AMN13 comes to Valley Forge

The NSP Eastern Division will hold its fall seminar and refresher for Avalanche, Mountain Travel & Rescue, and  Nordic (AMN) instructors and evaluators on the weekend of September 20 to 22, 2013, in Valley Forge National Historic Park, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

The event is registered with NSP as Nordic, MTR, and Avalanche 1 Instructor Continuing Education Clinics.

Visit the AMN13 website.

Death on Everest

Listen to two renowned mountaineers discuss their experiences with death on Mount Everest.

Ed Viesturs
Lincoln Hall

Winter Sciences and Survival Seminar

The Winter Sciences and Survival Seminar for Avalanche, Mountain Travel & Rescue, and Nordic patrollers from the National Ski Patrol's Eastern, Southern, and European Divisions will take place on Saturday, March 24, 2012, at the U.S. Army's West Point Ski Lodge.

Authoritative speakers will address relevant issues in snow science, avalanches, and winter survival. Program, banquet, and housing plans are still being developed. The draft announcement is online. Check back here as the weekend plans are finalized.

View the online event program.

Download the Announcement, Information Sheet and Registration Form. For questions, e-mail Scott Campbell at campbellsservices@gmail.com to get a registration packet, or call him at (703) 241-2640 (home) anytime. Please put “WSS Seminar” on the subject line of the email.

Driving Directions
Map and other information are now online.

All attendees who have a current NSP registration card will be eligible for a free lift pass Sunday at Belleayre Mountain.

World-Wide Military Gourmet

The esteemed New York Times reported on field rations encountered among coalition members in Afghanistan. From Polish bogracz to South Korean kimchi, all of your favourites are here. Roll over the images of fourteen nations' rat-packs and click to see the package contents.

Earlier, The Smoking Gun published the unedited comments, often brutally frank, of American service members who had been asked to review MREs.

Soldier Systems' Field Gourmet takes an in-depth look at the rations of five nations: Russia, Netherlands, France, New Zealand, and Great Britain and have just reported on the Brits' new Rat Packs and those of the Danes.
 

Technology causes Problems in the Backcountry

Visitors to the back country continue to create hazards to themselves and to rescuers by reliance on technology. The inappropriate use and abuse of cellphones, GPS units, and SPOT satellite messengers have led hikers into danger and caused unnecessary, expensive rescues.

A recent article in the New York Times discusses these issues through interviews with workers in our national parks. Some of the best quotes:

“Because of having that electronic device, people have an expectation that they can do something stupid and be rescued.”

“Every once in a while we get a call from someone who has gone to the top of a peak, the weather has turned and they are confused about how to get down and they want someone to personally escort them. … the answer is that you are up there for the night.”

“We have seen people who have solely relied on GPS technology but were not using common sense or maps and compasses, and it leads them astray."

Read Leslie Kaufman's article online.

Jim Whittaker wrote a related article three years ago.

Fall AMN Refresher Announced

After meeting three years at Northfield Mountain, the Avalanche, Mountain Travel & Rescue, and Nordic instructors of the NSP Eastern Division have moved to a new venue. The AMN annual refresher will take place at Ski Big Bear, Mast Hope Mountain, in Eastern Pennsylvania, Friday to Sunday, September 17-19.

For more information, visit the website.

Orion Fluorescent Dye Marker

Sprinkle this orange powder, and its fluorescein dye will turn snow a bright, fluorescent green. Write on the snow, draw an arrow or whatever. It's an excellent signal for rescuers to note your location. This handy product from Orion will be visible from a distance: a great aid for rescue.

Available from REI, West Marine, and Barre Army-Navy.

Flameless Hand Warmers

Liquid-fuelled hand warmers have been used by generations of hunters and ice fishermen. Ski patrollers use them for their own comfort and for treating hypothermic patients.

After filling with a small amount of lighter fuel, the warmer's element is lit with a match. A catalytic platinum element allows burning without a flame, producing radiant heat for 8 to 10 hours. Warmers may be safely carried in a jacket pocket, usually in a flannel bag.

Jon-e® Hand Warmers are manufactured in the United States and made from durable chrome-plated steel. Replacement parts are available online. The Jon-e® hand warmer is sold by Cabela's and Outers.

A similar product is the Zippo Hand Warmer which is available at Duluth Trading Company and Amazon. See it in EDC Reviews.

The Peacock brand is found overseas at GK Trading and Hakukin.

Amazon offers the Xtreme brand.
 

Personal Locator Beacons

Technology is finding its way into the backcountry: the avalanche beacon, GPS receiver, cellphone, and personal locator beacon (PLB). The media have reported the use of personal locator beacons in dramatic and successful rescues but at least one instance of their abuse. Some experts have expressed concern that the devices will encourage over-reliance on their use.


