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Injured snowshoers rescued after 911 cell calls from Meissner snow park

Fourth Incident in 48 Hours West of Bend
By Barney Lerten, KTVZ.COM
January 15, 2011

A snowshoer from Salem who suffered a minor injury west of Bend Sunday afternoon prompted the fourth callout of rescuers in less than 48 hours, authorities said.

Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies, Sheriff’s Search and Rescue and Forest Service law enforcement were dispatched around 4 p.m. to a report of an injured snowshoer at the Virginia Meissner warming shelter, about two miles north of the Meissner Sno-Park, said deputies Rhett Hemphill and Jim Whitcomb.

Searchers responded on skis and by a snowmobile to treat Christina Hoffman, 46, for her injuries, deputies said.

Hoffman had sustained a minor injury, making it impossible to snowshoe or walk any farther, they said.

Hoffman was taken back to the parking lot by snowmobile, then taken by friends to Bend for treatment of her injuries.

On Saturday, deputies and SAR members were dispatched around 2 p.m. to a report of a serious snowmobile accident on Forest Service Road 4525 near the Cascade Lakes Highway (Forest Road 46), said Hemphill and Whitcomb.

Daniel Lee Whipkey, 46, of Bend, had been operating a snowmobile on Road 4252 and was approaching Road 46 when he lost control while trying to negotiate a sweeping corner and crashed into a tree.

Seven SAR members and deputies responded to the scene by snowmobile and began treating Whipkey for his serious but non-life-threatening injuries, the deputies said.

Whipkey was taken by snowmobile and ambu-sled to a waiting Sunriver Fire Department ambulance near the intersection of Forest Roads 4525 and 45.

He was taken to St. Charles Medical Center-Bend, where Hemphill said he was admitted for his injuries.

Then, around 3:45 p.m., deputies and SAR members were dispatched to a snowshoer who suffered a lower leg injury off the Pine Drop Loop ski trail at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park, Hemphill said.

Steve Ker, 50, of Albany, Ore., had been snowshoeing with friends when he injured his leg due to the rough trail conditions, the deputy said.

Ker was unable to walk and requested assistance getting him back to the sno-park, about two miles away, Hemphill said.

Two-dozen SAR personnel and deputies responded by snowshoe and tracked ATV to Ker’s location. He was placed in a toboggan and towed back to the parking lot.

Ker’s friends then took him to Bend to receive medical care for his non-life-threatening injuries, Hemphill said.

Deputies and SAR members also had been called out around 9:15 p.m. Friday night on a snowmobile crash near Sparks Lake that sent one snowmobiler to the hospital and another to jail
Copyright 2011 KTVZ. All rights reserved.

http://www.ktvz.com/news/26508586/detail.html

1. Practice the Four Basic Responsibilities of the Backcountry Traveler. They work!  Basic Responsibilities

A suggested minimum standard news advisory for all backcountry travelers!

"We would like to take this opportunity to ask our visitors to the backcountry of Oregon to plan for the unexpected. Each person should dress for the forecast weather and take minimum extra clothing protection from a drop in temperature and possible rain or snow storm or an unexpected cold wet night out, insulation from the wet ground or snow, high carbohydrate snacks, two quarts of water or Gatorade, a map and compass and optional inexpensive GPS and the skills to use them, and a charged cell phone from a Provider that has the best coverage of the area and possibly, a SPOT-2 GPS Satellite Communicator. Each person should carry the traditional personal "Ten Essentials Systems" in a day pack sized for the individual, the trip, the season and the forecast weather.

Visitors are reminded to tell a Responsible Person where they are going, where they plan to park, when they will be back and to make sure that person understands that they are relied upon to call 911 at a certain time if the backcountry traveler has not returned. If you become lost or stranded, mark your location and stay still or move around your marked location to stay warm. Do not try to find your way until you are exhausted, or worse yet - wet. Wait for rescuers.

THE MISSION of TraditionalMountaineering.org

"To provide information and instruction about world-wide basic to advanced alpine mountain climbing safety skills and gear, on and off trail hiking, scrambling and light and fast Leave No Trace backpacking techniques based on the foundation of an appreciation for the Stewardship of the Land, all illustrated through photographs and accounts of actual shared mountaineering adventures."

TraditionalMountaineering is founded on the premise that "He who knows naught, knows not that he knows naught", that exploring the hills and summitting peaks have dangers that are hidden to the un-informed and that these inherent risks can be in part, identified and mitigated by mentoring: information, training, wonderful gear, and knowledge gained through the experiences of others.

The value of TraditionalMountaineering to our Friends is the selectivity of the information we provide, and its relevance to introducing folks to informed hiking on the trail, exploring off the trail, mountain travel and Leave-no-Trace light-weight bivy and backpacking, technical travel over steep snow, rock and ice, technical glacier travel and a little technical rock climbing on the way to the summit. Whatever your capabilities and interests, there is a place for everyone in traditional alpine mountaineering.

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Mountain climbing has inherent dangers that can, only in part, be mitigated