CHINA LAKE
MOUNTAIN RESCUE GROUP
P. O. BOX 2037
RIDGECREST CA 93556
FEBRUARY 2004 NUMBER 130
TRAINING SCHEDULE
Feb 9 Mon Meeting (snow shelters) Sakai, Huey, DeRuiter
Feb 13-16 Fri-Mon OPEN
Feb 21-22 Sat-Sun Winter mountaineering skills TC
Feb 27-29 Fri-Mon Aggie Bishop
Mar 6-7 Sat-Sun MRA search re-certification MRA/TC
Mar 8 Mon Meeting Hueber, Toler, C. Burge
Mar 12-14 Fri-Sun Julius Caesar Myers
Mar 20 Sat Piute Monument DeRuiter
Mar 26-28 Fri-Sun Tyndall Myers
Apr 3-4 Sat-Sun Panamint Butte Rockwell
Apr 8-12 Thu-Mon Grand Canyon Huey
Apr 12 Mon Meeting (ELT/PLB) Myers, Doerr, Franklin
Apr 14 Wed ELT practice TC
Apr 17-18 Sat-Sun OPEN
Apr 23-25 Fri-Sun Jepson Rockwell
OPERATION REPORTS
2004-01 2 January 2004 Search Mt.
Baldy Tom Sakai and Linda Finco
Background:
CLMRG received a page from Cdr. Lacertoso Friday morning, 2 January.
Bud Gates heard the page and called Linda Finco to see if someone
was going to respond. Bud caught Linda just as she was going
out the door to take a spa to Lancaster for repairs. Since it
appeared no other operations leader was responding to the page,
Linda contacted the commander. The request was to assist San
Bernardino County in a search for an injured lost hiker in the
San Antonio Mountain area (Mt. Baldy). The search would be around
the 9600-foot level with snow and ice. San Bernardino County
specifically requested CLMRG along with other MRA teams to assist
in this search. We needed to call the command post for additional
information and then call back the commander with the information
and the number of people we could send.
The call to the command post gained the information that we would
be looking for a 53-year-old male, Chung Hun "Charles"
Koh, who was possibly injured in a witnessed fall and who was
now lost. On Thursday, 1 January, Mr. Koh, his wife, and another
couple hiked to the Sierra Club hut via the Hut Trail. The two
women stayed at the hut while the two men continued to the summit.
The men had packs, parkas, wind or rain pants, instep crampons
(4-point), and ski poles. About 300 feet below a trail marker
sign, the men stashed their packs and continued to the summit.
On the way down about 10 feet past the Manker Flats Trail sign,
Mr. Koh slipped and fell off the trail to the west into Good Canyon.
This occurred around 1430. Mr. Koh's hiking companion called
to Mr. Koh for about 15 minutes but got no response, and he could
not see Mr. Koh. The companion continued back to the hut, where
the group used a cell phone to call for help at 1600. A helicopter
was dispatched before dark to do a quick search, but nothing was
found. Teams arrived to the location later that night and found
Mr. Koh's pack, the fall line, his ski poles and gloves, and the
possible impact point (there was a small amount of blood). It
appeared that Mr. Koh tried to hike back up towards the trail,
but his tracks were lost in the brush. No other clues had been
found to Mr. Koh's location.
The command post and base camp would be located at Mt. Baldy Fire
Station. And, of course, they wanted us to arrive as soon as
possible.
Carol Burge was the coordinator, and the situation was explained.
If no other operations leader could be found, but we were able
to assemble a team, Linda could be the operations leader when
she returned to town around 1400. Meanwhile, Carol would try
to locate another operations leader who could take the team ASAP.
Tom Sakai agreed to be the leader, but requested Linda take over
the operation later on Friday, which she agreed to do. Other
CLMRG members committing to the operation were Curtis Davis, Bud
Gates, Dan Bishop, and Dave Miles.
Sakai:
Carol Burge called about 0820 looking for an operations leader.
I agreed to take the operation on Friday, and Linda Finco would
take over Friday night. Six members initially committed, but
one had to withdraw at the last minute. We met at the hut at
1030 and were on the road by 1050. We were to report to the command
post at the Mt. Baldy Fire Station. We arrived there at 1350.
