Mt. Rainier--Thanks Rangers

[Dan_Miller]

From this morning's (02/05/10) NPS Morning Report:

 

All's well that ends well.

 

 

Mount Rainier National Park (WA)

Skier Rescued From Snow Cavern In Avalanche Area

 

On Sunday, January 31st, ranger Dan Van Der Elst responded to a visitor report of a woman who had fallen into a "hole" in the snow while skiing. Van Der Elst followed the reporting party to a moat beneath a short waterfall in an avalanche-prone snow gulley about three-quarters of a mile from Paradise. After an initial size up, he called for resources and assistance. Ranger Stefan Lofgren responded on skis with a hasty lower and raise kit. Due to the unknown condition of the woman and the avalanche danger, Lofgren quickly rappelled down the 20 feet into the moat through the waterfall she had fallen through. He made a quick medical assessment and rigged her up for a raise. Within 10 minutes, she was hauled back to the surface through the waterfall. A team of six other rangers arrived on scene as she was being pulled to the surface; they helped pull Lofgren out, walked the woman to Paradise, and packed out the rest of the gear. She suffered no traumatic physical injuries. [submitted by R. Chuck Young, Chief Ranger]

 

[Bug]

Cool.

[zeroforhire]

nice

[benb]

What is a "hasty lower and raise kit"?

 

Way to get after it rescue rangers!

[G-spotter]

What is a "hasty lower and raise kit"?

 

Three skyhooks and a pack of NITRO!

[Dan_Miller]

A rope, some form of anchor, some tat and an autoblocking belay device perhaps! Many things seem to be 'Hasty' for the NPS; e.g., hasty searches, etc. Which is, if you think about it, pretty good for the rescued party.

 

Email Stephan and ask him: stefan_lofgren@nps.gov

 

[sobo]

What is a "hasty lower and raise kit"?

In SAR and Mountain Rescue, a "hasty" team, "hasty" search, etc. is a small team, sometimes even a single person (as it was in this case), that moves with great dispatch to the injured party/search area, armed with the minimum amount of gear required to pull off the rescue based upon what the Reporting Party (RP) tells the rescuer(s). For someone in a moat, Stefan knew exactly what he would need in this instance to extricate the woman. Many times RPs are not so well-equipped with information, and when the hasty team arrives, it discovers that it is unprepared for what it finds. That's when the reinforcements are instructed (by the hasty team) to bring what will be required. The hasty team then moves into a patient stabilization mode until the larger group arrives to effect the rescue.

 

Nice work, Stefan, and NPS. :tup:

 

This area sounds like Edith Falls, the same place where the young man was killed in an avalanche last year (or 2 years ago??) when he lost it at the top of the falls. Is it the same place?