China Lake Mountain Rescue Group

Talus Pile December 2002, Issue # 126

TRAINING SCHEDULE

Dec 6-7 Fri-Sat check with Sakai
Dec 8 Sun Rock climbing (Owens Ridge) Toler
Dec 9 Mon Meeting Huey, Breitenstein, Roseman
Dec 11 Wed CPR First Aid Committee
Dec 17 Tue CPR First Aid Committee
Dec 19 Thu Christmas party Westbrook
Dec 14-15 Sat-Sun Palmer Schafhauser
Dec 20-22 Fri-Sun Open
Dec 28-29 Sat-Sun Open
Jan 1-5 Wed-Sun Sill & Palisade Peaks Huey
Jan 11-12 Sat-Sun* Rabbit Peak Rockwell
Jan 13 Mon Meeting (GPS-TC) Rockwell, Schafhauser, Bishop
Jan 15 Wed GPS field problem Training Committee
Jan 17-20 Fri-Mon Whitney Roseman
Jan 22 Wed CPR First Aid Committee
Jan 25-26 Sat-Sun Gould Doerr
Jan 31-Feb 2 Fri-Sun Joshua Tree Roseman
Jan 31-Feb 2 Fri-Sun Tyndall Myers
Feb 4 Tue ELT practice Training Committee
Feb 5 Wed First Aid (Topic A) First Aid Committee
Feb 8-9 Sat-Sun Waucoba Rockwell
Feb 8-20 Floating Pear Lake Hut Hueber
Feb 10 Mon Meeting Myers, D. Burge, Castro
Feb 12 Wed First Aid (Topic A) First Aid Committee
Feb 14-17 Fri-Mon Dry Schafhauser
Feb 19 Wed First Aid (Topic A) First Aid Committee
Feb 22-23 Sat-Sun Winter stretcher practice & skills Training Committee
SUNDAY ROCK CLIMBING coordinated by Mike Franklin

CLMRG is funded in part by United Way of Indian Wells Valley.

02-08 18-19 Sep 02 Search Canebrake Tom Sakai
I received a call from coordinator Mary Schmierer at 1630 on Wednesday,18 September looking for an operations leader. Tom Roseman had received a call from Commander Lacertoso of the Kern County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) requesting our help, so Tom was looking for a leader to take it. The commander was on site in the Canebrake area with the Kern Valley Search and Rescue team conducting a search for a young woman who had left a suicide note. He wanted us as soon as possible. Bob Huey, Bob Rockwell, Al Green, Debbie Breitenstein, Ellen Schafhauser, Paul DeRuiter, Mike Franklin, and Dan Bishop agreed to go and were told to report to the hut immediately.
Rockwell, Green, Breitenstein, and Bishop were the first at the hut and ready to go before the others had arrived. Because time was of the utmost importance, I sent them out at 1725 as the advance team with Green in command. Franklin and I left the hut at 1745 with Huey and DeRuiter about 15 minutes behind. Schafhauser would depart later. Mary advised me she could coordinate until 1800, and Carol Burge could not take over until 1830. Tom Roseman would fill in the half hour.
The missing woman, Arwen Lienau, age 22, of Moraga, California had left a suicide note and her personal journal in a mail box in the Canebrake area. The note was found by the mail carrier at about 0900 Wednesday. She reported the note to the BLM and Kernville Sheriff's Substation. In the note, Arwen described approximately where she was going to commit the act. Later that day, a rancher on horseback found an abandoned car on a dirt road in an area consistent with the note and reported it. When it was established that the car belonged to Arwen, the search was localized.
Before we arrived at base, approximately 2.5 miles east of Canebrake, the Kern Valley team had done a local area (about 1/8 mile) search around the location where the car had been parked. A KCSO helicopter was also searching in the area. Our advance team arrived and started (at 1830) a search for tracks on both sides of the dirt road to find where Arwen had left the road. A second team (Huey and Franklin) were to search the ridgeline to the south of the road. A third team (DeRuiter and I) were to search the hillside between the road and the ridgeline. Some cliffs just on the other side of the ridge were a possible site. The second and third teams deployed at 1910.
Wednesday was three days before the full moon, so the moonlight was sufficient to navigate the moderately hilly terrain all night. Conditions were nearly ideal to search for tracks with headlamps. After about an hour, both teams 2 and 3 had located and were tracking footprints in different areas. From the description of the tracks, it was highly likely that one was a continuation of the other. Team 1 subsequently joined team 3, and together, they continued on track and reached the area where team 2 had first encountered their track proving they were made by the same person. Shortly after, at 2110, team 2 reported they had found Arwen apparently dead from a self-inflicted gun shot.
It was decided that for safety reasons, the body would be evacuated in the morning by helicopter. Commander Lacertoso wanted the area secured until the evacuation, so three members of CLMRG stayed overnight at Arwen's location. I stayed in base camp monitoring the radio while the others were sent home.
At 0650 the next morning, the commander returned to base, and we waited for the helicopter. It would pick up Sergeant Kirkland and the coroner's investigator and deliver them to the hilltop to wrap up the scene before the evacuation. The commander wanted a landing zone nearby, and the only reasonable location was Highway 178 right next to our base. He arranged for highway patrol and CalTrans units to stop traffic on the highway whenever the helicopter needed to land. The helicopter delivered Arwen's body at 1008 and had the CLMRG team members down by 1030.
Commander Lacertoso took us to breakfast, and we returned to Ridgecrest. We were at the hut at 1300, put away gear, and went home.
Notes:
1. There is no cell phone service from the road in the area of the search.
2. Schafhauser did not go into the field, but she did a commendable job in base as liaison for Commander Lacertoso.
3. We should ask base camp for clearance to speak freely when we find a body.

