The Unit was contacted by the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management at 12:15 P.M. on Friday the 21^st of April. They requested Mountain Rescue volunteers to help in the search for two lost hikers in the Greenwater area in eastern Pierce county.

Paul Webster, 18, and Steve Sellers, 20, had been attending a youth retreat at the Buck Creek church camp and had told friends that they were going to visit Snoquera Falls on the way home. After a small search by family members the sheriff was contacted Friday morning. The deputies found their pickup truck along highway 410 with their camping gear still inside.

A callout was made and eleven members responded they: Fran McFarland, Jim Andrues, Ken Capron, Victor Caro, Phil Fortier, Tyler Severy, Bill Weber, Talis Abolins, Duane Perham, Chris Berryman and Stan Kartes. They were told to meet at the Cache at 3:00 P.M. or at the Greenwater fire department at 4:00 P.M.. This was later changed to the Buck Creek Campground.

Around 5:45 P.M. just as the teams were getting ready to start searching the two hikers walked into the search base. They said that their climb up to the top of the waterfall had taken them longer than they anticipated and they had to spend the night in a makeshift shelter. They climbed down Friday morning. Units that had started to search were recalled and everyone returned to Tacoma.

Besides Tacoma Mountain Rescue, units from ESAR, Search and Rescue 4X4's, German Shepard Search Dogs and NW Bloodhounds participated in the search.

An emergency can happen to anyone, anywhere. In the (sub)urban setting you rush to the phone and call 911. Five minutes later you will probably have an ambulance and fire truck sitting not far away. In the wilderness setting the mountain rescue team or any search and rescue team may take from hours to days to reach you. This is when you must have the correct attitude or you're not going to survive.

In the wilderness survival situation being physically strong does not ensure survival. One of the mottos you will see on the Unit's survival kits is, "Your brain is your best survival tool. Being able to handle your reactions to the stress of the situation is more important than the danger presented by the emergency. Your psychological reactions to the stress of survival could make you unable to use the resources available. You need to adapt to live; your positive mental attitude allows you to use your physical skills and the resources available to ensure your survival

Once you have achieved the correct mental attitude you must protect against the major problems presented by the survival situation. Cold/heat, hunger, panic, fatigue, thirst, fear and loneliness can chip away at resolve. You may have experienced any or all of these problems before but probably not all at once.

Cold/Heat: Being exposed to the extremes of cold or heat will probably be the most dangerous problem you will face and obtaining or building shelter to protect yourself from the elements. Should be your first priority.

Hunger/Thirst: You need energy to survive, so try to conserve it. If you have to go looking for food or water, do not expend more energy to obtain it than it can replace. A full belly can withstand more than one who has drained himself to the point of exhaustion.

Fatigue: The overuse of your muscles and mind can present a serious threat. It can lower your awareness and cause you to become inattentive, careless. Take the time to rest and conserve our energy. Do not let fatigue weaken your resolve to survive.

Loneliness: Can hit you without warning when you realize you are the only person around that you can depend on to survive. Society rarely gives us a chance to adapt to silence, loss of support and separation

Fear is the reaction for anyone faced with extraordinary situations that threaten his important needs. It can negatively influence your behavior and could reduce your chance for survival. Fear is natural in dangerous situations and you shouldn't try to avoid it. But it shouldn't magnify into feelings of hopelessness or helplessness. Accept it and try to make the best of the situation.

Panic: Fear creates the fight or flight reaction in our brain; panic is the flight response. It is the urge to get away from the stress of the situation. It is triggered by fear of the unknown, a lack of confidence in ones self. It suppresses rational thinking and can make a bad situation worse. It can cause you to run off in an unknown direction, use up all of your energy and make poor decisions that could lead to injury or death.

Finally if you find yourself in a survival situation remember the acronym  S.T.O.P.

S it down and calm down; reduce the fear and panic and let a rational positive attitude take control and make rational decisions.

T hink about your situation: How are you going to provide shelter, food and water? Remember the key to survival is staying dry and warm.

O bserve your situation: What do you see in the local area to help you survive? Wood for a fire, boughs for a bed and shelter and the nearest source of water.

P lan to be on your own for at least 24 hours and when you hear or notice a search party, how are you going to signal them?

If you approach a survival situation with the attitude that you are going to survive you will survive.

These minutes as published are unofficial and subject to approval at the next regularly scheduled board meeting.

Convened 19:35

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Alan Givotovsky, Fran McFarland, Bill Weber, Ken Capron, Victor Caro, Rick Wire, Stan Kartes, Chris Berryman, and Gus Bush.

OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT: Lee Tegner, Tracy Berryman, Connie Crum, Jim Andrues and Ed Hrivnak.

The February 2000 meeting minutes were approved with the following corrections;

• Treasurer's Report: Item # 5, change the word employee to contractor..

• Communications: Item # 2; Keith McIntosh and Marcus Donaldson are both in the new pager system, but Marcus Donaldson has not received a pager and is therefore not available by the pager system.

• Kit Report: Item # 3; February total sales were $1343.86.

• Training Report: Ropes and knots were taught by Chris Berryman and Stan Kartes.

• SAR Council: Fran will not be able to attend the next SAR Council meeting.

• SARVAC: Fran received the basic and intermediate helicopter standards from Brian Holmes.

• Old Business: Item #3; Chris Berryman made a motion regarding the logo and it was approved.

• New Business: Item #7; Russ Brinton made a motion for the Unit to pay for the monthly pager service for all Unit members, and rescue support and above to have the deposit on their pager paid by the Unit. This motion was approved.