ACR Electronics manufactures most of the units available in the United States. The devices are pricey but can be rented from PLB Rentals.

The New York Times recently published an article about PLBs.

“Not Without Peril”

Subtitled “150 Years of Misadventure on the Presidential Range of New Hampshire.” Nicholas Howe documents the misfortunes and tragedies befalling twenty-two hikers and climbers over the past century and a half. There are lessons to be learned here about safety and trip preparation.

Not Without Peril: 150 Years of Misadventure on the Presidential Range of New Hampshire
by Nicholas Howe
Appalachian Mountain Club Books, 2001

Alive

Thirty-five years ago, a Uruguyan Air Force plane, carrying a rugby team, crashed in the Andes. Thirty-two players and supporters survived. After ten weeks in the snow-covered mountains, only sixteen remained.

Survival is said to be an attitude, a state of mind. Piers Paul Read investigates the mentality of those who made it and of those who did not.

Jim Whittaker: Relying on Rescue Technology

Jim Whittaker, the first American to climb Mount Everest and former president of REI, sounds off on dependence on rescue technology.

Commenting on recent rescues and efforts to legislate emergency beacons, Whittaker writes that reliance on technology often creates new dangers for both climbers and rescuers. He emphasizes the need for expedition planning and personal responsibility:

“The technology has made it easier to rely more on search-and-rescue personnel, and less on skill and knowledge.”

“A climber should begin every expedition assuming that that he could be trapped in a blizzard”

Read the full op-ed piece:

A Summit Technology Can’t Reach
By Jim Whittaker
New York Times
March 9, 2007, Friday

Winter Aware

Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue Team presents this 45-minute video about snowsport safety. Winter Aware emphasizes planning, survival, and avalanche awareness. Exciting action footage includes avalanches and actual accidents in real time. Interviews with seasoned riders and skiers highlight this 2002 film.

Available in DVD and VHS formats at no charge to ski patrols. For more information, visit the Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue Team website.

Improvised Tarp Shelters

Here are almost one hundred plans for folding and pleating tarps into improvised survival shelters. The 76 pages are chock full of how and why and why not. Don’t skip the great introduction in Q & A style about shelters, tarps, and ropes.

Australian David B. Macpherson lends his experience and creativity to this essential skill.

You may be interested in the Cool Tools item on Tarptents.

“Wilderness Survival Guide”

Author Monty Alford is a veteran of 35 years of expeditions and first ascents in the Yukon, Alaska, and other cold regions. In “Wilderness Survival Guide” he summarizes much of his experience and knowledge. Chapters cover travel on rivers, ice, snow, and glaciers and kits, signalling, and shelters for cold weather survival. Alford provides helpful tables and plans and instructions for tools, including a gear sled.

Published by Alaska Northwest Publishing Company, Edmonds, Washington, 1987, 104 pages, paperback. It’s out of print, but copies may be had on the internet and in libraries.

Improvised Rescue Toboggans

Improvising an emergency toboggan in the field is a standard part of the Nordic program. The Faher Flyer is tried and true, but there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Couloir Magazine presents the whys and hows of three field expedients here.

Connecticut Nordic News published Chuck Boyd’s modifed Flyer in this nicely illustrated article. A similar field expedient sled has been described by New Jersey patrollers.
 

Survival Kits

The only survival kit that matters is the one you have with you. Field & Stream magazine shows how to build your own in three sizes: pocket (in an Altoids tin), belt pouch, and fanny pack.
Each provides means for obtaining food, water, heat, fire, signalling, navigation, medical care, and repairs. The two larger kits contain more supplies and tools.

Abundant photographs illustrate the contents which are identified by brand and model name. These kits are not specifically intended for the winter but can be readily adapted.

See also the articles in the Winter 2006 Ski Patroller magazine.

Winter 2006 Ski Patroller Magazine

The Winter 2006 issue of Ski Patrol Magazine has several articles related to nordic patrolling.

A special section is devoted to avalanche safety: avalanche control, the RECCO radar system, and snow slides in Michigan. Two other features describe and illustrate the contents of a patrol pack and of a repair kit. Here’s the list of articles:

	pp 14-25	Avalanche Zone Special Section:
		Control Freaks: Taos Ski Patrol Stars in Taming of the Snow
		Radar Comes to the Rescue with RECCO Technology
		Avalanches in the Midwest
	p 46	Revisiting the Ten (or more?) Essentials
	p 56	Kit and Caboodle: Be Prepared to Repair

Any NSP member can download an electronic copy of this or any other issue published since 1997 by following these instructions.