Climber Dies from Fall Near Grinnell Point

Glacier National Park Rangers recovered the body of Matthew Needham, a 21-year old male from Simi Valley, California, Thursday afternoon, July 25, near Grinnell Point in the northeast area of the park. The individual was climbing the mountain in the Many Glacier Valley with two other climbers when he fell at least 60 feet to his death.

At approximately 11:18 a.m. today, park dispatch received a report from a Glacier Park Boat Company employee that a climber fell from below Grinnell Point. A group of eight hikers later reported they found the climber, but did not see signs of life. The area in which the fall took place is very steep, with cliffs and rocky terrain.

Park rangers traveled to the vicinity of the incident by helicopter via Minute Man Aviation and located the climber's body this afternoon. A 100-foot long line helicopter operation was utilized to recovery the body. Death was confirmed by rangers at approximately 2:30 p.m.

All three members of the climbing party are employees of the park's concessioner Glacier Park, Inc. and work at the Many Glacier Hotel. Grinnell Point is located near Lake Josephine in the Many Glacier Valley.

The Glacier County Coroner confirmed death and the body will be transported to a local funeral home. The incident is under investigation by the National Park Service.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

Columbia Falls Climber Dies in Fall on Yosemite’s El Capitan

NPS Digest is reporting this morning that Mason Robison, a 38-year-old climber from Columbia Falls, Montana, fell to his death while climbing the Muir Wall on El Capitan this past Sunday morning.

Robison was roughly 2,300 feet above the monolith’s base in Yosemite National Park when he dislodged a large rock that severed his lead rope, and caused him to fall 230 feet onto his haul line, which was being used to bring the party's equipment up the route. Robison’s climbing partner was unable to immediately contact emergency services due to poor cell phone reception, and began to yell for help. Several other climbers, along with a Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) volunteer, reported witnessing the rockfall in the area of Robison and his partner, and notified the Yosemite Emergency Communication Center. Rangers responded to El Capitan Meadow for observation and heard faint cries for help up on the wall, but had difficulty pinpointing the location of the spot where the calls were coming from.

Robison’s partner, who wasn't hurt, continued to try to call for help via his cell phone, and was eventually able to contact dispatch.

Rangers were then able to locate the climbing party through a spotting scope, and determined that Robison was hanging motionless from the end of his rope. The park helicopter flew a technical rescue team to the summit of El Capitan around 12:30 p.m. Team members began rigging for a technical lowering of almost 800 feet to Robison’s location. Rangers Jack Hoeflich and Ed Visnovske were lowered down the cliff face; they were able to reach him shortly thereafter, and pronounced him dead upon arrival. They raised Robison and his partner to the top of El Capitan, and then flew both to the valley floor.

Tragically, Robison’s older brother, Mark, died while climbing Rainbow Peak in Glacier National Park in 1998.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com

Ailing Climber Rescued from Teewinot Mountain

Just before 9 p.m. on Saturday, August 11, Grand Teton National Park rangers rescued a climber from Teewinot Mountain (elevation 12,325 feet) who was exhibiting acute physical distress. A 53-year-old climber, and resident of Rock Island, Illinois, became ill and incapable of completing a descent from Teewinot after he and two male companions successfully summited the Teton peak early Saturday afternoon.

The climbing party summited Teewinot Mountain about 2:15 p.m. on Saturday. They were making their way back down the mountain and had reached an elevation of about 9,700 feet near two features called the Worshipper and Idol when one of the members of the party began to exhibit a debilitating ailment. The climbers placed an emergency call for help around 6:20 p.m. That call was routed from the Teton County Sheriff's Office to Teton Interagency Dispatch Center, and park rangers were notified of the situation at 6:24 p.m.

Through cell phone conversations with the mountaineers, rangers determined that the ailing climber's condition may be serious. They summoned the assistance of a Teton Interagency contract helicopter to conduct an expedient rescue via short-haul before the 'pumpkin hour' and darkness set in. Although helicopters are often used to facilitate rescues in the Tetons, they are required to stop flying 30 minutes after official sunset: a time known as pumpkin hour. On Saturday, August 11, sunset was 8:31 p.m. and pumpkin hour was at 9:03 p.m. The helicopter was able to shut down operations at the Jackson Hole Airport Helibase at 8:57 p.m., within six minutes of the mandatory time.

Two rangers were inserted via short-haul to the climber's location on Teewinot. The Illinois climber was quickly assessed for his physical complaints, placed into an aerial evacuation suit, and connected to the short-haul line for transport from Teewinot. One ranger accompanied the climber during the short flight to the Jenny Lake Rescue Cache at Lupine Meadows (elevation 6,760 feet). The climber was then met by emergency medical technicians and a park ambulance and transported to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson, Wyoming for further treatment. Once the ailing climber was evacuated by helicopter, the second ranger escorted his two companions out of the backcountry and back to their vehicle.

Short-haul is a rescue technique where an individual is suspended below the helicopter on a 100 to 200 foot rope. This method allows a rescuer more direct access to an injured or ailing party, and it is often used in the Teton Range where conditions make it difficult to land a helicopter in the steep and rocky terrain. Patients are typically flown out via short-haul with a ranger attending to them below the helicopter, as was the case for this rescue.



Jeff
Glacier National Park Hiking

Rangers Rescue Stranded Climber from Middle Teton

An Olympia, Washington man who became stranded on the Middle Teton on Monday, July 9, was rescued by Grand Teton National Park rangers the following day. Eric Rohner, 27, intended a solo summit of the Middle Teton on Monday but traveled off route and became 'cliffed out.' Rohner ended up in a location from which he did not feel he could safely get down without risk of injury.

Rohner placed a 911 call for help just after 1 a.m. Tuesday morning. The call was received by Teton Valley, Idaho and transferred to Teton Interagency Dispatch Center in Grand Teton National Park. The ranger who was scheduled to coordinated rescues on Monday was able to communicate directly with Rohner via cell phone and determine that he had enough food and water, as well as appropriate gear and extra clothing, to spend the night on the Middle Teton. Rescue operations began at 4:30 Tuesday morning as two rangers started hiking at first light.

Rangers were not able to locate Rohner from the ground. Fortunately, a Teton Interagency contract helicopter was scheduled to be at Lupine Meadows for short-haul training that day, so rangers decided to deploy that ship for a reconnaissance flight to pinpoint Rohner's location on the mountain.

During a 10:15 a.m. flight, rangers and the helicopter pilot determined the best rescue plan was to short-haul Rohner from his precarious location to a landing zone in the South Fork of Garnet Canyon. From there, park rangers escorted Rohner down the canyon. A technical lowering and rescue by ground was estimated to require six people and approximately six hours to perform, exposing more rescuers to hazardous terrain for a longer period of time.

Once in a hazardous situation, Rohner made sound decisions; he stayed put, called for help, followed rescuer instructions, and he was prepared to spend an unexpected night having brought extra food, water, and clothing. This decision may very well have prevented Rohner from getting seriously injured or worse.

The Middle Teton is viewed as having a relatively straightforward route to a high summit. However, it is imperative that climbers attempting the summit have good route finding skills, pay attention to where they are, and follow the directions of park rangers. Tempting shortcuts and a lack of attention, among other factors, have resulted in a need for numerous rescue operations on this peak.

Short-haul is a rescue technique where an individual is suspended below the helicopter on a 100 to 200 foot rope. This method allows a rescuer more direct access to an injured party, and it is often used in the Teton Range where conditions make it difficult to land a helicopter in the steep and rocky terrain. This is the third major search and rescue in the mountain for summer 2012.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com