02-09 2 Oct 02 Search Greenhorn Mountains Tom Sakai
I was awakened by a call from Sergeant John Diederich at 0110 on Wednesday, 2 October after two hours of sleep. He wanted our help at first light to search for a man last seen the previous morning. I got Sheila Rockwell to coordinate and to have people prepare for an 0400 departure from the hut. Carol Burge helped with the telephoning. Al Green, Mike Franklin, and Dave Doer committed.
We arrived at base in Rymes Camp in the Greenhorn Mountains west of Lake Isabella at 0600, about 30 minutes before dawn and were briefed on the previous night's effort by the Kern Valley SAR team. After realizing the potential size of the search, I asked Sheila to try for more searchers. She got Mike Myers, Dave Miles, Dan Bishop, and Gina Najera-Niesen, but they could not leave until 1000.
The subject, Fidel Armas of Bellflower, California, was camping at Rymes Camp with two friends who were there to hunt deer. Fidel was not hunting but rode up with his friend Juan Sigala to camp. Juan last saw Fidel in their tent at 0600 Tuesday when Juan and the other friend left to hunt. When they returned at noon, Fidel was gone. They had lunch and left again to hunt, not returning until 2000. Fidel was still missing, so Juan drove to the Greenhorn Ranger Station to report him missing.
Tuesday night, the Kern Valley team had found several sets of what were purported to be Fidel's prints, but all of the tracks leading away from camp had an adjacent set leading back. In the morning, these tracks were all followed to their turn around point to make sure the "leading back" tracks were a continuation of the outbound set. Also, all of the tracks were on dirt roads or well defined trails, with no signs of tracks leaving these paths.
After several hours of searching in the morning, no "single tracks" (i.e., only leading away) could be found. One of the roads next to the camp had significant car traffic leading to the possibility that Fidel had gotten a ride out of the area. That and several unusual or peculiar aspects led Sergeant Diederich to discontinue the search until more information could be obtained about the subject.
The second team from CLMRG was turned off before they left town. The search was discontinued at 1115. After lunch in Kernville, we returned home at 1430.

