pope Posted November 25, 2001 Share Posted November 25, 2001 With little slack in the schedule and a comprehensive "to-do" list from the Frau, Pope employed the help of Hemlock to secure a noble fir tree for Christmas. Certainly not as sexy as a trip to Smith Rock, it was nevertheless a chance to sneak out of town for a morning, see the hills, drink a little beer. From a logging road high over Greenwater, they could see that Mt. Rainier had put on her winter coat, and that her flanks would soon be within the tenacious grip of snow and cold. After a quick exchange of greetings and a ticket check from a ranger, Pope and Hemlock stowed the chainsaw and empties, then settled in for the drive back to Enumclaw. High on Mt. Petey, trouble was brewing. A four-year-old boy had "skipped ahead of his parents." As Petey is a smallish mountain (Manning claims the trail gains 1000 feet), the boys parents didn't think he could be too lost, and they searched for two hours before contacting help. Saturday morning, the boy hadn't been found. If he was still on Petey, that meant that he'd spent the night out in a dry but chilly night. A terrible thought, but somehow it seemed infinitely better than thinking of the alternatives. Pope drove out to Petey, where he encountered a news crew and a roped-off Mt. Pete trailhead. Around the corner, two rescuers with spendy rain-slickers seemed to be looking for the boy. One of them stood on the road's shoulder, beating the brush with a stick. The other appeared to be taking a compass reading on her position. Pope inquired about how he might be of assistance, and he was directed to base camp for rescue operations, where he talked to a rescue official. "No, we can't have any volunteers. If you slip and fall, suddenly we've got another rescue to worry about." Pope thought he understood, but he persisted, explaining that he had been trained in the basics of mountain rescue. Pope even dropped a few names, names of big-shots he knew from Tacoma Mountain Rescue, but his help wasn't wanted/needed. Pope promised he could take orders and that he wouldn't be a liability. A dejected Pope drove away, trying to understand how it could be so difficult to find the boy, wishing that he could help search, on a mountain that he knew like the back of his hand. Later he learned that as darkness fell Saturday night, the boy still hadn't been found. A report said that fifty rescuers were searching for the boy, and that rescue efforts would continue into the night. As the boy faced his second night on the mountain, the rescuers were going to bring in dogs to sniff him out. Pope reflected on how he had once hiked this hill twice round-trip in a period of fifty minutes, how it was completely surrounded by roads and even new homes on its south flank. It seemed that with a few more people searching, maybe the boy could be reached before it was too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
To_The_Top Posted November 25, 2001 Share Posted November 25, 2001 The boy was found the last I heard (ok but with hypothermia). My cousin (step) was missing around Christmas a few years ago, and it was all over the local news. I went in to help find him (Mt Index) after a big snowstorm, and mountain climbers who never knew him or his two friends where showing up to help. They never said no to the help, and many parties showed up to volunteer. In the end his best friend, best man at his wedding, and brother found them at the base of a avalanche fan three weeks later. The news crew and local search and rescue group had a ton of trouble finding them. It was too late for them, but they never said no nor stopped anyone from helping. The Search and Rescue group said it was too dangerous to search, but we found it to be normal conditions there. Thank goodness they found this boy, and too bad the S&R turned down a offer of help from locals that knew the terrain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pope Posted November 25, 2001 Author Share Posted November 25, 2001 Bill, I also heard the good news about this boy. A report I heard this morning at 1 a.m. said that he had made it out on his own, finding help at a local home. That's one tough kid! Sorry about your cousin. Eric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panther Posted November 27, 2001 Share Posted November 27, 2001 To the Top, Two well known professional climbers I know were hired to look for the persons buried in the avalanche at Mt Index and mountain rescue refused to give them information regarding the areas that had been searched. Those guys need to get their shit together. There was a thread like this last year where the two missing climbers on Mt Baker would have had some more searchers but it was put out that anyone showing up would be greeted by an inept search team and asked to leave. Time for a professional search and rescue unit in the Cascades? one that gets paid to take risks eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
To_The_Top Posted November 27, 2001 Share Posted November 27, 2001 Panther, My family hired those two guys that were professionals at my request. I have known these guys for a while, and have been taught some by both of them. The search&R in charge had good intentions, and we were not satisfied with their McHales Navy approach, so I took it upon myself to put in some help. We were surprised at how many climbers who just showed up because they heard about the missing three. One of the S&R people commented how dangerous it was there, appearantly he fell into a tree well. duh Yah maybe a professional group can start, as long as they take into account what local climbers have to say, those that know the terrain. The S&R group didn't have a care what local climbers said, or hikers for that matter. We knew that the pros didn't get any info from S&R, which even more confirmed that we needed the pros. I know of climbers turned around last year on Baker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllYouCanEat Posted November 27, 2001 Share Posted November 27, 2001 I agree. The S&R seem to be more concerned with protocol than finding someone who is missing or buried. If I can't get myself out or my partners can't then I figure I am done for. If it is more than 2 miles away and they can't land a heli then I doubt if the S&R and their 100 lbs of gear could reach me anyway. When I was 6 I remember the news cameras filming the S&R turning around because of bad weather as we made our way to muir.(?) I am not an expert, but what I have seen angers me, mostly because what I see is not as professional as they profess to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwayner Posted November 27, 2001 Share Posted November 27, 2001 Did anyone even think about calling Big Lou? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
To_The_Top Posted November 27, 2001 Share Posted November 27, 2001 They should have called big Lou when two friends where stuck on Lib Ridge a few years ago. My two friends and the two NOLS instructors stuck for 10 days had to show the S&R the way down from Muir, or that is how the story goes....By the way, I hear that King County S&R is a different breed from those of the other mentioned counties. [ 11-26-2001: Message edited by: To The Top ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted November 27, 2001 Share Posted November 27, 2001 Hey guys, Keep in mind that the local sheriff is the one that is running the SAR operation. Some hotshot localclimber may come up and offer assistance at the search base, but ow is the deputy to know whether or not the guy is for real? The teams that are out in the field are volunteers who will listen to what most knowledgeable locals have to say regarding local beta. I also know 1st hand of instances where the agency responsible for a SAR operation did allow for "civilians" to assist in the search as long as someone could vouch for their abilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyclimber Posted November 27, 2001 Share Posted November 27, 2001 TTT- Was this the accident that Lisa Petrie's husband died in? She was my co-worker, and I remember it was a bad thing when they stopped searching and the families then had to take up the search on their own. Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
To_The_Top Posted November 28, 2001 Share Posted November 28, 2001 Holly, I do believe that Petrie was one of the names of the people on that trip. You were right about the downside of them calling off the search. I remember being at Tim's house the night the press called and asked how we felt about the search being called off (news to us)....DUH. How did they think his two children felt about it...AHoles! The good thing about it all is volunteers showed up nearly every day. That includes CLIMBERS who never knew them and local Church members who brought food every (almost) day for the climbers. They ended up being found near the trailhead. I was not there that day, due to previous obligations, that I had dogged previously due to searching. It was amazing who showed up to search, some even in helicopters (in the sky anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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