Highlights of The Year 1985
Compiled from team scrapbook created by Nickie Leyen and Gary Guenther training records

The following accounts of field operations are derived from a team scrapbook put together by Nickie Leyen, are NOT official reports, and may have errors and omissions. For missing months, we have no information.

January

January 4-5, 1985 - Training - Ski tour Mammoth-June Crest - Participants: Jim Endo, Doug Nidever, Sharon Nidever, Pete Schoerner, Ron Tennant, Igor Vorobyoff

January 26-27, 1985 - Training - MRA Ice-Climbing - Participants: Jim Collins, John Ellsworth, Nicolas Faust, Doug Nidever, Sharon Nidever, Pete Schoerner, Ron Tennant, Igor Vorobyoff

From Mono Herald newspaper report by Rosanne Higley:

Poor weather was not conducive to learning, but gave would-be rescuers valuable experience
Poor weather was not conducive to learning, but gave would-be rescuers
valuable experience

June MRA Team Hosts Ice-Climbing Seminar - The June Mountain Rescue team was host to 45 people in an ice climbing seminar in Lee Vining Canyon despite the area's first significant snowfall since mid-December last weekend.

Trainees included members of Mountain Rescue Association teams from Inyo County, China Lake Naval Weapons Center, Yosemite National Park, San Diego, Sylmar and Malibu, as well as individuals from the Bridgeport office of the California Highway Patrol and the Marine Mountain Warfare Training Center.

The snow was a mixed blessing for participants, according to organizers of the training. John Ellsworth, of the host group, said the snowy conditions were not conducive to effective learning. "It's hard for people to concentrate when they are cold and wet. But it was good for them to experience it in the bad weather. Many were not prepared for the conditions. They did not have changes of clothing."

The training had been scheduled to include camping in Lee Vining Canyon and two days of ice climbing training.

Igor Vorobyoff, team historian, said about half the trainees left Saturday night rather than camp in the snow, and many more left Sunday morning when the weather was clear, but windy. He added that the host team learned a lot from the experience.

Many trainees were not prepared for the cold, snowy weather
Many trainees were not prepared for the cold, snowy weather

"Many of the people here asked for winter camping training in a future session," Vorobyoff said. "We learned that we have to provide winter camping and ice climbing, but at different times."

The training included indoor sessions for novices, explaining principles of ice climbing and tools. Outdoor stations trained both novices and more advanced participants in the use of tools, hand and foot placement and other details important to safe climbing. Ellsworth said the snow was a hindrance to climbing. "The snow hid the details of the ice, which are so important to effective route selection. Ice climbers can go anywhere the ice is safe, but they need to see it to know where to go."

The June Lake Mountain Rescue team has hosted ice climbing seminars at least three times before, according to Vorobyoff. He added that records were not well-maintained before his tenure as historian, so he is not sure how many trainings have been held.

In his new role, Vorobyoff corrected the name of the team. "We're a 'mountain rescue team,' not just `search and rescue' as we've been called in the past," he said. "We're members of the Mountain Rescue Association, a North American organization active in many Western states and Canada."

"The MRA is a certification program for search and rescue," Vorobyoff continued. "It promotes professionalism in search and rescue by testing teams in a variety of skills needed to perform their duties. That doesn't mean that every member of a team must be a proficient ice climber, but that some members of each team are trained to handle the variety of situations that may occur."

Another function of the MRA is to compile a data bank with statistics pertinent to rescue operations. "The data bank can provide profiles of types of people and how types may perform when lost or hurt. This information may help searchers find a victim faster," Vorobyoff said.

The MRA is also an organization which provides an interchange of new ideas. The association sponsors national and regional seminars and produces a newsletter for member teams.

John Ellsworth prepares to demonstrate ice-climbing techniques
John Ellsworth prepares to demonstrate ice-climbing techniques

The June Lake Mountain Rescue Team meets at the firehouse, on the first Tuesday of each month and provides training for its members. Trainings throughout the year will range from search and rescue theory to tracking, technical rock and ice rescue, avalanche search techniques and tools, litter carrying, and backcountry skills development.

In 1983, the June Lake rescue team was called for 16 operations, according to Vorobyoff. In 1984, they performed seven searches and five rescues, beginning and ending the year with searches for lost skiers off the backsides of Mammoth and June mountains.

Ellsworth said the team was busier before the formation of the Mammoth Lakes Search and Rescue Team and when Mono County teams were called into Madera County for operations. Vorobyoff noted, however, that as members of the Mountain Rescue Association, the team may be called to assist in any large operation anywhere in the state.