02-11 10 Nov 02 Transit Mt. Pinos (Frazier Park) Tom Roseman
I received a call from Tom Sakai, who had received a call from Mike Myers looking for a leader in response to a page from Commander Lacertoso. I agreed to take the operation. I then got a call from Sheila Rockwell, who told me that Bob Rockwell had also gotten a phone call from the commander. Terry Mitchell agreed to serve as coordinator, and Sheila to help with the callout. I called CDR Lacertoso and learned that the Southern Kern team was engaged in a search for a lost hunter with reported injuries and wanted us to provide help. Bob Rockwell, Bob Huey, Debbie Breitenstein, Steve Florian, and I met at the hut and left at 1300 for Mt. Pinos. My pager went off just outside of California City with a request to call the dispatcher in Frazier Park. I called on my cell phone and found out that we were no longer required, so thanks to modern communications, we turned around.
I talked to the commander the next week and found out that the missing hunter had walked out uninjured and was OK.

OPERATIONS REDUX

02-04 (OES #2002-OES-0356) 14-16 Jul 02 Search Tulare County Linda Finco & Tom Sakai
Linda Finco provides this follow-up to the report in The Talus Pile Number 125 (Oct 2002)
From an article by Linda Saholt in The Daily Independent about two weeks after the operation:
Missing man found, arrested
A man missing in the California Hot Springs area since July 9 has been found. The China Lake Mountain Search and Rescue team (sic), who joined the search, came home July 16. The missing man, Alejandro Martinez, 43, of Porterville, was located at noon Monday, July 29 at his parent's residence in Porterville.
Family members reported that Martinez was at his parent's home and was exhibiting strange behavior. Deputies then contacted Martinez. He was arrested for suspicion of being under the influence of narcotics.
Martinez reportedly said he had found his way out of the mountains and contacted a relative in McFarland, who picked him up.

02-07 16 Sep 02 Recovery Temple Crag Tom Roseman
This operation, reported in The Talus Pile Number 125 (October 2002), took place on
11-13 September.

02-09 2 Oct 02 Search Greenhorn Mountains Tom Sakai
Tom Sakai provides this follow-up report:
Sergeant John Diederich reports that they located Fidel Armas. After leaving camp, Armas had managed to get a ride to Long Beach and then called his family to come and pick him up.

TRIP REPORT

Whorl Mountain and Finger Peaks
2-5 August 2002
By Walter Runkle
Daryl Hinman and I climbed Whorl Mountain (12,033 feet) and Finger Peaks (11,498 feet) on
2-5 August. We had planned to climb Mt. Brewer that weekend, but the McNally Fire was causing
the Sierra and Owens Valley to be very smoky. Because we were unsure of what the smoke conditions would be in Onion Valley, we decided to move our trip north.
We got our permits at the ranger station outside of Bridgeport, and by 1320, we were on our way up the Horse Creek trail. The trail to Horse Creek Pass is good up to about 9700 feet or so. Then it turns into a use trail that at times can be hard to follow. We crossed over the pass and found a good bivy spot at about 10,600 feet by 1815 or so. The map shows the pass as being at 10,690 feet.
The next morning, Daryl and I and started out about 0715. Daryl had a copy of the route from Secor's latest book, and it was an excellent guide to finding the shelf below the east side of Whorl. We tried to find the chute we wanted up to the saddle. When we got near the saddle, we found we could take about any route over to the large chockstone. Ducks in several places mark the route, but any traverse would work.
The chockstone was really fun! We could stand right in front of it and not see how to get through it, but when we got underneath it and started to climb up through it, it became obvious. Then up a short section, a "sidewalk" on the west side leads to a narrow passage and on up to the summit. Daryl and I were on the summit by about 1010.
Because it was early in the day, Daryl wanted to see if we could do a traverse to the south peak. We could see that a traverse of the ridge proper would not be trivial, but we thought we could drop down, traverse, and then maybe find a chute that went up to the summit. Also, we could see some ledges on the west side that might get us to the top.
We traversed back down to just below the saddle and then across two ridges to a second chute that led up toward the peak. We climbed some nice class 3 on the ridge bordering this chute and then attempted to go around on its southeast side. When this didn't go, we climbed a little higher and looked around on its west side at the ledges. There didn't look like any easy downclimb to the ledges. Finally, we climbed to the top of the ridge and continued about 30 feet until we were stopped by a large chasm between us and the south peak. So near and yet so far. About 100 feet of horizontal air and 50 feet of vertical distance separated us from the summit block. Everything in between was very vertical and very exposed. It looked like about three pitches of class 5 climbing would be necessary. No other summits were nearby, so we decided to head back to camp.
The day had been clear enough so that we could see easily into Tuolumne Meadows and pick out features like Cathedral and Fairview Dome from the summit of Whorl.
We intended to climb Finger Peaks west of Matterhorn Peak on our second day. We started from camp about 0645 and headed for Matterhorn Pass just south of Matterhorn Peak. Matterhorn Pass is about 11,330 feet and is class 3 from the east (the side we camped on) and class 2 from the west. We looked around and found a good ramp route at the north end that we could use to get us up and over the pass. At the top of the pass we traversed to the south end and then descended a good use trail to the large bowl area below. We traversed over to Burro Pass (10,630 feet) and took a break about 0900. After our break, we continued west from Burro Pass staying on the ridge and finding the going usually easier on the north (right) side. We climbed up over a small summit and found ourselves at the base of the first Finger.