After a short briefing, we were given our assignment and transported
by van to our starting point. One team of two (Davis and Miles)
was to search up Good Canyon to the trail leading to the summit,
from approximately 5,600 feet to 8,800 feet. The second team
(Sakai, Gates, Bishop) was to search the ridge just east of Good
Canyon and between it and upper San Antonio Canyon. They also
were to search uphill to the trail leading to the summit. We
were deployed at 1500. It was raining steadily at the time and
snowing at the upper elevations of our search area.
The approach to Good Canyon from the road involves dropping into
San Antonio Canyon and following it downhill for a quarter-mile
before turning right into the mouth of Good Canyon. Both teams
searched until 1720 with no positive result. The canyon team
had reached 7,400feet, and the ridge team had gotten to 6,800
feet. Both teams were thoroughly soaked from the constant drizzle,
and both had significantly reduced visibility (15-20 feet with
headlamps) because of darkness and fog. The teams decided that
because the potential effectiveness of continuing the assignment
was low, and the potential hazard to the searchers was significant,
the assignments should be terminated and resumed later. Both
teams turned around and returned to the drop-off point. The ridge
team arrived at 1900, and the canyon team arrived at 1915. The
teams were transported back to the command post, debriefed, and
given dinner.
Finco was at the fire station when we came back from our assignments.
She took over as operation leader for CLMRG. Sakai and Davis
returned to Ridgecrest that night arriving at 2310.
Finco:
I returned to Ridgecrest around 1400 as estimated, packed
my gear, had a quick dinner, and got on the road at 1500. I arrived
at base camp at 1800 and learned that our teams were still in
the field but were hiking out. Friday had been a wet day (and
a cold or freezing night) for all teams in the field. CLMRG teams
arrived back in base camp around 1930. The team members had dinner,
and then we reorganized for the next day. Tom and Curtis would
return to Ridgecrest. Bud, Dan, Dave, and I were given rooms
at the Buckhorn Motel. We hoped that gear could be dried out
and people warmed up and that we would get a good night's sleep.
The command post wanted teams to report at 0600 for breakfast
and at 0630for assignments. San Bernardino had asked us whether
we would take the assignment to hike to the summit via the Devil's
Backbone and then search towards Dawson Peak and West Baldy.
This would be a long assignment and would require ice axes and
crampons. So that night in the motel, we organized our gear for
the assignment.
Saturday morning, we arrived at base at 0600. Another 80-plus
persons from MRA, LA County, San Bernardino County, and CARDA
(dog teams) were there. The weather would be clear for the day,
but the previous day's storm had left treacherous ice at the higher
elevations (both on the ground and on the trees in the form of
large, ready-to-drop icicles). The briefing for the day occurred
shortly after 0730. We were fielded around 0900, and after we
were driven to the notch at the start of the Devil's Backbone,
we got started on our assignment around 1000. A team from Marin
County was assigned to hike the Backbone toward Mt. Harwood and
then search the drainages around the mountain, so we hiked a portion
of the Backbone with this team. The Backbone was slightly icy
and exposed, especially to wind gusts, but the going was OK until
we reached an icy gully that would need to be traversed. We attempted
the traverse but decided that without ice screws to set up a belay
and mid-point anchors, the traverse, even with a rope, would be
too dangerous. A slip would result in a fall that one would not
be able to self-arrest in the ice, and the exposure was too great
to risk (a fall line down a 50-degree ice and rock wall that would
result in a few hundred feet of falling). Dan scoped out the
ridge and decided that was doable. About that time, we received
a call from the command post that stated they had inserted a team
in the Dawson Peak area so that we would not need to do that part
of our assignment. So I decided that Dan and Bud would continue
up the ridge to Mt. Harwood and then traverse over to Mt. Baldy
and complete the West Baldy assignment. Dave and I would search
back towards the drop off point. About an hour below the summit,
the ridge team asked about completing the assignment or turning
around to get back down the ridge in daylight. (They did not
want to descend the ridge in the dark). The command post told
them to complete the assignment and a helicopter would pick them
up from the summit. Another SAR team was dropped on the summit
later in the day to search West Mt. Baldy, so basically, our team
just needed to be picked up from the summit. All of us were back
in base by 1600. During the day, the San Dimas team found some
possible tracks for Mr. Koh on the ridge above Good Canyon, but
no other clues were found.