TREASURER'S REPORT: Victor Caro

• Monthly report accepted as presented for 3-1-00 through 3-29-00.(Full report is attached to the official meeting minutes.)

• Victor Caro is working on developing a budget and would like input from the board members.

• Victor Caro would also like to start tracking kit sales.

• Alan Givotovsky is continuing to work on getting Victor Caro on the account at Rainier Pacific.

KIT REPORT: Tracy Berryman

• February 2000, and March 1, 2000 through March 29, 2000 sales were reported. (attached to the official meeting minutes)

• Tracy Berryman proposed increasing prices on the products that we sell. Bill Weber made the motion to accept the proposed retail price changes. The motion was approved. A copy of the retail price changes are attached to the official meeting minutes. The wholesale prices will not change at this time.

OPERATIONS REPORT: Gus Bush

• Gus Bush reported on two missions. See the April 2000 Rucksack for full details.

TRAINING REPORT: Russ Brinton (absent, but sent a faxed report that was read by Jim Andrues)

• The March monthly training was Wilderness Search and Navigation Techniques, with emphasis on GPS training. The Saturday training was at Steilacoom Park and was taught by Fran McFarland and Jeff Sharp.

• The Pierce County Fire District's driver training course in Gig Harbor is no longer available "free of charge".

• 13 members attended the March 18^th O.L. training taught by Patrick Steele of Bates Technical College. This training was based on leadership training sessions that Patrick has conducted for the Mountaineers. We are hoping to conduct these trainings at least once a year.

• Russ Brinton was contacted by Seattle Mountain Rescue Unit's training chairman about the possibility of conducting joint training sessions in the future.

• Fran McFarland provided board members with a proposed list of O.L. duties and asked for their input. Alan Givotovsky suggested forming a committee to work on this task and then bring their proposal to the board for approval.

EQUIPMENT REPORT: Ken Capron

• Chris Berryman was not able to find any pre-built storage boxes that we could put the portable generator in.

• Ken Capron will look into the possibility of purchasing a pre-built storage box to house items that are always in the aisle of the truck.

• The new rope bag was not sent back.

• 4 old PIEPS have been discarded because they do not work.

• Stan Kartes made a motion for the Unit to purchase 3 more PIEPS, and the motion was approved.

• Ken Capron stated he will have the rigging kits re-organized by the next Unit training.

• Ken Capron plans to purchase a combination lock for the file cabinet in the Cache.

COMMUNICATIONS REPORT: Stan Kartes

• Jim Andrues has a temporary pager # 253-274-6803.

• The pager list is now current.

• New members will be notified by the membership chair that a $50.00 deposit is required before a pager can be issued.

• Stan Kartes forwarded the pager bill to the treasurer.

SAFETY AND EDUCATION REPORT: Rick Wire

• The Child Safety Fair is Saturday ( 4-1-00). Alan Givotovsky is planning on attending and will drive the truck over. Four other members have signed up to attend.

• The climbing class at Boeing that TMRU members have been teaching the past few years has been cancelled this year due to lack of interest.

MEMBERSHIP REPORT: Chris Berryman

• No new members.

• No current mentor, the previous mentor was Stan Kartes.

FINANCE REPORT: Bill Weber

• The finance committee met and re-arranged the Vanguard funds. Bill Weber will provide a written report regarding the changes at the next board meeting.

• The finance committee plans to move the supersaver account to a Vanguard money market.

AIR OPERATIONS REPORT: Ed Hrivnak

• All Hueys in the state of Washington have been grounded.

OLD BUSINESS:

• Fran McFarland made a motion for the Unit to pay $85.00 to have the Unit logo digitized and embroidered. The motion was approved.

• Fran reviewed a copy of the grant application that she plans to send to REI. ( copy is attached to the official meeting minutes.)

• Ken Capron spoke with Mike Gauthier, Chief Climbing Ranger at MRNP, regarding the high camp caches. The Park is still interested in this project and they are also considering a summit cache.

• Truck insurance was discussed. Alan Givotovsky will check on property insurance, and will also talk to DEM regarding coverage on truck insurance.

• Alan will enter the required data on the Guidestar web site.

• Code of Ethics committee is pending.

NEW BUSINESS:

• WMRA dues need to be paid. Gus Bush made a motion for the Unit to pay $75.00 dues, plus a $125.00 donation. This motion was approved.

Adjourned at 21:41

Respectfully submitted

Connie Crum

The following members attended the Kit party on the 5^th of April:

John Simac,
Bill Weber,
Ken Capron,
Fran McFarland,
Tracy Berryman,
Jeff Sharp,
Ken, Christine, and Ian Davies.

The Kit parties are held from 7:00 to 9:00 P.M., the first Wednesday of the month and as of Jan 2000 will be held at the Cache. If you need directions, call 531-2120.

The next Kit Component Party will be at the Cache, the third Wednesday of the month, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. We need your help

In a joint effort, Coast Guard Search and Rescue personnel and Kodiak Island Borough landfill operators recovered a tough emergency position-indicating radio beacon from beneath tons of garbage last winter. The beacon's signal led a Coast Guard helicopter on a search that ended north of town at the borough landfill. The next day, Coast Guard personnel searched the dump with hand-held radios and landfill operators bulldozed 5 feet of refuse to eventually uncover the still functioning beacon,

"Someone threw it away thinking it was no good," said the Coast Guard's Dave Simmerman. EPIRB users with doubts can rest assured that these beacons, and the dedicated search-and-rescue people, are good.

©Copyright 2000 Tacoma Mountain Rescue