The unit was contacted by the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management at 9:30 A.M. on Wednesday the 30^th of June. Mt. Rainier National Park had requested 6 Mountain Rescue Volunteers to help in the evacuation of two climbers stuck at 13,000 foot level on Liberty Ridge.

Two climbers from Southern California Larry Sverdrup and Michael Matelich had used a cell phone at 4:15 P.M. on Tuesday to notify the Park rangers that they were stuck on Liberty Ridge. The pair had set up camp and placed all of their climbing gear( ice screws etc.) in one Backpack and attached to a picket driven in the snow. The next morning while reaching for or unfastening this backpack they lost control of it, and it went sliding down the mountain.

Park Rangers sent out two teams on Tuesday one to the base of Liberty Ridge, and the other to Camp Schurman on the North Side of the mountain. Due to bad weather neither team could reach the stranded climbers by Tuesday evening.

A call out was made and four TMRU members responded they were: Mike Mixon, Marcus Collins Alan Givotovsky and Jim Andrues. They were asked to meet at the cache at 11:00 A.M. or at the White River Ranger station at 1 P.M.. Their assignment was to climb to Camp Schurman and assist bringing out the climbers if a helicopter was not available.

The weather cleared Wednesday afternoon and a Chinook helicopter was able to land rescuers on the summit. They were able to raise the stranded climbers to the summit and airlift them off Wednesday evening. Our team was turned around when it was confirmed that rescuers had landed on the summit

The unit was contacted by the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management at 1:00 P.M. on Thursday, July 15^th. Mt. Rainier National Park had requested six mountain Rescue volunteers to meet at the Longmire rangers station as soon as possible. They also requested 12 volunteers per day for both Friday and Saturday.

The search was for a 34-year-old New York man who had been reported missing on a hike to Mt. Rainier on July 8^th . Joe Lee Wood Jr. had been in the Puget sound area to attend the Unity99 conference of minority journalists being held in Seattle. He had told his friends that he was going to Mt. Rainier to be alone with his thoughts. When he did not return to his job in New York after the conference, he was reported as a missing person to the New York Police Department. After checking with Seattle Police it was found that he had not checked out of his hotel or returned his rental car. His car was found at the Longmire parking lot with a park entrance receipt dated July 8^th on the front seat. This meant that he had been missing for a week before any search was started.

Mr. Woods had never been in Mt. Rainier National Park before, and while he liked short hikes he was mainly a fair weather hiker with no experience in the back country. He was probably dressed in jeans and a light rain jacket and small day pack. The only map he had was the park brochure and a trail sheet. He had a pair of binoculars and was known to be a bird watcher.

He was last seen by another hiker on the Mildred point trail spur off the rampart ridge trail around 4:00 P.M. on July 8^th. This hiker informed him that there was a dangerous creek crossing another five minutes up the trail Joe told him that he would go that far because he had about enough.

Though a call out was made on Thursday, we were unable to have any members respond. Another call out was made on Thursday evening for Friday four members responded they were: Alan Givotovsky, Russ Brinton, Marcus Collins and Bill Weber. The Bill and Russ meet at the cache at 4:30 A.M. while Marcus and Alan meet them at the Longmire Ranger Station. While Bill stayed at base with the truck Alan, Russ and Marcus were assigned to go up the Wonder land trail from Longmire to the 3400-foot level and then go cross country and bushwhack their way to the base of the Rampart Ridge cliffs and then follow the base of the cliffs to the Rampart Ridge trail and then back to Longmire. They found no signs or clues of the subject. While Alan and Marcus stayed at the park Russ and Bill returned to Tacoma.

Another call out was made on Friday night and seven members responded they were John Kirkman, Fran McFarland, Joe Rushinko, Stan and Anglea Kartes, Marcus Donaldson and Bill Weber. They met at the Cache at 5:00 A.M. and some met at the Longmire ranger station at 7:00 A.M. After a briefing by park rangers they were assigned to split into two teams.

