April - Seattle Mountain Rescue

SEATTLE MOUNTAIN RESCUE
Bergtrage
APRIL 2014
NO.245
WELCOME TO THE APRIL 2014 ISSUE OF THE BERGTRAGE. THIS IS A COMBINED
BIMONTHLY ISSUE BECAUSE OF THE LULL IN MISSIONS EXPECTED THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.
HERE IS A LINK TO THE GOOGLE MAP SHOWING WHERE THE ACTION WAS OVER THE PAST
TWO MONTHS.
GOOGLE MAP – Click either on the date or on the map symbol for details.
https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zeh8L8VSg8EI.kpRr85JUuK-A
FEB 8, 2013 – LOST HIKER ON MAILBOX PEAK
A 30 something year old man starting hiking alone on Mailbox Peak around 10:00am and arrived at the summit
around 4:00pm. He slipped and fell in the snow on the way down shortly after leaving the summit. He lost his
helmet and headlamp in his fall. He continued following the trail down until it started to get dark. He tried to
follow the trail in the dark but eventually lost it. At some point he called his wife for help. She was able to
observe his location on a map with a smart phone app. She was not able to provide coordinates but she was
able to get a screen print of his location. He tried using his cell phone for a light but his battery eventually went
dead and he was not able to use it for a light or for communications anymore.
SAR was paged out at 7:25pm and planners were able to determine that his Last Known Point (LKP) was on or
near the trail at around the 3;400 foot level when he called for help. Four ESAR teams were deployed up the
main trail toward and others were assigned to drive around to the Fire Training Academy and hike in on the
connector trail toward the main trail and then hike up the main trail. The objective was to provide containment
if the subject somehow was moving down and got on
the connector trail. At approximately the same time
they started hiking, they got word that the subject had
called his wife and gave an address corresponding to
the Fire Training Academy. He had managed to work his
way down the mountain in the dark following occasional
glimpses of the lights from the Academy. The Academy
was closed for the evening and was uninhabited when
he got there. He found an unlocked cafeteria building
and was able to get something hot to drink and found a
couple of bananas to eat. He was able to locate an
unlocked vehicle with a cell phone charger in it. He
charged his cell phone battery enough to be able to call
his wife and tell her where he was. Searchers hiked up
the road to the Academy and got to the subject at
11:30pm. He was in good condition to be able to hike
back to the gate and were back to the Command Post
by 12:50pm.
The subject was well prepared for being out in the weather but did not have an extra light or any navigation
tools (map, compass, GPS). He was very fortunate to make his way off trail all the way to the Fire Training
Academy without incident. If he had gotten injured or “cliffed out” along his route, he would have been very
difficult to locate. Looks like he used a lot of initiative after reaching the academy.
(Submitted by: Steve Allen)
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SEATTLE MOUNTAIN RESCUE
Bergtrage
APRIL 2014
NO.245
FEB 21, 2014 - ILL BOY SCOUT AT GOLDMYER HOT SPRINGS
King County paged our SAR to evacuate an ill Boy Scout from Gold Meyer Hot Springs. The reporting party was
able to evacuate the boy himself and met the deputy at Dingford Creek gate. In the meantime, Russ and Larry
grabbed the two SMR snowmobiles and headed up before they were advised that the mission was a turnaround
while Nathan and Karl were already part way up the road on the SMR snowmobiles. (Submitted by: Larry
Colagiovanni)
FEB 22, 2014 - HIKERS LOST ON THE ANNETTE LAKE TRAIL
Three young men decided to hike into lake Annette wearing jeans and snowshoes, and carried small packs. On
the way out one of them and his dog fell behind the other two. About a ½ mile above the Iron Horse trail the
man fell into a creek and could not climb the snow banks to get back out. Along with this his dog took off, the
combination freaked him out. He called 911 for help. Bob Coleman and Doug Caley were the first to arrive
followed quickly by Bree. Bob and Doug were dispatched into the field to reach the subject and keep an eye out
for his other two friends who were reported to be heading back in to help the subject. They ran into the subject,
the two friends, and the dog about ½ mile above the Iron Horse trail. All were in good shape and moving down
the trail. The subject complained of cold feet but opted to continue walking out in favor of dry socks. Soon the
entire group was at the trailhead and the mission was shut down. (Submitted by: Doug Caley)
FEB 25-26, 2014 - SEARCH FOR HIKER LOST ON RATTLESNAKE LEDGE TRAIL
February ended with a classic one that even made the newspapers in North Bend.
