gregm

I've edited this post because: 1) It was pointed out that it might be interpreted as advocating murder, which I do not. 2) It was pointed out that I have used snowmobiles. I have only used them where it was legal to do so and not in restricted backcountry areas, but I understand not everyone will agree with the distinction. Greg [This message has been edited by gregm (edited 04-16-2001).]

Could be worse, check this out: Subject: Fw: [Paddlewise] Jetski incident Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2001 11:27:06 -0700 From: "Kevin Whilden" <kevin@yourplanetearth.org> To: <ukc-sea@u.washington.edu> Hey folks, This forwarded account from Paddlewise is causing quite a stir this morning! The author gave me permission to forward it on. I think you'll find it very interesting. Also, apparently the harrassing jetskier is going to have felony assault charges filed against him (as of this morning). Thank god jetskis are banned in the San Juans, though perhaps the club should invest in a set of deck-mounted SAMs (Surface to A-hole Missiles). kevin ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wes Boyd" <boydwe@dmci.net> To: "Paddlewise" <paddlewise@paddlewise.net> Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2001 10:30 PM Subject: [Paddlewise] Jetski incident > AAbout 11:30 AM local time on April 8, I was kayaking with two friends, Tom > Macomber and Tim Berry, both of Fremont, IN. We were on the southern part > of Snow Lake, near Fremont, about a quarter mile from the channel into Lake > James, 200-300 yards off the nearest shore, which was to our left. We were > paddling southwest, nearly directly into a wind that we estimate was 20-25 > mph out of the southwest. The air temperature was over seventy degrees, but > the strong wind made things chilly. Wave heights were about one foot, and > had been higher earlier in the passage. As the ice went off the lakes only > a couple weeks before, the water temperature could not have been warmer > than about 40 degrees and could have been less. Macomber has about my level > of experience, and we have frequently paddled together. Berry, though a > practiced canoeist, is relatively inexperienced in kayaks, and was in his > new boat for only the second time. > > We were spread out somewhat; I was slightly ahead of Berry and to his > right, and Macomber was 50-75 yards ahead of me. I noticed another kayaker, > in a small, red kayak, slightly out of the channel. At this point, two > bright red jetskis appeared from the channel and powered up, passing us at > a distance of approximately 100 yards to our right, heading northeast. The > first of the two was ridden by a middle-aged man, solo; the second, > trailing somewhat, was ridden by a young man, with a young woman on the > back. After a brief period, the trailing jetski with the young couple > aboard turned around and buzzed past the stern of Tim's kayak at a very > short distance, with obvious intent, then passed ahead of me at a distance > of less than ten feet. The first jetski was nowhere in sight. I managed to > stay upright by bracing. The jetski rushed on ahead, taking a close pass > past Macomber and spraying him with his jetwash, then buzzed the red kayak, > which we later learned was paddled by Joel Bredemeyer of Ft. Wayne, IN, > whom we had not previously met. As the operator of the jetski passed > Bredemeyer and swung hard to wash him down, he rolled and stalled. I yelled > at Bredemeyer, "Get his number," although he was far enough away that I > don't think he heard me. I had only a brief glimpse at the small number > which was black on the red jetski. Bredemeyer did in fact get his number > when he was slowed at this point. > > Regaining his balance, the jetski again buzzed past me at a close distance, > and again I managed to maintain my balance with a brace. The jetski then > proceeded on to Tim and washed him down, rolling his kayak over. I only saw > this out of the corner of my eye, but yelled at Tom that Tim was in the > water, and started to turn around to go and help Tim when the jetski again > passed me, at a distance of no more than two or three feet, rolling me > over. I was literally thrown from the cockpit, and had my head above water > in time to hear the operator of the Jetski yell "Does anyone else want to > go for a swim?" > > Out of my boat, at least 200 yards from shore, with the strong wind blowing > me somewhat parallel to the shore, in bone-chilling water, I was in a > life-threatening situation; I was not particularly dressed for immersion. I > had managed to hold onto my paddle and maintain contact with the boat, > which I righted from the water. I thought briefly about attempting to rig > for a paddle float re-entry, but it takes precious time, and I figured the > operator of the jetski would think it fun to swamp me again as I