A team consisting of Alan, Marcus, Anglea, John and a park ranger named Tom Weston departed from the Comet Falls trailhead. The climbed up the trail to a plateau and then and searched a wide area below the falls. The second team consisting of Stan, Marcus D.,Joe and Fran and a couple of park rangers climbed above the falls and searched a ridge line up to Van Trump Park. They then searched the ridge lines on both sides of Van Trump Park and the top of Comet Falls. They all returned to Longmire around 4:00 P.M.

Another call out was made Saturday evening and only one team member responded. Chris Berryman went up to that park Sunday and help the park rangers search around the Rampart Ridge portion of the trail.

Besides Tacoma Mountain Rescue there were also members of the Seatttle and Olympic and Everett Mountain Rescue Teams that were involved in this search. After an intensive four day search Mr. Woods had not been found as of the writing of this article. He is the third Hiker/Climber that has become lost on Mt. Rainier this year that is still missing.

The following is an article taken from the 1991 Spring issue of the Seattle Mountain Rescue Council newsletter "BERGTRAGE" it was written by Mike Kalvelage. Though written over nine years ago his thoughts still apply to volunteer Mountain Rescue. I have paraphrased it somewhat to apply to us. Editor

It has been and extremely busy rescue season this year, and we are faced with the problem of drawing more participation from the eligible, but not so active, members of the unit. Is it a question of members not being contacted in a consistent and timely manner or perhaps just a laissez faire attitude toward participation that involves anything as small a two or three days per year?

The issue of contacting all members for missions has always been an ongoing struggle. Exploring the issue of attitude toward mission participation and the training of members is important. We are "volunteers" and by definition we can expect varied levels of participation from each person. We must assume that by filling out an application and requesting membership, people want to be involved. Therefore, we as unit members must find the common element needed to encourage some of the less active folks into more participation. Truly, there is need for participation by all active members. The need is not simply to fulfill the units' requirements, but to prevent us from coming up short handed when someone needs us.

I think it's time to look at our own level of participation, commitment, and availability and to examine the original reasons we joined the unit. Hopefully, this will add a renewed interest on all of our parts. Few organizations serve the life saving purpose of Mountain Rescue, and it is therefore, an excellent organization to be part of but Mountain Rescue needs your help and skill.

Remember, you joined for honorable reasons. You are a valuable and needed element of our existence, and the people we serve need you to stay involved. The unit provides training every month to help you stay rescue qualified but mostly it's up to you. So come to the monthly membership meeting and make time to go to the monthly training. Be ready next time the phone rings: some lost/injured climber or hiker may need your help.

The folllowing article was written by John Miner. Editor

Be Prepared" is the Boy Scout motto and it certainly applies to us on missions. At one point or another in our careers in mountain rescue, many of us will fill roles both as rescuers and as leaders. As a leader, be it team leader or operations leader, you may have to make some hard and fast decisions about who goes into the field, or if they go at all. We can all minimize the difficulty of this decision and the risk to ourselves, the team, and the mission by being prepared. This means not just in equipment, but physically, mentally, and emotionally. The right equipment, gear that fits, and the right gear for the mission are critical. Our monthly training sessions are not a substitute for getting out and climbing. If we are told to prepare for a day of searching on a glacier, it is expected that we will have crampons, prussiks, etc. Everyone should have a couple sets of foam earplugs in their gear. Duct taping a set inside of your helmet will work. A square of tissue paper will do as a last resort. Trimming down to essential gear is a skill that takes practice. This will come from getting out and climbing, as well as unit training and actual missions. Missions are not the time to be checking out new gear. Being able to quickly convert your all-encompassing sixty-pound rescue pack into a lightweight day search configuration is a must. Recent Rainier missions are a great example. It is neither necessary nor desirable to take a huge pack into the field in many situations. It would inhibit your ability to search, to move quickly, and safely, often for hours at time.

If you twisted your ankle on Tuesday playing basketball and it is still sore on Saturday when you respond to a mission, it is incumbent upon you as an individual to let the team leader and operations leader know. We always have a need for help at base. It may not be the most glamorous, but being inserted onto the mountain or far back into a wilderness search and rescue operation in this condition seriously jeopardizes the entire mission. The same goes if we have something traumatic going on in our lives. A serious illness or the loss of a loved one is good reason to take us off of the roster for awhile. These things happen to all of us, but we have the individual responsibility to know when to step aside, even if it is just for that one mission. There will always be another mission. If we are careful…

Convened 19:52

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Fran McFarland, Alan Givotovsky, Bill Weber, Gus Bush, Larry Crum, Stan Kartes, Connie Crum, Ken Capron, Russ Brinton and Jeff Sharp

OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT: Terri Leiby, Mike Mixon and Jim Andrues

The May 99 minutes were ammended. The truck training was changed from 5-25-99 to 5-26-99.