Secor describes the route as being on the south side of the east ridge, and that is an accurate description. The route starts at the base of the ridge and stays close to it the entire way up. A little route finding is involved, but it is fairly straightforward, and although it is a little exposed in places, it is good class 3 the entire way. We were on top about 1030 or so. We didn't find a summit register.
The descent off the west side of the summit was easy class 2. We traversed west until we reached the west side of the second Finger. We dropped our packs and headed up the south side. We climbed up some class 3 rock until we reached a notch in the ridge that runs out from the west side of the summit. Looking through, we could see a series of small ramps that traversed out toward the north. We thought this might be the route Secor was describing but decided to climb higher anyway. We tried to continue up the south side, but it finally got too steep to continue. As we came back down, Daryl poked his head through another opening in the ridge and saw a wider ramp (above the small ones) going off to the north. About halfway across, a large rock about a meter wide partially obscured the way. It wasn't too difficult to step around, and soon, we were at the north end and at the bottom of a nice class 3 route leading up to the summit. At the top, we first went to the north end, where there was a class 4 summit block. This block has a flat top slopping off to the west and is exposed to the glacier several hundred feet below but can be surmounted by hanging on to the edge and essentially doing a lie-back for about 5 feet until reaching the top. Daryl climbed to the top, and as I was beginning to climb up, he told me the south pinnacle was definitely higher. I stopped and climbed back down, and we went over to the south pinnacle. It was only class 3 and had a top too small to stand on. At the base of this pinnacle, we found an old rusty pipe-style register that had been placed by the Sierra Club and wired to the rock. We were on the summit at about 1130. We went back down basically the same way we had gone up.
The third Finger was insignificant. Daryl described it best when he said, "Only a true peak-bagger would climb this!" Ironically, a good use trail went up the sandy slope to the modest summit. We were at the top in about 15 minutes (about 1220). Like the first Finger, there was no summit register. We had an excellent view of the ramps on the northwest side of the second Finger. The notch we had used looked like it was at the same level as the summit we were standing on. I didn't see an easy way from the small ramps to the large one, but Daryl thought it was possible. To me, it looked like we would have to traverse on the small ramps all the way to the north end. The rock blocking the large topmost ramp was shaped like an arrowhead and about a meter wide as stated before.
Instead of traversing back across the Fingers, we descended south from the base of the third Finger (~10,900 feet) until we hit the pack trail (9700 feet) leading up to Burro Pass. We followed the trail toward Burro Pass and then cut across to the east back to Matterhorn Pass. We were back at the pass by 1500. At the top of the pass, I was glad I already knew the ramps to take down the east side.
We were back at camp at 1530 and packed up by 1605. We had decided to descend to a lower, warmer elevation for our third night. We took our time descending and camped at 1800 at about 9200 feet. The spot was protected from the wind and was near the junction of the trail leading up to the small tarn northeast of Matterhorn Peak.
The next day, we packed and headed down at 0635. It took us about two hours to get back to Daryl's truck, and on the way down, we saw a deer on the switchbacks just above the upper lake.
By 1430, we were back at my house after a wonderful trip.

