito Spinale, who began his National Park Service career in 1976, is retiring from the Park Facility Management Division in the Washington Office. Intermountain Region - Harry “Skip” Wheeler has retired from the NPS with 28 years of service. His permanent career in the NPS was divided between the USS Arizona Memorial and the Oklahoma City National Memorial. * * * * The Morning Report is produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov). --- ### --- |