TREASURER'S REPORT: Larry Crum

• Accepted as presented for May 99. ( Full report is attached to the official minutes)
• The Bull & Bear account is now closed and the money has been moved to Rainier Pacific.
• The board discussed how to enter a backdated check. Alan suggested we call the accountant for advice.
• The board discussed options for the Bull & Bear funds that are temporarily in a savings account. The board voted and approved to put the money in a money market account at 4% interest.
• Money will be transferred to the Vanguard Mutual Funds for the Truck Fund.
• Larry presented a form for members to fill out for reimbursement or deposits.
• Larry read a notice from Western National Assurance Company regarding a notice to policy holders that our property insurance does not cover damages attributable to Y2K or other computer related occurrences.
• Larry suggested having one person accountable for all stores. Stores include all items that are sold to members. Terri Leiby volunteered to perform these new duties.
• Larry suggested that TMRU have an annual official board meeting for the specific purpose of certifying our officer's names, insure annual tasks are assigned and done, record the budget, report annual fiscal state of TMRU, and other items deemed critical to the long-term operation of TMRU. It was agreed that the secretary will check into what we need to do for the official business meeting.
• Larry received an e-mail request for samples of our Kit for testing by Oregon Deschutes County Search & Rescue. The board agreed that we do not issue free samples of our kits. These requests should be forwarded to Tracy.
• Larry questioned who was generating AirTouch Cellular charges and was informed it is the truck's cell phone.
• Chris suggested that we add Kit Sales to the treasurer's report.

KIT REPORTS: Chris Berryman for Tracy Berryman

• Chris reported on May and June product sales and stated that sales are down. He feels it could be seasonal.
• Tracy sold 10 kits to the State Historical gift shop.
• Fran suggested putting an order form on the web page that could be downloaded and filled out by potential customers. It was also suggested that a link to REI could be added to the web page for sales of the kit instead of TMRU selling the kit.The board agreed to the REI link.

OPERATIONS REPORT: Gus Bush

• See June Rucksack for details.
• Gus stated that we can call MRNP for updates on missions by dialing 360-569-2211 then press 9 for PIO.
• Gus emphasized that we need to follow the protocol for "doing a turnaround". The O.L. needs to call the in town coordinator to cancel a mission.
• Remember to call the hotline to get details regarding the current mission.
• Gus stated that when he gets a call from DEM he has one hour to respond with the required number of volunteers.

TRAINING REPORT: Russ Brinton

• 24 members attended the Wednesday, June 9, 1999 training and 10 on Saturday, June 12,1999. The training consisted of anchor systems and practicing raise and lowers. They were unable to do any ice training due to inappropriate conditions.
• A rigging kit was not able to be used during the training on June 12^th due to missing equipment. It was decided that equipment problems need to be tagged and identified in addition to writing it on the message board.
• 7 members attended the truck training on June 26^th. Alan reported that the instructor can be used as a resource. In the future we will be setting up our own training programs and Chris Berryman will be the instructor.
• Russ has been unable to track down a sign-up sheet for the May 15, 99 swift water training. If anyone knows of its whereabouts contact Russ.
• Russ is working on an OP's leader training.
• The July helicopter training will be at Fort Lewis on Saturday, July 17^th and in Snohomish County on Sunday, July 18^th.

