NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
INCIDENTS
Grand Teton NP
One Killed In Avalanche, Four Rescued
A team of rangers, emergency medical personnel, Teton County SAR team members and a contract helicopter quickly swung into action Sunday morning to rescue four backcountry ski mountaineers who were involved in an avalanche on the northeast face of Mount Moran.
L.L., 38, was killed in the avalanche and one of his companions, S.P.A., Jr., 42, sustained life-threatening injuries, prompting evacuation by helicopter. Two other companions - B.Y., 37, who suffered minor injuries, and Z.B., 37, who escaped injury - were also evacuated via helicopter as continuing avalanche activity and a steady cycle of snow squalls across the Tetons made the multi-staged rescue operation more challenging.
Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received a 911 transfer call from Teton County at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday and quickly contacted park rangers, who immediately began a coordinated rescue operation. Because of the remote location on Mount Moran and the report of multiple injured persons, rangers quickly staged at and responded from the Jenny Lake Rescue Cache, located at Lupine Meadows near the base of Teewinot Mountain. Rangers also summoned the Teton County SAR contract helicopter.
The four ski mountaineers were ascending the steep Sickle Couloir on Mount Moran when a shallow wet slough avalanche released from above. The snow slide swept three of the mountaineers downslope for approximately 500 feet over rock and ice covered terrain. Z.B. was able to move out of the heavier portion of the debris flow and was not caught in the slide. He quickly descended to his teammates, called 911, and began the difficult task of administering aid to his three companions.
Light snowfall on the slopes above continued to cause additional sloughs that repeatedly hit the group, requiring Z.B. to work desperately to move S.P.A. and L.L. to a safer location. Although injured, B.Y. was able to descend slowly downslope under his own power.
After a slight lull in the recurring snowstorms over the Teton peaks, the Teton County SAR helicopter was able to deliver several rescuers to the base of the couloir. A Teton County SAR member was short-hauled to the scene to aid in the evacuation of S.P.A., who receiving emergency medical care by park rangers on site and getting package for airlift off the mountain.
S.P.A. and the Teton County SAR member were both short-hauled directly to the Jenny Lake Rescue Cache where a team of medics and the park's medical director, Dr. Will Smith, provided additional emergency care before S.P.A. was transported by park ambulance to the Jackson Hole Airport. Upon reaching the airport, S.P.A. was transferred to a fixed wing air ambulance that flew him to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
The Teton County SAR helicopter subsequently returned to pick up the two other avalanche survivors and transport them out of the backcountry. Additional flights were made to bring out L.L.'s body, as well as the remaining park rangers and their rescue gear. All rescue personnel were safely out of the mountains by 3 p.m.
[Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]
Redwood N&SP
Woman Rescued From Ocean Cliff Face
On the morning of May 13th, rangers received a report of a woman stuck on a cliff face near the Damnation Creek Trail. Rangers responded to the woman's location and found that she was approximately 150 feet up a 250-foot cliff above the Pacific Ocean. The woman had climbed the cliff face to escape being trapped by the rising tide.
It was determined that a technical rescue would result in a high level of risk to involved personnel, so the United States Coast Guard was contacted and performed a hoist operation, removing the woman from her perch.
The National Park Service managed the incident with assistance from California State Parks, Del Norte County Search and Rescue, CAL FIRE, and the USCG.
Click on the following link to see a YouTube video of the rescue: HYPERLINK "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44EgoeXXKsc"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44EgoeXXKsc
[Greg Morse, North District Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers):
Eastern Areas - On the week of April 27th, more than 60 search and rescue personnel from all over the United States attended the five-day NPS Basic Technical Rescue Training—East course at Acadia National Park.
Visitor and Resource Protection - On April 4th, 22 members of the NPS Basic Technical Rescue Training-East course's 56-member instructor cadre were honored with a presentation of DOI's Unit Award for Excellence of Service.
Office of Human Resources - The Department of the Interior will be recognizing individuals, teams and organizations who have helped create a “customer-driven” organization through the Federal Customer Service Award Program. Nominations are due by May 22nd.
Lake Clark NP&P - Lake Clark National Park staff spent a week in Nondalton Village for culture week at the village school, delivering hands-on programs about archeology.
Intermountain Region - A Ticket to Ride grant opened up a new opportunity for nearby Hopi schools and students. Approximately 250 students got to visit Hubbell Trading Post, where they learned about its history and current-day operations.
Northeast Region - Amy Brooke Bracewell, currently the site manager for Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, has been selected as the next superintendent of Saratoga National Historical Park.
Intermountain Region - William (Bill) Wright, a 30-year veteran of the National Park Service, has been named superintendent of Chickasaw National Recreation Area. He will begin his new assignment on May 14th.
To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites:
NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index
Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/
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).
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