Saturday night, all teams spending the night were housed in the
Mt. Baldy Baptist church. The pastor, his wife, and the caretaker
were very kind to all the searchers. For those wanting dinner,
they prepared salad and salmon; brought out desserts, cheese,
and crackers; and provided hot drinks, soda, and water. Then
they set up their big screen, played the movie Pirates of the
Caribbean, and provided popcorn. It was a nice, relaxing
evening. A few members took advantage of the huge fireplace and
hung out wet clothing to dry in front of the fire. Dan and Dave
were interested in going on an assignment that evening and were
assigned to set up an attraction in Lytle Canyon. So they grabbed
their sleeping bags, drove the Explorer to a point in Lytle Canyon,
and used the searchlights all night as the attraction.
The next morning, we reported to base a little after 0600, had
breakfast, and got the day's briefing a little after 0700. Again,
the command post had 80-plus searchers for the day. Air support
would again be used because the weather would be clear although
windy at high elevations. We were requested to have two members
be on a quick response team to assist anywhere in the search area
with either the subject or injured SAR members. Bud and I took
that assignment. Dan and Dave were grouped with other SAR teams
to search the Bear Flat, Bear Creek area to the west of Good Canyon.
Most of the day was slow for the quick response team, but we
did gear up for an accident with RMRU members near Dawson Peak.
Three members had slipped on Dawson Peak and reportedly fell
about 500 meters. Two members received moderate injuries (possible
broken bones). The third member was OK. As we sat with our gear
ready to go, we were told to stand down because a helicopter would
be able to go in and pick up the fallen members. We did, however,
respond to the landing zone to assist with medical treatments.
One member appeared to have a broken ankle or leg. Another member
had tenderness and pain in his right foot, left hand, and left
elbow. He also had some bleeding around the nose and mouth.
A San Bernardino County helicopter came to transport both injured
members to the hospital.
Dan and Dave completed their assignment and were back in base
around 1430. They had dinner and then left to go home around
1500. Bud and I were committed until at least 1700 or until all
the teams were to a safe point in the field. Around 1530, we
were asked to gear up again for a search for a missing West Valley
member who was assigned to a dog team. During the search of their
drainage, they separated. The dog team arrived in the Mt. Baldy
village as planned but not the West Valley member, and he did
not have a radio. Bud and I were inserted into the drainage at
the power station below the place last seen with the assignment
to hike up the drainage to the Mt. Baldy village just in case
the missing member had stayed in the drainage and not dropped
out in the village. About 20 minutes into our search, we were
notified that the missing member had been found and picked up
and was returning to base.
Shortly after 1700, all teams but one were back to base, and they
were just a short distance from their pick up point, so CLMRG
was released. Before we left, the family (mother, son, and daughter)
came by one last time. All had been in and out of base on Sunday
to thank searchers and just watch what was going on. All family
members, especially the wife, were very grateful and thanked all
the searchers.
The ground search was finished, and on Monday, only an air search
would continue. Bud and I changed and got on the road around
1730. Traffic was light heading north so we got back to Ridgecrest
around 1930. We called the coordinator, unpacked gear, and headed
home.
Update:
Search efforts continued for Mr. Koh (primarily on the weekends),
and on January 17, a West Valley team located Mr. Koh's body in
an icy drainage below the Mt. Baldy Bowl around the 8200-foot
level. It appears that Mr. Koh slipped and fell down this icy
drainage and incurred fatal injuries. No further details are
known.
2004-02 13 January 2004 Search and
Recovery Mt. Baldy Tom Roseman
On Monday, 12 January, I received a call from Debbie Breitenstein
on my cell phone while I was driving back from a rock climbing
trip. Debbie was looking for an operation leader for a search
on Mt. Baldy. She had received a call from Sgt. Diederich to
assist in a search for a missing hiker, and Sgt. Shaffer of San
Bernardino County wanted us on site early Tuesday morning. Janet
Westbrook agreed to serve as coordinator, and I decided to have
everyone meet at the donut shop at 0430 the next morning. I called
Linda Finco to see if she would go to the hut and reprogram our
radios to work on Mt. Baldy based on problems from the recent
Mt. Baldy search. Linda complied, and having the radios fixed
was a big help during the search. I went to the hut that evening
and picked up gear and the Explorer so that no one would have
to go on base the next morning.
