Missing hiker at tram.

[wb]

Good points, Patrick.

Additional things I feel the hiker did right are having a working cell phone, knowing enough basic skills to wait out the storm for three days - relatively safely, and giving his itinerary to others.

Most wilderness excursions we take pose risks to our health and safety. It's part of what draws us to the mountains. I respect this hiker's handling of what at this point looks like an unfortunate turn of events and possibly under estimating the weather.

The only way out of the drainages with snow and ice on the ground is with crampons and an ice ax, imho. I am rejoicing that things turned out well for him, thanks in large part to the expertise of the RMRU et al. These guys are consistently competent.

[myotherboots]

I know for me, the solitude of hiking is critical to the well being of my soul. Yes, it is a risk everytime I step out on that trail, we are all one trip and fall away from that helicopter ride... I just hope if it happens to me, it is at above 2,000 ft, if I make the Desert Sun, I want an impressive number out there (10,000 plus would be good).

This board changes the contents of my pack almost weekly. I hope I am getting smarter from every rescue and the little tips this board provides. I have learned everything from using mayonaise (Miracle Whip works as well) to get sap out of my pants from "X" being a distress symbol.

I am so grateful for that rescue community out there that generously gives there time for all of us.

Keep the good advice coming all...

Robin

[bluerail]

get that pack together and get out there this weekend Robin...the hi on saturday ? 9


I don't think I own enough crap to keep me warm in that and allow me to have fun. I can however, appear to be the smart one and sit in the tram bar drinking coffee all day.

[Tim Le]

It's interesting to analyze these incidents like an NTSB investigation and see what we can learn from them. But rarely do we get a post-incident analysis. I hope the hiker/skier can give us the story, but based on some facts here's my take on it.

WEATHER

The NWS forecasted the storm to hit hard Friday night, continue into Saturday and taper off Sunday morning. The weather that Saturday morning was different. I was with a friend at Baldy and the entire mountain had mostly clear skies. We noticed only 2-3" of snow had fallen that night instead of the 18+” that the NWS forecasted. We thought the storm might have been a dud and was over. However, we were prepared for a storm because we were there to train in bad weather. By 10am some clouds started to move in. Then by 2pm it was snowing. That night had the heaviest snowfall. The forecast turned out to be right, but the timing was off.

So one possible contributing factor is the subject thought the storm was a bust (and thus over) and decided to hike that day.

According to news reports, he called his family at noon and conditions were near whiteout. Other hikers, however, reported that visibility was 1/4 to 1/2 mile and winds were less than 30 mph. Our experience at Baldy was winds were mostly calm and visibility was normal below 8000 ft. But around 8000 ft there were bands of clouds moving through so whiteout conditions could have existed in local areas.

At this point the subject might have felt that he was not prepared to navigate back to the tram in the worsening conditions and decided to hunker down by building a shelter. He successfully weathered the storm and knew to make the correct distress signal of three X's (or three of anything noticeable).

So the final contributing factor could have been the inability to navigate back to the tram.

[Hikin_Jim]

I don't know what this individual went through, but I will say that sometimes hunkering down is the right thing to do. Hiking in a white out increases one's chance of a slip and fall type accident. Hunkered down and healthy is one thing. Hunkered down and injured is another. If shock sets in, you could be seriously SOL. I'm speaking from personal experience here.

Re Tim's post, above, I'm not necessarily disagreeing. I think having the ability to navigate at all times is critical. Still, even if I can navigate, it may not always be the best choice in a given set of circumstances.

HJ

[Hikin_Jim]

So, say I'm out hiking/skiing/shoeing whatever like that guy who got marooned up on SJ this past weekend. It starts storming. I lose my way, and I'm in a whiteout or close to it. I make the decision to hunker down. I'm not injured; I have food, clothing, and shelter; and I have a winter capable stove. I believe I can reasonably wait things out.

QUESTION: Do I "pull the trigger" on my PLB?

If I'm overdue, people will be worrying. SAR may be dispatched, putting people in harm's way and tying up resources. Would it be better to broadcast my position via the beacon even though it's technically not within the "loss of life or serious injury" parameters or should I stick with the "letter of the law" and keep the thing stowed?

HJ

[Tim Le]

Jim, I agree sometimes it's not safe to continue in a whiteout even if you have the ability to navigate in one. It really depends on the terrain and other considerations. But those that go into these conditions should at least have the ability to navigate back, otherwise you're taking a gamble that you can survive the storm. I guess it depends on the individual situation. If I'm not injured, but am confident about navigating and the terrain is moderate like in Long Valley, I would likely navigating back rather than take my chances with the storm and cause a rescue to be initiated.

Also, this is just a general discussion--we don't know exactly why this person wasn't able to navigate back to the tram. It just seems that a lot of rescues are due to people being lost when not being lost is one of the few things that an experienced hiker can more or less control.

As for the PLB, that's a tough question because with a PLB it's either all or nothing. You can't say you're fine, just delayed. But if you have specific instructions about being overdue and think a rescue might have been initiated, I would trigger the PLB because they will go right to you and not have to search. I have a PLB and I generally tell my contact to not initiate a rescue until 24 hours after my overdue time unless my PLB has been activated sooner.

[Hikin_Jim]

Jim, I agree sometimes it's not safe to continue in a whiteout even if you have the ability to navigate in one. It really depends on the terrain and other considerations. But those that go into these conditions should at least have the ability to navigate back, otherwise you're taking a gamble that you can survive the storm. I guess it depends on the individual situation. If I'm not injured, but am confident about navigating and the terrain is moderate like in Long Valley, I would likely navigating back rather than take my chances with the storm and cause a rescue to be initiated.

100% agreed.

It just seems that a lot of rescues are due to people being lost when not being lost is one of the few things that an experienced hiker can more or less control.

Yep. Navigation can't be stressed enough. Good nav prevents a lot of problems before they start.

As for the PLB, that's a tough question because with a PLB it's either all or nothing. You can't say you're fine, just delayed. But if you have specific instructions about being overdue and think a rescue might have been initiated, I would trigger the PLB because they will go right to you and not have to search. I have a PLB and I generally tell my contact to not initiate a rescue until 24 hours after my overdue time unless my PLB has been activated sooner.

I follow you. My thinking was along those lines.

HJ

[lilbitmo]

Some of the PLB's do have the ability to send a message saying I'm ok, and if needed they can go off that to not initiate a rescure but no in a general area where it came from. And if things get worse they can then hit the "I'm up $hits creek" send the paddles button.

By the way I also meant to say super thanks to all the Mountain Rescue folks who risk it all to come get us when we make choices that get us in trouble - I say thanks every time I see them out practicing as well as when they are on the move looking for folks - just in case the day comes when it's my turn, I want them to know I'm all for them they are some of the most dedicated people in the world - thanks

[Tim Le]

Some of the PLB's do have the ability to send a message saying I'm ok, and if needed they can go off that to not initiate a rescure but no in a general area where it came from. And if things get worse they can then hit the "I'm up $hits creek" send the paddles button.

Yeah, this is one area where the Spot Messenger has a leg up on the PLB. A PLB is actually a specific locator beacon that communicates with the COSPAS-SARSAT satellites run by various governments. The other types of beacons in this category are EPIRPBs (for marine vessels) and ELTs for aircraft. In our case, we're using 406 MHz PLBs run by NOAA and the Air Force. These can only be turned on or off and they have a very serious warning about when you can turn them on