C
19 January, 2009
Park County Sheriff’s Office
Park County Search and Rescue
414 E Callender
Livingston, MT 59047
Dear Park County Search and Rescue,
Fifteen years of utter frustration are the reason for this letter following the crisis that occurred at Daisy Pass on 17 January, 2009. I believe that this letter is long overdue and I also believe that there are probably numerous other people who would like to send this same message to the “powers that be” concerning the procedures you have in place for avalanche response here in Cooke City.
Seventeen years ago I moved here from the relative flat land in the State of Maine; my knowledge of avalanches was limited at best when I made the move and quite frankly I was amazed at the commonality of this situation. I spent a great deal of time wondering if I wanted to deal with mother nature on such a devastatingly large scale when it came to living among avalanche conditions when raising a child. I made a choice to live here in the mountains, and with that choice came the responsibility of learning about the mountains, snow loads, angles of inclines, etc..
Avalanches themselves were a challenge to comprehend and attempting to explain their fierceness, forcefulness and devastation to a young boy of 5, 6 and 7 (as the years progressed) was a challenge to say the least. I cannot tell you how many times, in the days after avalanches, I would pack up my son, we would go to the site, we would look at inclines and study the compacted debris at the toe of slides, we would try to shovel some of the snow at the toe ~ showing him that almost instantaneously soft, fluffy, fun snow can turn into a substance that will remind him of concrete and I did all of this just hoping he would somehow be able to comprehend that avalanches are going to happen and when they do it is one of the most violent, ugly, devastating acts of mother nature that happens.
At his very young age I was trying to make sure he knew how to use an avalanche beacon, I was trying to make sure that he would to be aware of his surroundings and use some common sense when riding in these beautiful mountains. When an avalanche would occur we would talk about the response to the event, what the “hasty team” was and how quickly they responded while events were put into motion to gather more people to assist in the location and retrieval of the person/people involved in the slide. He watched for years as this system here in Cooke City worked and pretty soon he was responding with Rick to these situations with an understanding of how this all works, or more appropriately, as this system attempted to work.
My son did not learn what he knows from osmosis, the people that come to Cooke City do not learn awareness, utilizing safety equipment or common sense from osmosis…………………in a new situation that someone has not been in it takes thought, time and practice. These circumstances are no different for the “officials” who attempt to provide assistance when there is a need for search and rescue. If you are not willing to open yourself to learning and understanding a new set of conditions you will not learn and people, sometimes many people, will suffer because of it.
With all of this said, your system is broken.
Your system is so caught up in it’s system, the policies and procedures, in red tape, in utter bureaucracy that I believe you have forgotten what Search and Rescue is all about. I believe that you have forgotten that there is a reason for a “hasty team”; I believe that you are more concerned with your waiting for someone to make a decision that you can’t see past logistics to realize the fact that when someone is in an avalanche they need help and they need it now. Whether or not that person has died from trauma, whether that person has suffocated, or whether that person is alive you can’t get out of your own way to provide assistance not only to the actual victim of the event but to the family member(s) remaining on top of the snow.
For 15 years I have dispatched a “hasty team”; for 15 years I have attempted to and deciphered from reporting parties exactly where the problem is, for 15 years I have recorded who leaves on that team and if there are two groups or more I record who goes with whom and where they go. For 15 years I have recorded when those people have returned. For 15 years I have been reprimanded because I have dispatched and recorded the “hasty team” and on January 17th of 2009, perhaps because someone’s pride was hurt, I was informed that I will no longer provide that service; I was informed second hand of that decision and quite frankly I don’t even know who made the statement. I take this as my opportunity to inform you that I will continue to dispatch and record the “hasty team” from this location. I will state to you here and now that this is not about me, this is not about your Park County Search and Rescue, this is only and all about victims, regardless of the reason why, victims!
I am not a member of Park County Search and Rescue, I am not a member of Cooke City Search and Rescue, I have not filled out your paperwork and I have no intention of doing so. When someone arrives at Cooke City Exxon to report an avalanche with victim(s) I do not tell them to call Livingston to see if I can dispatch a “hasty team” who will provide assistance and I won’t start doing that now. This is about victims.
People come to Cooke City from all over this country to enjoy our mountains, to bask in some of the best riding they can find. Many of the people who come here have done so for many years and many are brand new ~ these people need to know that in the event of a crisis, regardless of the reason for that crisis, they can come to this business for assistance, that there are people here who will assist them; that there are people here who care that they are here and are more than willing to help them.