That evening at the monthly Group meeting, we learned that the
search was for Ali Aminian, 51, and a member of the California
Mountaineering Club. Ali had climbed in the mountains with many
of our members and was considered a strong mountaineer and friend.
Nine members responded to go on the search: Mike Myers, Tom Sakai,
Al Green, Bob Rockwell, Bud Gates, Dennis Burge, Mike Franklin,
Dan Bishop, and I. Dennis called me the next morning and was
ill, so he stayed home.
We arrived at the Mt. Baldy Fire Station Tuesday morning about
0700 and had a hot breakfast. The search was now looking for
both Ali and Charles Koh, who was still missing from the previous
search. We were split into two teams: one led by Mike Myers with
Al Green and Dan Bishop to search up the Devil's Backbone Trail,
the other led by me with Bob Rockwell, Mike Franklin, Bud Gates,
and Tom Sakai to search from the summit in the southwest direction.
The weather was sunny and not too cold, but the snow covering
remained very icy. At the summit, a dog team requested a mountaineer
to assist them due to icy conditions on the north side of the
summit, so I sent Bob Rockwell with them. When they returned
to the summit to search the south side, they asked to keep Bob
in case they encountered more ice. We found nothing that day.
We stayed at the Mt. Baldy Resort that night after dinner with
instructions to be back at the fire station the next morning at
0600.
The next morning, during a conversation with a member of the West
Valley team working on assignments for the day, I suggested a
change of assignment for our team based on what I had observed
in the field the prior day. I had noticed that the Bear Flats
Trail curved out over steep ice slopes on the south side several
times on the way to the summit. Our whole team was reassigned
to that area for the day.
On the summit, I split the team: Mike Myers to lead Al, Bob, and
Dan down to the bottom of the ice slopes and myself to lead Tom
S., Bud, and Mike to work the chutes from the top. Tom S. and
Bud dropped into the first major chute, and Mike and I dropped
into the next chute. This chute was very steep and icy on one
side and mostly clear on the other. We concentrated on the gully
where the two sides came together. About two-thirds of the way
down, we came to a small ridge. Mike went to the left, and I
went to the right. After walking a few feet, Mike said that he
thought he saw what looked like snowshoes under a tree. I confirmed,
and we went down the left side to avoid the worst of the steep
ice. Although crampon points would penetrate, the whole side
of the chute was glare ice. We discovered the body of Ali under
a small tree. Since other members of the team knew Ali, I called
them on the radio before calling in to the Command Post. As our
other teams were not far away, they were with us in about 15 minutes.
Since Bob knew Ali better than anyone else, I asked him to confirm
the identity of the victim. The Command Post instructed us not
to touch or move Ali until further notified. We held a short
memorial for Ali because we now knew for sure that we had lost
a good friend and fellow mountaineer.
Soon, both the LA County Rescue 5 helicopter (a Sea Stallion)
and the Channel 5 news helicopter arrived. Six members of our
team climbed up the steep ice to be airlifted out; Bob and Al
remained on site to assist in the recovery. The command post
had requested that we leave only one person, but because that
goes against our field operating procedures, I chose to leave
two. The site was in LA County, so they had to wait for the LA
coroner to arrive. After several hours, Rescue 5 was back on
scene with a coroner and two LA sheriff paramedics. The paramedics
lowered to the site and, with Al and Bob, moved Ali's body to
a safe site to hoist into the helicopter along with the four of
them.
A command decision was made to suspend searching for Charles Koh
at that time. We left for home about 1600 and arrived around
1900 that evening. We decided to hold a stress debrief and a
wake for Ali that Monday. The next day, Bob and Sheila Rockwell
attended a service for Ali in Thousand Oaks and the interment
in Camarillo.
San Bernardino provided excellent meals and support throughout
the search. I want to thank everyone involved in the search.
It was difficult for me to be on a search for someone that I
knew.
2004-03 (2004-OES-0040) 21-24 January
2004 Search Mt. San Gorgonio Tom Sakai
At about 1645 on Tuesday, January 20, I responded to a call
from Sgt. John Diederich, Kern County Sheriff's Office, who relayed
a request for assistance by San Bernardino County SAR. They were
searching for a 25-year-old male, Eugene Kumm, last seen at 0700
on Sunday, January 18 in the High Creek Camp area on the Vivian
Creek Trail heading toward the summit of Mt. San Gorgonio. Carol
Burge coordinated the call-out and got six members to commit:
Al Green, Bud Gates, Eric Toler, Dennis Burge, David Miles, and
Mike Renta. We met at 0430 the next day with winter gear so that
we could attend the morning brief at 0800 in Forest Falls, which
is 10 miles east-northeast of Redlands. The on-scene commander
was Deputy Shannon Kovich of San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office.