attempted > to re-enter the boat. I figured he would pay me less attention if I was in > the water, so I worked my way to the bow of my boat and started to swim for > shore, knowing that warm clothing stowed in a dry bag in the boat could be > essential to staying alive. The shore was in a state park, separated from > habited areas by a swamp, and I knew it would be a long, cold walk to > safety if I managed to reach the nearest shore without the boat. While I > was slowly swimming toward shore, dragging the boat, the operator of the > jetski took more passes at the kayaks that had managed to remain upright. I > was hoping to pull myself close to enough to shore that the strong wind > would carry me near the tip of a little reedy point, where I might be able > to get my feet down. It was slow progress since I'm not an exceptionally > strong swimmer. > > Fortunately, the jetski left the scene after about ten minutes of > harrassing us, with Bredemeyer and Macomber still upright. Bredemeyer went > to Berry's aid, while Macomber came to mine. We had practiced "over the > boat" rescues last summer, and I briefly thought of trying one. I am quite > heavy, and we had difficulty when we'd practiced the rescue last summer in > much more benign conditions. As it was, we quickly decided the better > approach was for Macomber to tow me and my boat to shore. Up until this > point I had not inflated my inflatable personal flotation device, as it > would have impeded my swimming, but did so now. I grabbed onto the stern of > Macomber's boat, and he towed me to where the water was something less than > waist deep. The bottom was so soft that I had to breast stroke the rest of > the way into the reeds, pushing the boat ahead of me. I had difficulty in > getting the stern of the boat into the soft, reedy shore and turn it over > to dump out the majority of the water. I managed to find a fairly firm spot > on a root ball to stand while I pumped a little more water out of the boat > with a handpump. I was still knee deep in water, without much hope of > making it to firmer ground to change into dry clothes. I was finally able > to get back into the boat. Bredemeyer had been able to similarly assist > Berry, who had bruises and abrasions from wet-exiting a very snug cockpit. > > We spent some minutes catching our breath and assessing the situation. We > decided to head back downwind to a more populated area with a better beach, > about half a mile away, to pull ourselves together. We decided to stay > quite close to shore, in case the jetski should decide to return for some > more fun. We got most of the way across the small bay with little > difficulty, but in the last two hundred yards had to turn partially across > the 1-2 foot waves in order to make it to a protected channel that leads > into Big Otter Lake. I could easily have swamped again in the last couple > hundred yards, as I was not paddling very well and the five gallons or so > of water still in the kayak's cockpit made the boat somewhat unstable, but > I managed to stay upright and get the boat to the beach. > > A man with a cottage there was doing yard work, and he came to our > assistance with coffee and towels. I didn't get his name, but we owe him a > great deal of thanks. We were able to dry off, and I was able to get into > dry clothes. Macomber called 911 to report the incident, and after some > minutes a local Conservation Officer came and took the complaint and > information from us. > > After getting warmed back up, we emptied the rest of the water out of the > swamped boats, got back in and headed back to where we'd parked our > vehicles on Marsh Lake. We crossed Big Otter Lake and entered the channel > into Little Otter Lake. We paddled easily down the lake, until I noticed > two red jetskis tied to the dock ahead of me. I pointed them out to the > others, and we paddled closely past the dock in order to positively > identify the jetskis, without saying anything to the people watching from > shore. We then paddled another couple hundred yards to a bait and tackle > store, where we stopped, called the Conservation Officer again, and waited > for his arrival. We were later able to positively identify the operator of > the jetski. > > In four years of kayaking on lakes in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, and in > many other years of boating, in all sorts of conditions and with all sorts > of boaters around, I have never seen the blatant, reckless, callous > disregard for human safety that the operator of this jetski displayed, > especially in making several attempts to upset all the kayaks, even after > two people were in the water. In discussing it later, we pretty well agreed > that if three of us had been in the water instead of two, the situation > would have been considerably worse, and there would have been a