Wrapped up in darkness,
Drinking in the midnight sky,
Growing drunk on stars.
--haiku by Lura Osgood, Pleasant Hill, Calif.

https://www.ctnow.com/news/health/hc-skeeters0704.artjul04.story?coll=hc%2Dheadlines%2Dhealth
In War On Mosquitoes, DEET Can't Be Beat
Study of Bug Repellents Finds Widely Varying Levels of Protection
July 4, 2002
By GARRET CONDON, Courant Staff Writer
Your backyard Fourth of July feast is so fashionable, it attracts a certain buzz. Unfortunately, the buzz is not favorable word-of-mouth but the murmuring of innumerable mosquitoes. And you're just their type-blood type. Airborne critters are mainly a nuisance, but they can pack pestilence: West Nile virus, for example, or Eastern equine encephalitis.
So how do you keep the gate-crashers from ruining the glorious Fourth? Researchers writing in today's New England Journal of Medicine suggest you use the stuff that works, a chemical called DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) that is found in many brands of insect repellent. The risks associated with DEET have been overblown, they said.
Dr. Mark Fradin, a dermatologist in Chapel Hill, N.C., and Dr. Jonathan F. Day, professor of medical entomology at the University of Florida, tested 16 consumer bug repellents and found that those that contained DEET worked best. Volunteers applied the various products before sticking their arms into mosquito cages and awaiting the first bite. Researchers recorded and analyzed the time it took for the first hungry skeeter to snack. OFF! Deep Woods, with 23.8 percent DEET, provided total protection for an average of five hours. Sawyer Controlled Release, with 20 percent DEET, blocked bites for four hours. Various Skin-So-Soft products, including those with the chemical IR3535 and citronella, protected, on average, less than 20 minutes-long enough to flip the burgers and run back into the house. Oil of eucalyptus products lasted an average of two hours, while Bite Blocker for Kids-the active ingredient is 2 percent soybean oil-lasted an hour and a half, the researchers found.
DEET can be harmful to humans, and children seem to be especially sensitive. It has produced skin reactions, neurological problems, and, in a few cases, death. That's why it shouldn't be used on infants, and parents should apply repellents with no more than 10 percent DEET on children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The academy also suggests using it on clothing. (Long pants and sleeves alone provide extra protection.) Also, parents should avoid hands, mouths, and eyes when applying repellents and wash them off after children come indoors.
Fradin noted that DEET, in use for 45 years, has been linked to fewer than 50 serious cases of toxicity and that most of these involved excessive use. Mohamed Abou-Donia, a professor of pharmacology and cancer biology at Duke University Medical Center, has studied DEET extensively and said that it can be used safely as long as it is used sparingly, only on exposed skin, and not for extended periods. In his studies of DEET use in the military, he has found that DEET is more likely to cause illness if used with other medications or repellents. "DEET itself is a fairly safe chemical if used correctly," he said. The state Department of Public Health recommends that adults use DEET repellents with no more than 30 percent DEET.

Editor: Don't forget catnip. The following appeared in The Talus Pile Number 124 (July 2002) and seems short enough to repeat.
DON'T BUG ME
Forget harsh chemicals to repel mosquitoes and other insects. Entomologists Chris Peterson and Joel Coats say they have found a natural chemical that's 10 times more effective than DEET, the chemical most commonly found in commercial repellents. It's nepetalactone-the oil from the catnip plant. Cats love catnip, acting crazy when they eat or roll in it, but no one knows why. (Reuters)