Snoqualmie Valley Record: http://www.valleyrecord.com/news/248443271.html
SMR was paged at approximately 8:55pm to help locate a missing 18-year old hiker near Rattlesnake Ledge.
The man was hiking up the main trail with a group of friends when at about 4:30pm, he took a spur trail,
saying he'd meet up with them later. When the group reached the ledges, their friend did not show after some
time. After they didn't find their friend in the parking lot either they called 911.
Larry Colagiovanni responded and arrived at the command post around 9:45pm. The ESAR Base Operations
Leader asked him to search the ledges below Rattlesnake Ledge as well as some of the climber trails around the
cliff. They were looking for the spur trail that led to the base of the cliffs. Larry helped them find the trail and
they started to head up. Given the wet conditions, high winds (~50 mph), and not everyone had helmets, the
three teams divided up between search below the cliffs and searching the main trail to the ledge. The team
searching below the cliffs did not find any evidence of the missing hiker.
Around 1:30am searchers started to return to base to work out the plan for Wednesday when the search would
resume. Around the same time, they received information that the hiker may have tried making a phone call
around 6:30pm, which put his location along the ridgeline by the roads above the ledges. It was decided that
Wednesday's search would focus on that area as well as to do another sweep of the ledges below the cliffs in
case anything was missed.
Bree Loewen, Russ Anschell, and Geoff Ferguson responded to help with the second day of the mission. Before
being deployed into the field, the subject was found by a Watershed Crew driving to work on 'Road 9' on an
unrelated project. He had headed above the ledges and got lost on the roads up there. He stayed warm during
the night by continually walking around. (Submitted by: Larry Colagiovanni)
MARCH 6, 2014 - SEARCH FOR MISSING ALZHEIMER PATIENT NEAR REDMOND
King County paged out SAR and at 9:00am Timmy, Glenn and Brian were assigned to search both sides of the
Bear Creek drainage down to the Powerline Trail and completed their assignment at 11:30am. Then together
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with some Everett MR members were assigned to search along Mackey Creek near Farrel McWhirter Park
meeting up with some ESAR searchers when at 1:00pm it was announced that the missing person was found
and all teams returned to the Base and headed home by 2:15pm. The missing person was found alive and
responsive and only 300-400 east of the Command Post. (Submitted by: Timmy Williams)
MARCH 9, 2014 - HIKER GETS SICK ON COUGAR MOUNTAIN
King County paged out SAR to assist Bellevue Fire Department pack out a sick hiker on Cougar Mountain. Cell
phone coordinates and the reporting party’s description placed the subject at the intersection of Shy Bear Trail
and Deceiver Trail. The Command Post was initially planned to be located at the Red Town trailhead but was
moved to a closer location at the Indian Trail trailhead on the south side of the park at the end of 171st Ave SE.
The subject’s location was approximately 1.5 miles from the Indian Trail trailhead. SMR’s Doug Caley and Drew
Fletcher arrived at the Command Post at approximately 5:30pm and were the initial hasty team in the field with
the litter arriving at the subject at approximately 6:10pm. SMR Doug Hutton, Steve Allen, Timmy Williams and
Rich Evans followed shortly after and arrived at the subject at approximately 6:35pm. The subject was
packaged for rainy conditions and teams were moving on the trail with the subject at 6:40pm and all teams
were back to the Command Post by 7:35pm. (Submitted by: Steve Allen)
MARCH 22, 2014 – AVALANCHE ON GRANITE MOUNTAIN KILLS ONE SKIER
From NWAC forecast: Preliminary Granite Mountain Accident Information
as of early Sunday morning: Around 4:45 PM on Saturday afternoon 2 skiers
and a dog descending the looker's left (or skier's right) avalanche path on the
south side of Granite Mt (visible from I-90) triggered an initially small slab
avalanche (estimated 6" crown) that stepped down to possibly 2-3 feet. The
skiers were in the heart of the avalanche path on a steep (40+ degrees)
slope, although the exact elevation is not known yet. This slab became large
and destructive and ran down to 2500' where there is little snow
cover. Initial estimates are at least D3/R3. One person was in a safe zone
and not affected. The skier who triggered and was caught in the slide is still
missing with ongoing search and rescue efforts expected Sunday. Another
party of two nearby was not caught and aided in the preliminary search
efforts.