much > greater liklihood of death or severe cold injury. All four of us in the > water would have meant a near certainty that some or all of us could have > met our deaths, given the wind, waves, distance from shore, cold of the > water, and other dangers. > > ------------------------- > ADDENDUM: LESSONS LEARNED > ------------------------- > > The above statement was written at the request of the conservation officer, > and has been slightly edited for length. The operator of the jetski was > ticketed. We are considering civil action. > > Objectively, we were inadequately dressed for immersion, but were otherwise > well balanced for the day. I was wearing polarfleece, with a lightweight > paddling jacket, and it had been uncomfortably warm in the sun, even > heading into the wind. Heading downwind on the way back across the Otter > Lakes, in dry clothes -- again polarfleece with the same paddling jacket -- > I became quite warm in the nearly 80 degree temperatures. > > I do feel that I am a little more hypothermia resistant than the next guy, > due to my size. When I dumped, there was no gasp reflex, no ice cream > headache, just an "Aw, ****!" I was able to stay operational in the cold > water for a surprising length of time with a very quick recovery. A skinny > guy might not have been able to do that. I didn't have a stopwatch on it, > but estimate that I was fully in the water for ten to fifteen minutes, and > waist to knee deep for at least another ten. > > We were too far from shore in the conditions. Even a hundred yards closer > in might have meant many things could have gone differently. We were > probably a little too far spread out, but in retrospect it would have just > made it easier for the young punk, so that's six of one, half dozen of the > other. Macomber has since commented that had we been close enough together > to raft up we might have been able to avoid dumping. > > We have got to spend more time in getting proficient with rescue techniques > and rolls. However, in this circumstance, I believe Berry and I were safer > in the water while the young punk was still around. Once he left, in the > circumstances we were in and considering our inadequate recovery skills, we > were probably better off going to shore than trying any sort of midwater > rescue. > > I'm very glad I had the inflatable PFD. Regular PFDs ride up on me in the > water. I cannot swim effectively in a regular PFD once it has ridden up on > me, which it does almost instantaneously. Once inflated, the Sospenders PFD > gave me considerably more flotation than my regular hard PFD, and held my > head out of water. While I think that there's still a place for a solid PFD > on moving water, I think I will abandon solid PFDs on flatwater in the > future. However, this may not be the best approach for the average kayaker, > who can wear a PFD that won't ride up. > > Berry, who is pretty close to my size, was paddling a fiberglass Perception > Eclipse, which is a very snug fit on him. He had difficulty getting the > spray skirt off and exiting the cockpit, swallowing some water, and in fact > got an abrasion on his leg from his wet exit. The thigh braces on that boat > have since had a date with a dremel tool. I, on the other hand, could > stand for better thigh braces in my Nimbus Telkwa, as there was a > possibility that I could have managed roll back upright had I been able to > stay in the boat. > > Clearing the swamped boat of water was difficult, even with a hand pump, > which wouldn't pick up the last few gallons. The water remaining in the > boat made handling difficult getting back to dry land. The boat will have > an electric pump in the near future, if for no more reason than that is one > less thing to have to deal with in a swamping and recovery situation with > limited time and strength available. For the same reason, I plan to start > carrying a solid paddle float when in cold water conditions. > > I have to extend my thanks to Joel Bredemeyer, whom we had never met > before, and who happened on the scene at just the right (or wrong) time. He > was well met, and I'd be honored to paddle with him again. > > -- Wes > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - > Wes Boyd's Kayak Place http://www2.dmci.net/wesboyd/kayak.htm > Kayaks for Big Guys (And Gals) | Trip Reports | Places To Go | Boats & Gear > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - > > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed > here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire > responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. > Submissions: PaddleWise@PaddleWise.net > Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request@PaddleWise.net > Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ > ************************************************************************** * >

