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Lost, stranded couple rescued from car in snow south of Bend in Oregon

Lost, Stranded Pair Rescued South of Bend
Made Wrong Turn, Car Got Stuck in Deep Snow
By Barney Lerten, KTVZ.COM
February 6, 2011

A target-shooting trip east of Bend went awry Saturday as two Bend residents apparently made a wrong turn and drove south, then tried walking to help after getting stuck in deep snow 40 miles south of town.

But officials said they also did some key things right -- like returning to their car, where rescuers found them hours later, cold and wet but otherwise okay.

Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies and Sheriff’s Search and Rescue members were dispatched around 7:20 p.m. to a report of two stranded and lost people out Forest Road 18, near the China Hat guard station, said sheriff’s Deputy Rhett Hemphill.

A total of 15 deputies and SAR members headed to the area and began to search by vehicle snowmobile and tracked ATV, Hemphill said.

Nick Fetters, 27, and Melinda Vachon, 26, had gone target practicing out by Millican earlier, but on their way back took a wrong turn and got lost, the deputy said.

After their car got stuck in deep snow, and without cell phone service in that area, they decided to leave their car and tried walking out for help, but got cold and wet and decided to return.

“They went walking for help, but became lost and disoriented, so they went back” to their car, Hemphill said.

That, Hemphill said, was the right move.

Someone else who happened upon the pair didn't have room to bring them out, Hemphill said, but did call 911 once within cell phone range and reported their location.

Around 11 p.m., searchers found Feters and Vashon at their car, both cold and wet but unhurt, Hemphill said. They were brought back to friends waiting nearby and taken home.

Hemphill was surprised the pair had gotten so far south when they realized the wrong turn: “At some point, you’ve got to ask, ‘Hmm, when are you going to turn around?
Copyright 2011 KTVZ. All rights reserved.

http://www.ktvz.com/news/26768562/detail.html

What can regular folks learn from Traditional Mountaineers?

1. Practice the Four Basic Responsibilities of the Backcountry Traveler. Basic

2. Carry the new Ten Essential Systems, sized for the forecast weather and the adventure in a light day pack (in your car). This includes a map, compass and GPS and the skills to use them. In the winter, this includes enough extra insulation and waterproof clothing (easy to do in a car - add sleeping bags too) to keep you dry and warm if you become stranded. In snow, you must have a shovel and insulating pad and the skills to make a shelter (stay in your car) in the snow to avoid hypothermia and frost bite damage. Ten Essential Systems

3. Carry a fully charged digital cell phone and periodically check where it can communicate with any cell towers to assist authorities to triangulate your position from cell tower pings. (Most cell providers do not use cell phone GPS signals to locate customers under FCC E911 regulations - they use triangulation). Cold disables batteries. If the weather is cold, carry the cell phone in a pants pocket near the femoral artery. Report your UTM NAD27 coordinates, your condition, the conditions where you are and discuss your plans with SAR. Cell Phones

If you may be out of cell tower range, carry a SPOT. SPOT-2 Satellite Messenger

4. Always stay found on your map and by being aware of major land features such as Mt. Bachelor. (You are on a road in your car!) If visibility starts to wane, reconfirm your bearings with your map, compass and GPS and quickly return to a known location (Cascade Lakes Highway, Mt. Bachelor, a Nordic Shelter, etc.)

A GPS is the only practical way for a trained individual to navigate in a whiteout or blowing snow. Lost Mt Hood Climbers

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 and inexpensive walkie-talkie radios. Carry the traditional personal "Ten Essentials Systems" in a day pack sized for 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 become 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 and Subscribers 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.

WARNING - *DISCLAIMER!*
Mountain climbing has inherent dangers that can, only in part, be mitigated

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Gear grist, an article written for The Mountaineer, the monthly newsletter of The Mountaineers
Robert Speik writes: "Use your digital cell in the backcountry" for The Mountaineer
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OpEd: Oregon requires electronic communications in the backcountry
Rescue charges in traditional alpine mountaineering
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Oregon HB 2509 as approved on March 28, 2007
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Your Essential Light Day Pack
What are the new Ten Essential Systems?
What does experience tell us about Light and Fast climbing?
What is the best traditional alpine mountaineering summit pack?
What is Light and Fast alpine climbing?
What do you carry in your day pack?    Photos?
What do you carry in your winter day pack?     Photos?
What should I know about "space blankets"?
Where can I get a personal and a group first aid kit?    Photos?

Carboration and Hydration
Is running the Western States 100 part of "traditional mountaineering"?
What's wrong with GORP? Answers to the quiz!
Why do I need to count carbohydrate calories?
What should I know about having a big freeze-dried dinner?
What about carbo-ration and fluid replacement during traditional alpine climbing? 4 pages in pdf
What should I eat before a day of alpine climbing?

About Alpine Mountaineering:
The Sport of Alpine Mountaineering
Climbing Together
Following the Leader
The Mountaineers' Rope
Basic Responsibilities Cuatro Responsabiliades Basicas de Quienes Salen al Campo
The Ten Essentials Los Diez Sistemas Esenciales

Our Leader's Guidelines:
Our Volunteer Leader Guidelines
Sign-in Agreements, Waivers and Prospectus     This pdf form will need to be signed by you at the trail head
Sample Prospectus    Make sure every leader tells you what the group is going to do; print a copy for your "responsible person"
Participant Information Form    This pdf form can be printed and mailed or handed to the Leader if requested or required
Emergency and Incident Report Form    Copy and print this form. Carry two copies with your Essentials
Participant and Group First Aid Kit    Print this form. Make up your own first aid essentials (kits)

About our World Wide Website:
Information
Mission

Map, Compass and GPS
Map, compass and GPS navigation training Noodle in The Badlands
BLM guidelines for Geocaching on public lands
Geocaching on Federal Forest Lands
OpEd - Geocaching should not be banned in the Badlands
Winter hiking in The Badlands WSA just east of Bend
Searching for the perfect gift
Geocaching: What's the cache?
Geocaching into the Canyon of the Deschutes
Can you catch the geocache?
Z21 covers Geocaching
Tour The Badlands with ONDA
The art of not getting lost
Geocaching: the thrill of the hunt!
GPS in the news
A GPS and other outdoor gadgets make prized gifts
Wanna play? Maps show you the way
Cooking the "navigation noodle"