Kumm started his attempt on Mt. San Gorgonio on Saturday, January
17. He hiked to High Creek Camp on the Vivian Creek Trail, where
he spent the night. He was reported to be in very good physical
condition but not to have much experience in the mountains. He
did, however, have new crampons and ice axe and claimed to know
how to use them. On Sunday at 0700, he was seen heading for the
summit with all his gear, including his overnight gear. He was
due back by Sunday noon and was reported overdue by late Sunday
afternoon.
On Tuesday, January 20, a significant storm on and around the
mountain lasting all day hampered search efforts. The storm dropped
6-8 inches of new snow at higher elevations that covered the icy
slopes and any tracks Kumm may have left. The clouds and wind
lasted into Wednesday morning.
When we arrived at 0710 Wednesday in Forest Falls at 5,500 feet,
road conditions were icy causing major logistics problems, including
access to the command post and helicopter support, which delayed
onset of the search. A large open area about 2 miles down the
hill was set up as a staging area so that rescue personnel wouldn't
have to drive the icy roads. Team leaders were transported to
the command post for team assignments and briefs. Because the
originally scheduled helicopter, which was on site, was down,
a second larger one was called in. It, however, would operate
only out of the Redlands airport, which was approximately 12 miles
from the staging area. This exacerbated the existing logistics
problems.
The first half of the first team to be assigned was deployed at
shortly after 1100. Because of some personal equipment problems,
the second half of that team could not go into the field. I volunteered
three of our team--Gates, Toler, and Miles--to take their place.
They flew in next. The others in our contingent were fielded
at 1250 for their assignment. Because the pilot was inexperienced
with high altitude landings, the initial search plan of landing
on the summit and searching downhill had to be altered to allow
for lower altitude landing zones. The resulting assignments were
in the northern and eastern sections of the mountain. Even though
the first team was in the field until 2015, they found nothing
significant. That team had an additional hour-and-a-half transport
back to the staging area.
The following day, there was an 0700 brief. We were again divided
into two teams. Both flew to near the summit starting at 0900
by the same helicopter as the day before but with a new pilot.
The first team of Gates, Toler, and Miles also had a local SAR
member, Dr. Jim Evans. They were to search down the San Bernardino
Peak Divide Trail and come out on the Falls Creek Trail. They
were again out well past dark. The second team was to search
down the Vivian Creek Trail to the place last seen at High Creek
Camp, then hike out an additional 4 miles to the trail head.
The Vivian Creek Trail was Kumm's intended route to the summit.
Again, none of the fielded teams found anything significant.
By Friday morning, searchers from Mono, Inyo, Marin, BAMRU, and
many Southern California teams were on scene and ready to be fielded.
Because so many searchers were available and half of the CLMRG
contingent had put in two long days, we decided it was time to
come home. We left the Forest Falls staging area after breakfast
and arrived home at 1030.
Eugene Kumm's body was found at 1350 on Saturday, January 31 nearly
two weeks after he had been last seen. He was found at 8,300
feet elevation about a mile west of High Creek Camp where he was
last seen. He had apparently slid about 400 feet down an icy
chute while on his way out and died from head and body trauma.
He was wearing his crampons at the time and apparently using
ski poles for the hike out.
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous,
leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into
and above the clouds.
--Edward Abbey
GROUP BUSINESS
The members present at the 8 December 2003 meeting elected
the following officers for 2004:
President Debbie Breitenstein
Vice President Paul DeRuiter
Secretary Elaine Riendeau
Treasurer Dave Doerr
MRA Representative Tom Sakai
The members present at the 12 January 2004 meeting elected the
following to the Qualifications Committee for 2004: Tom Sakai
(Chair and Operations), Linda Finco (Activities), and Tom Roseman
(New Members and Rosters).
In 2003, we welcomed back Karen Botham, who with her Navy flyer
husband had left us briefly for a tour in Virginia, and bid farewell
to long-time member and leader Andrew Mitchell.