EQUIPMENT REPORT: Ken Capron

• An updated membership roster is now in the briefcase in the truck.
• Ken is setting up a system for checking in and out equipment during missions and training. Each team will have a checklist type form on a clipboard and be responsible for the equipment they are issued. Ken will review the system with all of the members at the next general meeting ( July 14^th).
• Ken suggested putting tags on rigging kits when they are complete. If a kit does not have a tag then this will alert Ken that items are missing.
• Ken has received two bids for getting the locks changed. When the locks do get changed, it will occur during a meeting night.
• Dave Treiber did preventive maintenance on the generator and found it was very low on oil. He put some spare oil in the truck for use in the future.
• Dave is also putting together a regular maintenance schedule for the truck equipment.
• Alan recommended the following committee; Chris, Stan, and Fran to review the rigging kits and ropes to try to get the weight down.
• Extra webbing can be found in a box with the snow anchors in the truck.

COMMUNICATIONS REPORT: Stan Kartes

• Larry Crum and Gus Bush have new pagers.
• Brian Capron now has a pager and will be responding to missions.
• · Keith McIntosh now has a pager and is on the call out committee.

SAFETY AND EDUCATION REPORT: Phil Pletcher (absent)

• No report.

MEMBERSHIP REPORT: Chris Berryman

• New members are missing essential glacier and ice travel equipment and lacking skills for rock climbing. Chris suggested that potential new members be required to take a written test in order to be active for field support. Other units have very strict guidelines and even have a probation period. Chris will put together a protocol for a screening process for all members to go through and present to the board.

FINANCE REPORT: Bill Weber

• No report.

AIR OPERATIONS REPORT: Jeff Sharp

• No report.

SAR COUNCIL MEETING REPORT: Fran McFarland

• The hepatitis shots will cost members $41.00

MAST: Bill Weber

• No report.

OLD BUSINESS:

• The web page will be moved to UW . (Larry has accepted a position there.) The page has been reorganized and should be easier to navigate.
• Stan is continuing to work on getting the file cabinet moved to the cache. He does have one drawer at the cache.
• It was suggested that Ed Hrivnak would be a good resource for information regarding obtaining a plaque for Shorty's memorial at Spire Rock.
• Kit pricing committee - no report yet.
• Chris and Bill attended a meeting that MRNP held regarding their plans for the future. The following is a list of the highlights:
  1. No plans to enlarge Paradise parking lot.
  2. Opening the West Side Road and using a shuttle the whole 12 miles.
  3. 110 people max at Muir.
  4. Paving Mowich road.

NEW BUSINESS:

• Jeff Sharp received a National MRA award for putting together a helicopter training program.
• Alan reported that accreditation for national standards did not pass.
• SARVAC state standards were discussed.
• The MRA annual meeting is in Canada in 2000.
• Jeff Sharp reported the training at the MRA meeting was on hydration. New evidence on hydration indicates that you should start 3 weeks in advance to get yourself properly hydrated.
• It was reported that a lot of rescue units are using a full vacuum splint for complete immobilization of the patient.
• DR. Otto Trot a founding member of MRA passed away. There is a memorial for him on July 7,1999 in Seattle.
• There is a problem with the truck being returned to the cache with no gas. Jim Andures put 16 gallons of gas in the truck today. The problem of how to pay for gas and who has access to the gas card was discussed. No solutions at this time.

GOOD OF THE ORDER:

• None

Adjourn 22:20

Respectfully submitted

Connie Crum
Secretary

Jeff Sharp, of the Tacoma Mountain Rescue Unit in Washington State was recognized for the Outstanding Development of a Training Program. Following his philosophy of "make it better, do it safer", Jeff "spearheaded a committee that led to acquisition of a surplus military helicopter christened 'Rainier 1'" for Pierce County. He developed a comprehensive training and staffing program for the helicopter, including HeliRappel and Short Haul. "...a wondrous achievement, especially considering the fact that it is run by" mountain rescue volunteers.

Congratulations to Rescue Rucksack for a concise, well put together publication. I'm a mail clerk and this is my favorite publication to divert for a moment to read. Well written, well edited even the issue that came with scrambled pages. Thanks! And again Congratulations. Received Apr 7th

There will be no kit party in August due to remodeling at the Williams.

The unit picnic will be held at Stan & Helen Engles's on the Wednesday, the 18th of August. The Engle's address is 4011 Alameda Ave.,Alameda is southern extension of Pearl St. Please check the hotline at 531-2120 press #3 for more info on times and what to bring.

©Copyright 1999 Tacoma Mountain Rescue