Two skiers were caught in an avalanche Saturday afternoon on Granite Mountain. One skier was able to ski out
of the avalanche and avoid being trapped. The second skier, a 27 year old experienced male skier, was still
missing. SMR was paged to assist with a search and rescue for the second skier at 5:07pm. Evidence indicated
that the avalanche was triggered by the skiers high on the mountain above the 5,000 foot level.
The subject’s party had avalanche beacons and did a beacon check earlier on their trip. The subject’s partner
did a hasty beacon search as he descended after the slide. It was not a very effective search, however.
Team members from SMR, SPART and BARK went into the field Saturday but were not able to do much
searching because of the time and risk. They searched with beacons until after dark. The beacon search was
not very effective, however, due to unstable conditions which prohibited the searchers from doing a proper
search of the debris in the avalanche chute.
SMR decided that the risk was too high to actively participate in the search on Sunday morning. BARK went in
early, though, with a couple SPART spotters. The subject was found around 8:30am down low around the 2300
foot level by BARK. The dog hit on his scent. The subject’s beacon was later found to be deactivated by the
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SEATTLE MOUNTAIN RESCUE
Bergtrage
APRIL 2014
NO.245
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trauma (on/off plug pulled out). It checked out to be OK though after it was plugged in. After the subject
was found, rescuers went in with a chainsaw to help extract the subject from the concrete-like avalanche
debris. The field teams extracted the subject and started to move him to the edge of the debris field.
A search team of eight headed up the evacuation crew Sunday morning and went in with a litter, wheel and
some rigging gear. The team got the litter to the other teams and helped move the subject out of the debris
field. Several single rope lowers were performed to get the subject down to the trail. Then there was a wheeled
litter evacuation back to the Command Post. Steve Allen and Stan Hoffman were SMR on initial evacuation
team. Keith Schultz and Chris Muldoon were on following teams to help with evacuation. The trail evacuation
went smooth and efficient. (Submitted by: Steve Allen)
The father of the deceased skier made the following comments on this accident and expressed his
strong feelings about backcountry skiing in an article published in the “My Edmonds News” :
There is no such thing as backcountry ski safety.
Jake’s beacon didn’t work because he was actually in an avalanche. In an actual avalanche beacons often don’t work
because they are crushed. Jake’s beacon was crushed and also stopped working because it was ripped off his
body. Beacons are designed to stop working when the straps are removed because they assume you are done skiing.
Jake’s avalung was shredded. An avalung is also useless in an avalanche because in an avalanche your lungs are
compressed and you can’t breathe and because you can’t move your arms to reach it because you are trapped by snow or
because your arms are broken.
The probe and the shovel are useless if the beacon doesn’t work and you don’t know where the body is. In a real
avalanche, the snow is compacted and turns to ice. The search and rescue crew needed a chain saw to get Jake’s body
out of the ice.
The avalanche danger on Granite Mountain is permanently extreme. The entire face is an avalanche chute and there are
no trees because of that. The avalanche forecast for the day Jake died was “moderate”. That’s about as low as it ever
gets in the winter. The forecast was a mistake. They later changed it to extreme. Backcountry skiers should not trust the
forecasts.
Ski movies often show pictures of skiers skiing out of avalanches. These are dangerously misleading. Those skiers are
just in minor snow slides or at the very edge of a slide. They are extremely lucky. Jake could ski any mountain but when
the entire mountain is moving underneath you there is nothing for your skies to ski against.
There is just too much information out there and too many product advertisements that imply backcountry skiing is
safe. It’s not.
Too many young men have trouble fully comprehending the dangers of backcountry skiing and there is just too much information out
there that suggests it is safe.
