NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

INCIDENTS

Grand Teton NP

Park Trails Worker N.G.'s Body Recovered

Rangers recovered the body of N.G. from Berry Creek canyon late on Monday afternoon. Foggy conditions throughout most of Monday prevented attempts to complete the mission before late afternoon. Rangers also concluded their investigation of the avalanche event that took his life on Sunday afternoon. N.G., a long-time seasonal employee at Grand Teton, was caught in an avalanche on the southeast face of Survey Peak (elevation 9,277 feet) and died as a result of injuries suffered in the slide.

N.G. and three companions skied into Berry Creek canyon in the northern Teton Range on Thursday, January 24th, on a multi-day backcountry ski trip. On Sunday afternoon, N.G. and one companion skied a run on the southeast face of Survey Peak. They then returned with a third member of their party to ski a final run. During that final run, members of the group planned to ski at one-minute intervals and fan out across the treed slopes. N.G. was the last person to ski and is believed to have triggered the avalanche that caught him. He was carried approximately 220 feet into the trees, where he was pinned and left partially buried with his head and an arm above the snow. The total slide path spanned 540 feet. The second skier encountered fresh avalanche debris, and. believing that the first skier may have triggered it, immediately began a beacon search. He also called out and heard the first skier respond from below. He skied down to the first skier and learned that she was unaware of the avalanche. He then began a search for N.G. with his avalanche beacon and located him about 20 minutes after the accident occurred. He began CPR and was eventually joined by the two other members of the party. In total, they performed CPR for approximately 90 minutes with no success.

Due to the remote area and spotty cell service, N.G.'s companions were not able to make an emergency call for help until late evening. Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received notice of the incident at 9 p.m. on Sunday. Because of the late hour and confirmation that N.G. did not revive during CPR, rangers made arrangements to recover N.G.'s companions and his body during daylight hours on Monday. The surviving party of three stayed the night in a National Park Service patrol cabin located about one mile from Survey Peak.

Four rangers were flown into Berry Creek canyon at 11 a.m. Monday and two of the skiers were flown out during the single flight. Deteriorating weather conditions halted additional flights until late afternoon when N.G.'s body plus one of his partners and all rescue personnel were flown out of the backcountry just before nightfall.  

The avalanche danger on Sunday was listed as low for mid-elevation terrain. The crown of the avalanche on Survey Peak occurred at 8,405 feet.

[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/):

Natchez Trace Parkway - Natchez Trace Parkway has started off its 75th anniversary year by releasing a geocaching travel bug. Its mission is to go to towns up and down the Old Trace corridor, visiting Natchez, Mississippi, and Nashville, Tennessee, as many times as possible in the year 2013.

Fire and Aviation Management - Parks interested in strengthen their structural fire prevention programs this summer are encouraged to apply to host one of the internships funded by the structural fire program. Applications are due by February 22nd.

Pacific West Region - Stephen Prokop has been selected as superintendent at Redwood National and State Parks. He replaces former superintendent Steve Chaney, who retired late last year.

Intermountain Region - Jim Dougan, a 26-year veteran of the NPS, has been named superintendent of Hovenweep and Natural Bridges National Monuments in Southeast Utah.

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The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, 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@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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