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ROCKY MOUNTAIN RESCUE
By Jeannine Natterman
The Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Inc. is well acquainted with the
hazards our Wilderness offers. At a presentation at the Indian Peaks
Wilderness Alliance Board on March 5, the detail of several of their
missions was spellbinding.
The Group is a non-profit organization specializing in search and rescue
on mountainous terrain or in extreme weather where other rescue units
are ineffective. Even the most experienced hiker, climber or backpacker
is familiar with how quickly weather conditions change in our mountains.
Or how one mis-reading of a map can leave us looking a ravine or
crevasse we really would rather have avoided.
Some Interesting Statistics:
•
The Group averages more than 130 calls per year;
• Roughly 20% of these are from the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area;
• Two thirds of all calls are made in the summer months – between
Memorial Day to Labor Day;
• 41% of the all calls were made on Saturday and Sunday in 2000;
• 60% of the victims in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area and elsewhere
were climbers and hikers; and
• 28% of all Rocky Mountain Rescue man -hours in the last five years
were committed to the Indian Peaks.
David Hibl, a dentist by trade and
volunteer with Rocky Mountain Rescue, was clear to say, "Rocky
Mountain Rescue is not in the business of saving lives. We think of
ourselves as making life more comfortable for injured people as they are
taken out of the backcountry." A great deal of the Group volunteers’
efforts is
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David Hibl
committed to the laborious task of carrying injured peoplesafely
and smoothly over rough terrain to accessible trailheads.
Specialized Epuipment
Rocky Mountain Rescue has designed and built a safe and functional
backpack-able cable-and-winch evacuation system that has been
successfully used on the sheer rock faces of Long’s Peak, and recovery
of a victim of a plane crash on Arapahoe Peak. They’ve also designed a
rescue sleeping bag filled with Styrofoam to immobilize the injured as
much as possible, and preventing further injury.
Tips For Us:
David Hibl had some helpful suggestions for the Board and our valuable
backcountry hosts.
• Reliably know
the situation.
• Describe as
accurately as possible existing conditions – steep terrain, rocky,
etc.
• Location,
location, location – know and be able to identify the type of map you
are using to describe the victim’s location.
• Know if and
what type of communication device you or the victim has – anything
from a mirror, ham radio, cellular phone, or GPS.
• Identify what
resources are available if at all possible – clothing, warmth, etc.
• Carry flagging
of some kind – those colored bags newspapers are delivered in are
great.
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Performing a rescue in
the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area is a unique challenge because of the
regulations keeping the area wild. Special permission is required to use
any mechanized/motorized machinery to perform a rescue.
Rocky Mountain
Rescue does have a wheeled litter that the US Forrest Service is
relatively comfortable with. The litter has ballooned wheels and causes
minimal trail damage when used. But even the use of this litter requires
Rocky MountainRescue to notify the USFS of its use within 48 hours.
Emergency
Phones:
Locations near
the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area:
• East
end of Brainard at fork in the road
• Eldora House – Fourth of July Road
• Mill Site Inn – Highway 119 North of Ward
• Peaceful Valley Lodge
• Allenspark
Whose Mission Is This?
Rocky Mountain Rescue works with the
local Sheriff’s Department to coordinate a response. When a call is
made to 911, the Sheriff’s Department evaluates the situation from the
information available, and if the emergency is off-road, and not
associated with mines or swift/white water, Rocky Mountain Rescue is
called in. There are no fees for the Group’s services, although an
ambulance or helicopter ride may become the victim’s responsibility.
The Indian Peaks
Wilderness Alliance thanks the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Inc. for
coming to our meeting!
Visit the Rocky
Mountain Rescue web site
for more information!
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By Jeff Charlebois
At human’s current degradation rate for island Earth, sometime within
the next 50 years we will see major changes in regional weather
patterns.
The Rocky Mountain area will see a much
milder climate, with extended growing seasons. Crops now grown only as
far north as our corn belt will be commonplace well upwards into Canada.
This may be fine for resolving some of the ongoing food shortage
problem, but it comes with a hefty price tag.
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Insects formerly confined to warmer
climes, will now be able to thrive -- along with their encyclopedia of
accompanying diseases. Closer to something which we can all identify
with, lush Alpine and sub Alpine meadows will cease to exist – along
with their kaleidoscope of vibrant colors that overwhelm the senses from
spring through summer.
We can all do our part to minimize this
impact, but it will take a major shift in world thinking on population
control and our insatiable desire for the latest widget to come on
the
(See Flowers, continued on page
2)
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CAMP CHUCKLES
Tune up your fishing tackle
by Bill Heavey
(An excerpt from Field and Stream Online)
After years of working on today's ever-more-complex fishing reels, I
have finally perfected this technique. Get an empty egg carton. Better
yet, get two. Disassemble your favorite reel. Using an old toothbrush
and a rag, clean each screw and gear, then put them in sequential order
in the pockets of the carton. When you're through, carefully close the
carton and put it in the trash. Order yourself a new reel!
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