From the My Edmonds News: http://myedmondsnews.com/2014/04/april-18-memorial-service-setmeadowdale-high-school-graduate-jacob-derry/
More Stories from the Media and Internet
KIRO News: http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/body-dentist-killed-avalanche-found-near-granite-m/nXkZP/
From The Snow Troopers: http://thesnowtroopers.com/2014/granite-mountain-wa-avalanche-32214/
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SEATTLE MOUNTAIN RESCUE
Bergtrage
APRIL 2014
NO.245
Doug Pierson carried a mini bike pump to the top where he spent almost five minutes pumping it up in the thin air and then, as Doug pointed out, proceeded to have
probably the highest game of catch ever while at the South Col. He then donated
the ball to the Seahawks. What dedication! Go Hawks!!
Congratulations to Doug Pierson for being selected by the
USMC for promotion to Colonel.. List was published and
only 39 made the cut, and Doug is #7. Should get promoted
somewhere around October
Last month on March 22nd, dedicated volunteers from King County Search
and Rescue, including members of ESAR led by Scott MacColman and 4x4
SAR with Rich “Geezer” Collingwood formally presented the colors at the
Summit at Snoqualmie’s Military Appreciation
annual event honoring the military and their
families and also the 10th Mountain Division,
one of the founders of our Mountain Rescue
Association.
Meanwhile SMR’s Art found something
better to do on the slopes and left the work
to others as usual!
Complaining about gas prices now! Forty years ago back in April 1974 rescuers were also facing gas shortages going to rescues which a few of us remember (March 1974 Bergtrage) -
Todd Stone had an awesome day at
Seems to me I can vaguely remember being able to gas up on even or odd
Snowbird on April 3rd with former
number days depending on your license plate numbers! In 1974, the US naSeattle’ite and fellow Midd-kid Terra.
Tomorrow he’s leaving to go get lost in the tional average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was 53 cents!
desert for 4-5 days. After that, serious
buckle down to find a job here in SLC.
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SEATTLE MOUNTAIN RESCUE
Bergtrage
APRIL 2014
NO.245
What a deal! Saw in one of the MRC Newsletters for 1955 that the annual dues were a whopping $1.00 for members!
Looks like membership in SMR now is one of the few bargains left! How much are SMR’s annual dues today?
Back in May 1974 King County Search and Rescue Association had its one-day annual training with participants either
flown by Army “Chinooks” or transported by bus to Camp Brown. Probably the only one here who can tell you exactly
where Camp Brown is or was is Bill Davis but officially Camp Brown is located approximately one mile south of Taylor
River on the Middle Fork at River Mile 64.
SEATTLE MOUNTAIN RESCUE IS A FULLY-ACCREDITED MEMBER OF THE MOUNTAIN RESCUE ASSOCIATION AND THE KING
COUNTY SEARCH AND RESCUE ASSOCIATION. SEATTLE MOUNTAIN RESCUE IS A NON-PROFIT 501C(3) ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO SAVING LIVES THROUGH RESCUE AND EDUCATION. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A TAX DEDUCTABLE DONATION
TO OUR ORGANIZATION, PLEASE SEND A CHECK MADE OUT TO "SEATTLE MOUNTAIN RESCUE" TO THE ADDRESS LISTED BELOW. THE BERGTRAGE IS SEATTLE MOUNTAIN RESCUE’S MONTHLY ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER AND HAS BEEN PUBLISHED
IN ONE FORM OR THE OTHER SINCE THE FIRST MOUNTAIN RESCUE COUNCIL NEWSLETTER WAS PUBLISHED IN 1955. IT IS
SENT ELECTRONICALLY TO ALL SMR MEMBERS AND TO A LARGE NUMBER OF DONORS, FRIENDS, OTHER RESCUE UNITS AND
PUBLIC AGENCIES INVOLVED IN SEARCH AND RESCUE AND IS ALSO SENT TO A NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAMS AND ORGANIZATIONS. THE EDITOR WELCOMES ANY AND ALL COMMENTS, STORIES AND PHOTOS AND CAN BE
CONTACTED AT THE EMAIL ADDRESS LISTED BELOW.
P.O. Box 67
Seattle, WA 98111-0067
www.seattlemountainrescue.org
[email protected]
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