The June Lake team is a volunteer organization under the direction of the Mono County Sheriff's office. Deputy Ken McClintock, search and rescue coordinator, expressed his respect for the members of the rescue team.

"They are willing and, more importantly, able to do the jobs they are called upon to do. They are professional enough to know they need to stay current on training and techniques, and they do it. Training is mostly their responsibility."

"The June Lake Mountain Rescue Team has saved the county a lot of money. They are well-trained, professional and always available when we need them," McClintock added.

Although training and professionalism are important to the success of a rescue team, both Vorobyoff and Ellsworth agree that most of the team's work is the grunt labor of finding the victim and hauling him or her out of the backcountry. For this, the team needs members, lots of them, Vorobyoff said.

Anyone in the June Lake area (including Lee Vining, Mono City, etc.) interested in making a commitment to the June Lake Mountain Rescue Team, are encouraged to call Vorobyoff and to begin attending meetings. "The appropriate trainings will be provided to new members," Vorobyoff added.

February

No record of operations

February 12, 1985 - Training - SAR Theory, Basic Principles - Participants: John Ellsworth, Nicolas Faust, Doug Nidever, Ted Norton, Igor Vorobyoff, Larry Ford, Jan Work

February 21, 1985 - Training - Ice Climbing - Participants: Jim Collins, John Ellsworth, Nicolas Faust, Ted Norton, Pete Schoerner, Igor Vorobyoff, Larry Ford

March

March 12, 1985 - Training - SAR Theory, Subject Behavior, Maps - Participants: John Ellsworth, Ted Norton, Igor Vorobyoff, Dave Carle, Larry Ford, Jan Work

March 16, 1985 - Training - Telemark skiing - Participants: Doug Nidever, Ted Norton, Pete Schoerner, Igor Vorobyoff, Dave Carle, Larry Ford, Gray Alexander

March 18, 1985 - Conway Summit plane crash - Recovery of pilot's body and transport down the mountain on the wheeled litter. Responders were: Vorobyoff, Carle, Tennant, Collins, Nidever, Ford

From Mono Herald newspaper report by Martin Strelneck:

Firemen, paramedics and police officers had the unpleasant task of sifting through the wreckage of a plane which crashed near Conway Summit Monday afternoon. The pilot was killed in the crash.
Firemen, paramedics and police officers had the unpleasant task of sifting through the wreckage of a plane which crashed near Conway Summit Monday afternoon. The pilot was killed in the crash.

Fiery Crash on Snowy Monday Claims Home-Bound Idaho Pilot - A 64-year-old Idaho pilot, tentatively identified as Robert Hartwig of Coeur d'alene, Ida., died Monday afternoon after his light plane crashed and burned approximately 300 feet below the top of 8,138-foot Conway Summit.

Mono County Sheriff Coroner investigators said the identification was 'based on documents found on the body and the aircraft's registration. Positive identification will be based on the results of an autopsy using forensic dental identification techniques, said the coroner's office.

Hartwig's Cessna 150 crashed on the south side of the summit below the Mono Lake Viewpoint turnout. Witnesses described the weather as poor, with snow squalls and low clouds. The plane wreckage was pointing south, indicating that it was possibly trying to turn hack when the accident occurred.

Units from Mono County Sheriff's Department, Lee Vining Volunteer Fire Department, CalTrans, California Highway Patrol and the Forest Service responded to the scene. The body was removed from the rugged canyon by members of the June Lake Search and Rescue Team.

Investigation into the accident, which occurred at approximately 2:20 p.m., is continuing by local authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Flight records found at the scene showed that Hartwig had departed the Mammoth-June Lakes Airport a short time before the crash.

April

April 20-21, 1985 Whitney Portal, Missing Person

China Lake SAR called the Mono County Sheriff's Office in the evening of 19 April requesting that we respond to an MRA callout for a search at Whitney Portal for a despondent 24 year old, Randall (Randy) Emery. Randy left Texas in his car on or about 3 April for California after mailing a suicide note to his parents.

The car was discovered at Whitney Portal on 8 April, but the connection between the car and the missing person was not made until 18 April. Inyo Co. SAR searched the local area on 19 April, without success.

We arrived at 0800 hrs on 20 April, joining about 50 other MRA searchers and CARDA dog teams. Our assignment was to reach Upper Boy Scout Lake by helicopter and search the drainage of the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek. A China Lake helicopter arrived at about 1300 hrs, took off with the team aboard, but was unable to land due to adverse winds and mechanical difficulties.