From the Contra Costa Times of 5 November 2002
Climb every mountain
By Elizabeth Sivesind
[Lafayette, Calif. resident Hans Florine is a 38-year-old professional rock climber (since 1991), marketer for a local climbing gym, public speaker, and climbing instructor. He is married with one daughter and a second child on the way. He is 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 154 pounds.]
Without hesitation, Florine can name the event that made his mark in the climbing world. In September 2002, Florine climbed the nose of El Capitan in Yosemite in 2 hours, 48 minutes, and 30 seconds [with Yuji Hirayama leading all the way], a trek that takes the average person four days to complete. To put his accomplishment in perspective, consider this: In 1975, a party of three climbed the nose of El Cap in a single day, which blew away the entire climbing world at the time. The race to beat the clock has been well underway on the nose for more than 25 years.
Florine had climbed the nose 45 times prior to the event in September. In fact, Florine's favorite place in the world to climb is Yosemite. "I have climbed in every country in Western Europe. I have climbed in South Africa, South America, Mexico, and Malaysia. But by far the best place I have ever climbed is Yosemite. We are so lucky that it is close by."
The popularity of rock climbing is growing rapidly. When Florine was the executive director of then American Sport Climbing Federation (now the United States Competitive Climbing Association) in the '90s, he saw membership jump from 30 to 350 in four years. Now the association has 900 members. In 1990, there were five climbing gyms in the United States; now there are thousands.
Wanderlust is one of the appeals of the lifestyle. Florine has traveled the world to climb and not because he was making six figures. "I got to experience all the different countries I have climbed in a way no tourist could," he says. "I lived in Europe three months out of the year. I rented off-season houses in France. I got the wanderlust out of my system, so now I can sit down and have a family."
Florine does just about anything to stay in shape. He goes to the mountains about once a week and climbs at a gym once a week. A former track athlete, Florine also jogs to get his heart pumping. What he likes about climbing is that it requires a great deal of strength and works every muscle in the body. Florine has found that women often out-climb men at gyms if they start at the same skill level. "Women have a better understanding of their bodies," says Florine. "Most guys turn to look at the biceps and pull their way out of the problem. Women will problem-solve using all their resources."
Florine benefits from the mental capabilities climbing demands. "You can't be thinking about the bills or going in to work on Monday. Climbing is very cleansing because you are focusing on the moment, like meditation."
Florine will continue to compete. He was recently appointed the head of the adult committee on the national governing board, so he has big plans to expand the number of people participating in the sport. He would also like to maintain his hold on the El Cap record.
"More than other sports, you can see improvement pretty fast. The feeling of getting used to the vertical world is so different than our regular lives. We are primates. You have to give it a few tries before your body learns to deal with the vertical world."
Editor: Hans Florine set the first speed record for climbing California's 14,000-foot peaks in 1998 by climbing all 15 in nine days, 10 hours, 50 minutes.

From The Daily Independent of 20 October 2002
Four arrested on burglary charges
Brian Christopher Day, 27, Karrisa Nicole Chastain, 22, Johnny Angel Soliz, 22, and Kimberly Ann Weathers, 26, all from Trona, were arrested Tuesday in the 100 block of East Bowman by Kern County Sheriff's deputies after finding stolen property in their possession.
Ridgecrest resident Janet Westbrook [long-time CLMRG member and coordinator] made a report of her home being burglarized and numerous items of property being taken. The property recovered from the suspects is believed to be Westbrook's.

THE ONGOING WHITNEY CHALLENGE

Ben Jones, in an e-mail message dated Sunday, 25 August, reports that Jason Lakey, who is a member of the Mt. Whitney trail crew, set a record for the total time up and down Whitney via the Mountaineer's Route. He did it in 03:10:07. His time up from the Whitney Portal was 02:09:30, which is about one minute over Marty Hornick's time-up record. His time back down to the Portal was 01:00:27, which is about 15 minutes better than Marty's time down. Doug Thompson, who owns and operates the Whitney Portal Store, witnessed Jason's start. Jason had witnesses sign a card for him at the summit, and they turned in the card to Doug back at the Portal. Presumably, Doug witnessed Jason's finish in person. Doug is sort of the "official" record keeper and the one who knows the most about these accomplishments.
CLMRG member Mike Franklin accepted the Whitney Challenge and performed well: 2:58 up the Mountaineer's Route, the best time so far. (Try it. You don't need to be fast-just play the game.)
The following table records the efforts of current CLMRG members. The Talus Pile Number 116 (November 2000) contains the complete historical record.