PLEASE GO TO PART 2 FOR THE CONTINUATION OF THIS LETTER
Park County Sheriff’s Office
Park County Search and Rescue
414 E Callender
Livingston, MT 59047
Dear Park County Search and Rescue,
Fifteen years of utter frustration are the reason for this letter following the crisis that occurred at Daisy Pass on 17 January, 2009. I believe that this letter is long overdue and I also believe that there are probably numerous other people who would like to send this same message to the “powers that be” concerning the procedures you have in place for avalanche response here in Cooke City.
Seventeen years ago I moved here from the relative flat land in the State of Maine; my knowledge of avalanches was limited at best when I made the move and quite frankly I was amazed at the commonality of this situation. I spent a great deal of time wondering if I wanted to deal with mother nature on such a devastatingly large scale when it came to living among avalanche conditions when raising a child. I made a choice to live here in the mountains, and with that choice came the responsibility of learning about the mountains, snow loads, angles of inclines, etc..
Avalanches themselves were a challenge to comprehend and attempting to explain their fierceness, forcefulness and devastation to a young boy of 5, 6 and 7 (as the years progressed) was a challenge to say the least. I cannot tell you how many times, in the days after avalanches, I would pack up my son, we would go to the site, we would look at inclines and study the compacted debris at the toe of slides, we would try to shovel some of the snow at the toe ~ showing him that almost instantaneously soft, fluffy, fun snow can turn into a substance that will remind him of concrete and I did all of this just hoping he would somehow be able to comprehend that avalanches are going to happen and when they do it is one of the most violent, ugly, devastating acts of mother nature that happens.
At his very young age I was trying to make sure he knew how to use an avalanche beacon, I was trying to make sure that he would to be aware of his surroundings and use some common sense when riding in these beautiful mountains. When an avalanche would occur we would talk about the response to the event, what the “hasty team” was and how quickly they responded while events were put into motion to gather more people to assist in the location and retrieval of the person/people involved in the slide. He watched for years as this system here in Cooke City worked and pretty soon he was responding with Rick to these situations with an understanding of how this all works, or more appropriately, as this system attempted to work.
My son did not learn what he knows from osmosis, the people that come to Cooke City do not learn awareness, utilizing safety equipment or common sense from osmosis…………………in a new situation that someone has not been in it takes thought, time and practice. These circumstances are no different for the “officials” who attempt to provide assistance when there is a need for search and rescue. If you are not willing to open yourself to learning and understanding a new set of conditions you will not learn and people, sometimes many people, will suffer because of it.
With all of this said, your system is broken.
Your system is so caught up in it’s system, the policies and procedures, in red tape, in utter bureaucracy that I believe you have forgotten what Search and Rescue is all about. I believe that you have forgotten that there is a reason for a “hasty team”; I believe that you are more concerned with your waiting for someone to make a decision that you can’t see past logistics to realize the fact that when someone is in an avalanche they need help and they need it now. Whether or not that person has died from trauma, whether that person has suffocated, or whether that person is alive you can’t get out of your own way to provide assistance not only to the actual victim of the event but to the family member(s) remaining on top of the snow.
For 15 years I have dispatched a “hasty team”; for 15 years I have attempted to and deciphered from reporting parties exactly where the problem is, for 15 years I have recorded who leaves on that team and if there are two groups or more I record who goes with whom and where they go. For 15 years I have recorded when those people have returned. For 15 years I have been reprimanded because I have dispatched and recorded the “hasty team” and on January 17th of 2009, perhaps because someone’s pride was hurt, I was informed that I will no longer provide that service; I was informed second hand of that decision and quite frankly I don’t even know who made the statement. I take this as my opportunity to inform you that I will continue to dispatch and record the “hasty team” from this location. I will state to you here and now that this is not about me, this is not about your Park County Search and Rescue, this is only and all about victims, regardless of the reason why, victims!
I am not a member of Park County Search and Rescue, I am not a member of Cooke City Search and Rescue, I have not filled out your paperwork and I have no intention of doing so. When someone arrives at Cooke City Exxon to report an avalanche with victim(s) I do not tell them to call Livingston to see if I can dispatch a “hasty team” who will provide assistance and I won’t start doing that now. This is about victims.
People come to Cooke City from all over this country to enjoy our mountains, to bask in some of the best riding they can find. Many of the people who come here have done so for many years and many are brand new ~ these people need to know that in the event of a crisis, regardless of the reason for that crisis, they can come to this business for assistance, that there are people here who will assist them; that there are people here who care that they are here and are more than willing to help them.
PLEASE GO TO PART 2 FOR THE CONTINUATION OF THIS LETTER