At 1500 hrs the team participated in a line search on the north side of Lone Pine Creek Canyon above Whitney Portal.

Next morning the team (now just Tennant and Vorobyoff) was assigned to search the South Fork drainage, beginning at Trail Camp, together with two searchers from Inyo Co. SAR. The helicopter arrived 1115 hrs. It took off with the Inyo Co. searchers but once again was unable to land for the same reasons as the day before. On its return trip it flew over Mt. Whitney, but no clues were detected. By the time we returned to base camp the decision was made to terminate the operation. We left for June Lake at 1500 hrs.

The search was planned on the basis of the idea that the subject did not have skis or snowshoes, and would therefore not be mobile. So it was that emphasis was laid on nearby drainages, with little regard for those leading to Mt. Whitney.

Late on 20 April it was discovered that a local cabin had been broken into, and snowshoes and a wilderness survival handbook were taken. Consequently ground crews were sent up the Mt. Whitney drainages as a backup to the helicopter-mounted teams. They essentially covered the terrain we would have searched. Neglect of the high country was perhaps the only major error in an otherwise well-run operation.

Absence of tracks and clues made this an impossible search situation.

Once again it was hammered home that helicopters are unreliable and should never be counted on exclusively. Ground crews must be sent out immediately as a backup.

Responders were: Doug Nidever, Norton, Tennant, Vorobyoff, other MRA teams, CARDA dog teams

April 23, 1985 - Training - SAR Theory, Search Strategy, Maps - Participants: John Ellsworth, Nicolas Faust, Doug Nidever, Igor Vorobyoff, Dave Carle, Larry Ford, Jan Work

May

May 1, 1985 - Training - Technical Rock Rescue - Participants: John Ellsworth, Steve Gold, Doug Nidever, Ted Norton, Nancy Saunders, Igor Vorobyoff, Larry Ford, Gray Alexander

May 28, 1985 - Iceberg Lake, Mt. Whitney area, injured backpacker - A backpacker apparently injured his leg near Iceberg Lake. Inyo County SAR requested assistance as backup to a helicopter pickup. As we were driving through Bishop we received word that the helicopter from China Lake had made a successful rescue. Responders were: Schoerner, Vorobyoff, Mammoth SAR (3)

June

June 8, 1985 - Hilton Lakes, possible appendicitis - A Boy Scout was reported to be suffering from appendicitis in the Hilton Lakes area. June Lake SAR was called in at about 1400 hours. Proceeded to the Mammoth airport to meet with Ken McClintock. Mammoth SAR was there even though they had been told not to respond. Randy Robinson had convinced Ken to take the litter in by helicopter while June Lake went in on foot. This plan was not acceptable to JLSAR so the June Lake team drove to Rock Creek Lake and started in on foot carrying the wheeled litter. The helicopter was able to locate the victim, land and evacuate him to the airport with a paramedic, he was then transported to Mammoth Hospital by paramedic ambulance. Responders were: Vorobyoff, Ellsworth, Gold, Schoerner, Ford, Endo, Mammoth Lakes SAR, Mono County Paramedics

June 15, 1985 - Training - Snow slope travel - Participants: Marie Carr, Jim Endo, Steve Gold, Nancy Saunders, Igor Vorobyoff, Larry Ford, Jan Work, Gray Alexander

June 15, 1985 - Green Lakes area, possible overdue woodcutter - A 75 year old woodcutter was reported overdue by 4 hours from woodcutting somewhere near Green Lakes. The Sheriff made the decision to respond based on the old guy's history of a recent stroke.

The JLSAR rolled, and Mammoth SAR was put on standby. Search called off at 7:30 pm when the missing party showed up. Responders were: Vorobyoff, Endo, Saunders, D. Nidever, Lewis, Carle, Gold.

