NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, April 5, 2010

INCIDENTS

Glacier NP

Snowboarder Killed By Avalanche On Mt. Shields

Rangers are conducting an investigation into the death of B.C.W., 37, of East Glacier, Montana, whose body was recovered in avalanche debris on the northeast face of Mt. Shields late on the afternoon of Thursday, April 1st. They believe that B.C.W. triggered a large slab avalanche while snowboarding on Mt. Shields at approximately 1 p.m. the previous day, shortly after talking to his mother via cell phone from the summit of Mt. Shields. The mountain is located in the southern most portion of the park and within a few miles of U.S. Highway 2. The Mt. Shields area is popular with backcountry ski and snowboard enthusiasts. The fatality was reported to rangers around 2 p.m. on Thursday. The reporting party told rangers they had last heard from B.C.W. at 6 p.m. on Tuesday when he texted friends that he was on Mt. Shields (elevation 7,131 feet). When friends did not receive responses to subsequent text messages on Wednesday, they grew concerned. On Thursday, a friend located B.C.W.'s vehicle at the Fielding Ranger Station trailhead and skied up to Mt. Shields, where B.C.W.'s body was spotted high in a gully within the slide path of a recent avalanche. The backcountry party skied out and called park headquarters to report the avalanche and fatality. Park personnel were dispatched to the trailhead on Thursday afternoon. Rangers skied up the northeast face of Mt. Shields to B.C.W.'s body and confirmed the fatality at 5:45 p.m. Additional park personnel were also dispatched and were on hand to respond as needed. A total of 20 NPS employees and a helicopter from Minuteman Aviation of West Glacier were involved in the park's overall response to the incident. At the scene, rangers found tracks that suggested B.C.W. had made two trips up the face of Mt. Shields. One set of tracks was located in an open area with few trees. Field personnel observed a two-foot deep fracture in the snow pack just below the summit of Mt. Shields on its northeast face. Rangers believe this route most likely triggered the avalanche, which ran about 2,000 vertical feet. The overall reach of the avalanche was approximately 2,500 to 3,000 feet; it was approximately 150 yards wide and narrowed as it ran down a narrow gully. B.C.W.'s body was about 200 to 300 yards above the end (toe) of the avalanche slide path. Investigating rangers believe he tumbled approximately 2,000 feet before his body came to rest at an elevation of 5,427 feet. Avalanche debris in the vicinity of B.C.W.'s body was measured at 20 to 30 feet deep, but his body was only partially covered in the avalanche debris. B.C.W. was an avid outdoorsman and knowledgeable backcountry traveler. Friends believed that B.C.W. had an avalanche transceiver, but thus far, neither B.C.W.'s backpack nor his transceiver have been located. [Amy Vanderbilt, Wade Muehlof, and Pattrick Suddath]

Monocacy National Battlefield

Two Sustain Minor Injuries In Plane Crash In Park

On the evening of March 30th, the National Capital Region Communication Center was contacted by the Maryland State Police about a plane crash in the park. The aircraft had lost engine power and the pilot had attempted to land it in a field, but was unable to stop it before it hit the curb along Maryland Route 355 and flipped over. The pilot suffered minor injuries to her face and the passenger refused medical treatment at the scene. The incident is being investigated by the National Park Service, Maryland State Police and the FAA. [Travis Baker, Park Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:

Bandelier NM - As part of a long-term project to document and conserve the park's cavates - hand-hewn rock chambers that were the ancestral homes of Puebloan peoples - researchers are conducting a detailed analysis of one cavate to develop a model that can provide guidance on the protection of others in the future.

Northeast Region - A new ranger training program, “ProRanger Philadelphia,” kicked off at Temple University in late March. This academic and training program, cooperatively administered by the Service and the university, has been established to recruit and train park rangers for the NPS. Photo.

Natural Resource Stewardship and Science - At the request of the Natural Resources Stewardship and Science directorate, the National Academy of Public Administration is conducting a review of the directorate's performance on its core functions. To provide the opportunity for broad input from a variety of perspectives, the National Academy is hosting an online dialogue for NPS employees through April 16th.

Minute Man NHP - Deputy Director for Communications and Community Assistance Mickey Fearn recently visited several parks in Massachusetts to see the strides being made to involve youth in NPS projects and programs. Photo.

Congressional and Legislative Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service.

Natural Resource Stewardship and Science - Lindsay McClelland, geologist and Washington liaison for the Geologic Resources Division, retired on April 2nd after more than 35 years of Federal service. Photo.

To see these and other stories posted on InsideNPS (or NPS Digest, its public version), click on one or the other of the following links (please note that not all stories in the former appear in the latter):

NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index

Non-NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/

NPS serious incident submission standards can be found at the following web site: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/notify" http://inside.nps.gov/notify

* * * *

Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

--- ### ---