MOUNT WHITNEY CHALLENGE
Contemporary Time Age Contemporary Adjusted
Mike FranklinMR 2:58 33 Mike FranklinMR 2:58
Walter RunkleMR 3:35 46 Tom Roseman 3:09
Tom Roseman 3:38 50 Walter RunkleMR 3:12
Curtis DavisMR 3:38 34 Curtis DavisMR 3:37
Mike Myers 4:11 48 Mike Myers 3:45
Tom Sakai 4:50 54 Bob Rockwell 4:09
Bob Rockwell 5:20 63 Tom Sakai 4:12
Bud Gates 6:37 40 Al GreenMR 5:35
Al GreenMR 7:10 68 Bud Gates 6:24
Dave Doerr 7:40 36 Dave Doerr 7:38
MR = Mountaineer's Route
Adjusted = adjusted for age

OUT-OF-DOORS, n. That part of one's environment upon which no government has been able to collect taxes. Chiefly useful to inspire poets.
--Ambrose Bierce (The Devil's Dictionary)

2002 OFFICERS

President Tom Roseman 939-4812 RosemanTW@navair.navy.mil
Vice-president Bob Huey 499-7406 huey@ridgenet.net
Secretary Elaine Riendeau 939-6577 RiendeauEM@navair.navy.mil
Treasurer Werner Hueber 375-2165 hueber3@mchsi.com
MRA Representative Walter Runkle 377-5931 RunkleWD@navair.navy.mil

2002 CONTACTS

Public Education Gina Najera-Niesen 446-4824 gina.niesen@svtnsg.com
Training Eric Toler 939-9894 ejtolers@earthlink.net
Equipment Andy Mitchell 939-6272 amitchel@castor.ridgenet.net
First Aid Ellen Schafhauser 375-4043 locoweed@iwvisp.com
Qualifications Tom Sakai 375-7404 tsakai@ridgecrest.ca.us
Qualifications Mike Myers 939-5995 MyersMB@navair.navy.mil
Qualifications Bob Rockwell 375-2532 rockwell@ridgecrest.ca.us
Sheriff's Office Tom Sakai 375-7404 tsakai@ridgecrest.ca.us
ASTM Representative Dennis Burge 375-7967 dennis93555@yahoo.com
Emergency Services Linda Finco 375-7951 FincoLJ@navair.navy.mil
Summer Class Bud Gates 939-6260 GatesHC@navair.navy.mil
Stores Carol Burge 446-7038 cburge@ridgecrest.ca.us
The Talus Pile Loren Castro 375-3279 lfc32@earthlink.net

DONATIONS
Gina Najera-Niesen

CLMRG gratefully acknowledges recent gifts from the following friends:
D. P. H. Hasselman
Donald and Denise Terry Chevy Chase, MD "In memory of Robby Dow"
Dr. Robert L. & Merre-Lyn L. Dow Chevy Chase, MD "To remember Robby Dow"

SCREE

Check our web page at https://www.clmrg.org.

All telephone numbers in The Talus Pile are area code 760 unless noted otherwise.

Hans Florine provides the following information for speed climbing The Nose of El Capitan:
1958 - 12 days for the final push of the first ascent (48 days of work over 18 months).
1960 - 7 days (6 nights) for the second ascent.
1963 - 3.5 days for the third ascent.
1975 ­ One-day ascent.
1986 - Under 10 hours.
1989 - First one-day solo ascent.
1990 - 8:06, then 6:40.
1991 - 6:01, then 4:48.
1992 - 4:22.
2001 - 3:59:35, then 3:57:27, then 3:24:20.
2002 ­ 2:48:55 [or 2:48:30 depending on the account].