Ok I am getting really ticked off and feeling very powerless about our government's lack of concern for the environment. It seems we've gone from the previous administration's lip service to the current making a frontal assault. Read for instance the text of a Newsday story about a GIS mapmaker who got fired for posting on the web a map of caribou calving areas because Bush wants to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling: http://www.maptricks.com/newsday.html So I'd like to make myself feel a little better by donating a small amount of money (I'm not rich) to some environmental organization. Does anybody have any to recommend? I've heard making a small donation can make you the target of countless junkmail solicitations and that some of these orgs spend most of their money supporting themselves. I was wondering if anyone has any experiences / research to share. Greg

It occurs to me that if the trail use fees go in part to pay for the US Forest Services operating budget, and the USFS routinely builds roads for logging at a loss (they spend more building the roads than they collect in harvest fees), then by paying for one of these passes we are essentially subsidizing deforestation. If this is true I wonder what the general public would think about this.

i'd seen those cams in the STP catalogue but then couldn't find them on the web site so I thought they were sold out. Am I looking in the wrong place? TIA Greg

Whatever ropes you have and however you decide to use them given a particular situation never mix double and alternate clipping on the same pitch. If you take a fall it will create enourmous friction between the two ropes and can burn through them.

I think it would be useful to get this onto the larger media (i.e. seattle pi, etc.). The story might be interesting to the non-outdoorsy public as an example of government waste, misrepresentation of facts by a federal agency, and the lobbying power of corperate funded special interest groups like the ARC. That kind of story would do more to get a legislator's attention. I'd sort of like to work on this project but I feel like I need to dig into the figures myself. I think the stuff Scott Silver does is great but may be seen as overly biased if not slightly fringe by the general public. My point is that climbers and conservationsts are all mad as hell about this but we're basically a small group.

hey here's an audio clip of me pretending to be a canadian (you may have to unwrap it): http://praxis.etla.net/~philfort/NewYears00-01/MattNCraig.mp3

Why don't we name it Paul Bunyan's rappel anchor? We can make up some story about the giant lumberjack and his big ox Babe climbing the face, but Babe forgets his sunglasses so they back off. They can't find a rap anchor so Bunyan hacks one into the rock with his axe.

Those of you opposed to the fee demo program can sign a petition at http://www.PetitionOnline.com/feedemo/ Probably not as good as writing actual letters or other forms of activism, but maybe every little bit helps. Greg

i heard from one of the rescuers that they were not in that bad shape when they took them out (one broken leg and one knock on the head, but no spinal or internal ijuries). he didn't have any info on their subsequent condition. apparently they were walking along the top of the ridge when the when the woman slipped part way. the man held out a trekking pole, but it pulled apart and she fell. he somehow lost his footing at fell also. they bounced a lot on the way down.

I'm pretty sure Dave was the one who brought up the subject of soloing it, but then maybe there's just a hardman inside me that's trying to be free.

I'd just like to add that the ski down was totally rad! Good snow the whole way, just wide enough to turn, and rock walls rising near vertical for a hundred feet on both sides. This is a very esthetic route but only do it in perfect avalanche conditions. The skier is rewarded with an additional 600 feet of vertical when the gully opens up. Good climb, great ski. P.S. Nice to meet you Mr. Goodtime. Greg

I just want you all to know that everybody posting here how they soloed the first pitch of Drury inspired Dave (dbb) to convince me we should do the same. The next time I get on a fifty foot tall shlurpee... Ok it wasn't so bad. Greg

I use a large Nalgene bladder with the wide mouth in conjunction with the MSR drinking tube. I like it better than the Dromedry because it is easier to fill from a pot and you can see if iodine tablets have dissolved. I don't use it when I know it's going to be really cold.

make your own gu! i do and it's fun making a mess in the kitchen. my friend has a recipe on his website: http://praxis.etla.net/~philfort/GU.html i have rigged up a gu-ilator using a double boiler set-up and a hand blender. i also like adding extra citric acid to make it tart.

I'm not sure what it's called but we did something a short hike from the Alpental parking lot on Saturday. Hiking up the trail towards Source Lake, it rose immediately from the left side of the trail shortly before you get to the lake. A short steep section leads to a snow gully and then a longer vertical section. I led it with 5 screws and two runners wrapped around shubbery. The bottom was fat but the top thin and sketchy. To top out I had to shovel a path with my tools through two feet of snow for about 20'. I belayed my partner up using a small tree and we easily walked off to the skiers left. It was fun.

This doesn't specifically address your needs but I have taken to wearing an old pair of racketball goggles as eye protection when ice climbing. They fit very loosely so they never fog up, unlike the clear goggles I used to wear (but this makes them useless for wind protection).