Scree - December 09, 2010
Hiker on Mount Baldy
Over the weekend a rescue was mounted for a female hiker on California's Mount Baldy. The missing hiker was reported as very experienced and was training for an upcoming South American trip.
The hiker's body was found by spotters in a helicopter yesterday. She was finally located in a very steep area below the ridge. It was a sad story.
There seems to be numerous lost hikers this fall. The Mount Baldy hiker did not carry a phone with her. She also did not carry a satellite enabled rescue beacon device, such as the Spot. I do not like the Spot, or rather the misuse of the Spot. There are many documented Spot rescues, that the victims wanting to be rescued were not hurt or even in danger; but instead merely inconvenienced.
Perhaps there could be a new device for hikers, similar to those used by the snow traveler's avalanche beacon. The device would have to be inexpensive, lightweight, with a long battery life, and capable of sending a beacon signal at regular intervals. Not all of the devices would need to be able to send and receive. The basic device would only need to send a signal. The hiker would turn the device on, throw it in their pack and forget it. If they needed to be found, rescuers would have the advantage of being able to locate the beacon, and then pinpoint the exact location. Just an idea...
(LA Times)
A Saving Religion
A couple of rock climbing ministers from Wyoming practiced their saving spirits.
It seems that an out of state mountain lion hunter's dog fell off the top of a cliff. The dog was located but the terrain was too steep for the hunter to rescue her. The area did not have a high angle rescue team. The hunter then contacted the local vet. The vet in turn called on the ministers to do the saving.
One of the ministers lowered below the rim of the cliff about sixty feet to be greeted by the dog. Rescuing the dog without a proper dog hauling harnesses was problematic; but the ministers eventually saved the pup.
The hunters insisted on paying for their services; but instead were told to just pay it forward. The hunters still insisted and eventually tracked the ministers down and donated to their Christmas funds.
What a great Christmas story!