2003 COMMITTEE REPORTS
Summer Class Committee-Mike Franklin
We purchased the digital image projector and placed it in the
hut. We made a new agenda for the summer class, one that more
accurately matches the 7th edition of Freedom of the Hills.
We had 35 students in the summer class. Generally, 25 to 35 showed
up for the lectures and field exercises. Twenty-five hard core
students went on the day and overnight trips.
Public Education Committee-Terry Mitchell and Elaine Riendeau
Members
Terry Mitchell (Chair), Elaine Riendeau, Carol Burge, Mary
Schmierer, and Bob Rockwell
Activities
Date Activity Participants Members
11 January Boy Scout troop at Fossil Falls 4 boys
3 adults Linda Finco
Bud Gates
Werner Hueber
Tom Roseman
Walter Runkle
15-16 March Presentation of dog show awards Debbie Breitenstein
(2 hours)
Health Fair Bob Huey (8 hours)
Mike Franklin (8 hours)
16 April Mojave Primitive Encampment 65 girls
10 adults Linda Finco (5 hours)
Dennis Burge (5 hours)
Dave Miles (5 hours)
Bud Gates (5 hours)
Werner Hueber (5 hours)
Tom Sakai (5 hours)
June-August Mountaineering Safety Class
7 nights lecture
7 nights field class
Planning & preparation
Day trips
Overnight trips
25-35 students
25-35 students
25 students
25 students
10 (210 hours)
10 (280 hours)
7 (70 hours)
3 (36 hours)
3 (108 hours)
Totals 33 (704 hours)
Contributors
January Aspen Rescue Group
January Edison International Employee
Contributions Campaign
February Janet E. Hammond To honor her son, Steve Lester
February Steven, Caroline, and Jon Walker
February Arwen Lienau Family For Arwen Lienau
(Amelia Marcelle and Angel Gomez)
February Edison International Employee
Contributions Campaign
April Lyal D. Viers
May CFC donors
May Edward H. and Florence Albright
July Microsoft Matching Gifts Program For Arwen Lienau
September Nancy L. Moore via United Way
September Mario and Yolanda Gonzalez
October Robert M. Trousdale
October Dr. and Mrs. Robert Dow In memory of Robbie Dow
November United Way
December William J. R. & Lois H. Adamsen In memory of Carl
Heller
Combined Federal Campaign donors
William Deemer Naomi Norris Cary Fujiwara Renee Lesniak
Belmont Frisbee Mary Smith Denise Ritchie Lloyd Crabtree
Equipment Committee- Al Green
Members
Al Green (Chair), Bob Rockwell, Dave Doerr, Linda Finco, David
Miles, Tom Roseman, Werner Hueber, Phelps TerHeun, and Mike Renta.
Major purchases
Upgrading all gear in the hardware bags $1474.74
Ti Stretcher $1761.00
White gas stoves and cook sets $259.70
Tent poles and snow flukes $216.43
22 harnesses for summer class students $407.42
Radios, charger, and carrying case $5948.62
Hut events
The roof was repaired and coated and now should be really
waterproof. Water pipes were replaced to fix the low pressure
problem. The tree was removed. Thanks to Mike Myers, we have
received an agreement authorizing our use of the building for
the next 5 years.
Of special note
In May of 2003, we received a brand new Ford Explorer from KCSO.
It is completely equipped with radios and spotlights. Thank
you Kern County.
Financial
The total money we spent in 2003 was $10,659.33, which includes
the major purchases listed above plus batteries, copier repair,
and miscellaneous items. I have a spreadsheet listing all purchases.
General comments
Phelps TerHeun is recycling our old radios--3 Midlands and
2 Icom-H6s--which we left out for him on 14 July. Dave Miles
has measured the current hardware bags and designed and constructed
new ones. Moe Stantial donated some rope and webbing to the group
(via Walter Runkle). The rope is 600 feet of brand new, 11.6
mm, Blue Water static rope on a spool.
Stuff not done
The accumulation of old historical papers in the Hut is still
out of control. I know this sounds like a broken record, but
Committee Chairpersons and Officers could spend a little time
over there to make order out of chaos. I'm willing to help.
Also, everything in the Hut needs to be inventoried.
First Aid Committee
Gina Niesen
The First Aid Committee conducted the following training activities:
Activity Date
Community CPR January 22, November 25, and December 15
Community First Aid March 17
CLFAS Topic B February
CLFAS Topic A November
Emergency Services Committee
Linda Finco
The year started slowly for the Emergency Services Committee.
Kern County Office of Emergency Services commented that we needed
to get more organizations involved in order to be able to provide
adequate service during an emergency. We had regular attendance
by the HAM radio people (RACES), the Humane Society, BLM, CLMRG,
and a few other groups, but we needed better attendance by the
Fire Department, the Sheriff's Office, NAWS China Lake, the utilities,
and other organizations that would play a bigger role if a disaster
hit the Ridgecrest area. So we decided that the Police Department
would take on the leadership role and send the invitations to
the meetings and that we would work together on programs and training
events to prepare for a disaster.
Dave Bruegel with Police and Citizens Together (PACT), a civilian
volunteer group with the Ridgecrest Police Department, took over
as coordinator for the meetings after our summer break. Attendance
at the meetings has increased, but some important organizations
are still missing. Dave is working to find training events and
to prepare future scenarios that should make the EOC meetings
more interesting to keep attendance growing and more effective
in preparing the professionals and volunteers in Ridgecrest to
work together to assist in an emergency.
DONATIONS
Terry Mitchell
CLMRG gratefully acknowledges recent gifts from the following
friends:
Edward H. and Florence Albright Ridgecrest, California
Microsoft Matching Gifts Program Memory of Arwen Leineu
Nancy L. Moore via United Way Bakersfield, California
Mario and Yolanda Gonzalez Valley Village, California
Robert M. Trousdale
Dr. and Mrs. Robert Dow Chevy Chase, Maryland In memory of Robbie
Dow
United Way
William J. R. & Lois H. Adamsen North Salem, New York In memory
of Carl Heller
Clifton Chandler Ridgecrest, California
John J. Olley Dunsmuir, California
Date Location Participants Notes
Oct 24 Stemwinder Huey, Bishop, Hinman Beautiful; made it; didn't
get lost
Oct 28 Fossil Falls Roseman, Green, Rockwell, Finco Powered hoist
by Quoin. Played with it. Performed as expected. Gave them
good feedback.
Oct 29 Lone Pine Peak Rockwell, Sakai, and 2 guests Sakai's asthma
was getting bad because of smoke, so he turned around. Others
made it to summit.
Nov 1-2 Lone Pine Peak & La Conte Bishop 3-6 inches of snow
on trail. Got into waist deep snow. Reached 13,000 feet before
turning around.
Nov 7-9 Broken Finger & Telescope Rockwell, Sakai, Gates Drove
to Mahogany Flats. Hiked to Rogers Peak, Bennett, and then Telescope.
Headlamps for about 5-10 minutes. Spitting snow by the time
we got back to car.
Nov 14 Corkscrew Rockwell, Sakai, Huey
Nov 21-23 Mt. Charleston Huey, Bishop, guests: Bill Stratton,
Jim Vijay Cold, 19 degrees on Saturday morning. Party of 4 had
broken some trail before us. 9 hours before setting camp. 2
hours to summit next morning. Found remains of helicopter.
Thor Rockwell, Sakai, Runkle, Roseman All made it except Sakai
(asthma kicked in). Lots of people up there.
Whitney Trail Runkle, Rockwell 50th birthday summit.
Dec 13-14 Pyramid Peak Rockwell, Green, Sakai, and 4 guests
28 Dec Lone Pine Lake to Big Horn Park Rockwell, Green, Toler
Jan 1 Owens Peak Rockwell, Bishop, and guest and dog Day climb
Jan 10-11 Manly Peak Doerr, Green, Rockwell,
C. Burge, Myers, and guests Pete Watters and Cindy Myers Summit
block in 3 hours. Rockwell climbed up and belayed others.
Check our web page at https://www.clmrg.org.
All telephone numbers in The Talus Pile are area code 760
unless noted otherwise.
Treasurer Dave Doerr reports that newsletters from other rescue
groups are in the Hut.
Bob Rockwell got an e-mail message from Doug Thompson, who runs
Whitney Portal store. Next July 17 will mark 100 years of the
Whitney Trail. Thompson would like CLMRG to present a program
relating the history of activities in the area.