June 25-27, 1985 - Training - Swiftwater rescue - Participants: Marie Carr, John Ellsworth, Steve Gold, Dave Carle

June 29, 1985 Crystal Crag, injured climber - Mike Linstrom, age 29, fell (possible due to loose rock)approximately 150 feet on Crystal Crag. Subject suffered broken right lower arm and compound fracture of his right ankle, and head laceration. Persons from Mammoth SAR responded first with paramedics. June Lake SAR followed with USFS about 45 minutes later with equipment and litter. Subject was lowered approximately 150 feet using standard lowering techniques and then carried approximately 4 miles on wheeled litter to the trailhead. Mono County paramedics handled the medical care. Responders were: Ellsworth, Gold, Mammoth Lakes SAR, USFS

July

July 13, 1985 - Mt. Whitney, injured climber - Male climber injured his ankle and back in a fall descending on the Mountaineer's route on 12 July. China Lake SAR responded, and reached and stabilized the subject early the next morning. June Lake SAR was called out by Inyo SAR at 0630 and arrived at the Lone Pine airport at 0915. After scouting out the situation, the China Lake SAR helicopter crew decided to attempt hooking onto the subject, strapped into a litter, during a hover and ferrying him to the hospital. The helicopter was successful and so the June Lake team left Lone Pine for home at 1430. Responders were: Gold, Ellsworth, Vorobyoff, Inyo County SAR, China Lake SAR

July 15, 1985 - Training - Low-angle litter raising - Participants: Marie Carr, John Ellsworth, Steve Gold, Ted Norton, Pete Schoerner, Igor Vorobyoff, Dave Carle, Lary Ford

July 19, 1985 - Training - Map & Compass - Participants: John Ellsworth, Harvey Lewis, Ted Norton, Nancy Saunders, Igor Vorobyoff

July 29, 1985 - Training - Joint rock litter rescue, Yosemite - Participants: John Ellsworth, Doug Magee, Igor Vorobyoff, Dave Carle, Larry Ford, Jan Work

September

No record of operations

September 14, 1985 - Training - Tracking - Participants: Marie Carr, Doug Magee, Igor Vorobyoff, Larry Ford, Jan Work

October

October ?, 1985 McGee Creek, McGee Pass, collapsed horseman - After meeting with the victim's companions at McGee Creek Pack Station, it was determined the victim was dead. It was decided not to go in and also to have a helicopter pick up the body the next day. Responders were: Magee, Vorobyoff, Ford, Carle, Schoerner, Alexander, Norton, ?

October 5-6, 1985 Yosemite, Tuolumne Meadows, lost girl - Sheri (5yrs. old) was reported missing from the Tuolumne Mdws. campground at 1600 hrs. The team was called at 2000 hrs. and arrived at Tuolumne at 2130 and took charge of the night phase of the search. During the night, hasty searches were conducted in the immediate vicinity. Tracks were located, and the parents were interviewed.

A more intensive search was started in the morning when dog teams and other MRA teams arrived. Operations were taken over by MRA at that time. Sheri was located by helicopter at 1030 safe and sound. The previous afternoon, she had strayed from the camp and wandered to a point about 1.5 miles away from the VCS. Responders were: Ellsworth, Gold, Tennant, Carle, Ford, Vorobyoff, Collins, Alexander, Carr

October 9, 1985 Sheriff Lloyd Wilson letter to Mammoth Lakes Search & Rescue Team:

Effective immediately, the June Lake Rescue Team is the only local organization recognized by this Department to conduct SAR operations within Mono County. This action is taken for various reasons:

One team within the County will significantly streamline operations and will also comply with liability and future budget constraints. It will also simplify call-out and coordination procedures.

It is hoped that members of the Mammoth Lakes Search & Rescue Team who wish to remain active in SAR will contact the June Lake Team and offer their time and expertise to that organization.

Thank you for your past good works and cooperation.

Very truly yours, Lloyd F. Wilson, Sheriff-Coroner


From November 7, 1985 The Review newspaper report by Dave Roknic:

Mammoth Search and Rescue Faces Uphill Test to Continue - The Mammoth Search and Rescue team is searching for new life and trying to rescue itself after a mandate from the Mono County Sheriff's Office recently took away the group's official status.

A press release from the sheriff's office cites the June Lake Search and Rescue Team as "the officially recognized search and rescue team in Mono County."

"One [of the reasons for this action] is to simplify call-out and coordination procedures. Others are to consolidate resources, address liability issues and streamline operations," the press release continues.

The sheriff's office is entitled to take this action because it is the office which is ultimately responsible and liable for search and rescue operations in Mono County.

"It's nothing against the Mammoth team or the volunteers in the north county," Sheriff Lloyd Wilson said last week. "It wasn't meant as a slam at anyone. It was more a matter of procedure."

Craig Schrager, president of the Mammoth Search and Rescue Team, is nevertheless taking steps in hopes of changing the sheriff's decision. Under the current situation, Mammoth members' only option is joining the June Lake team.

But according to Schrager, joining the June Lake team is prohibitive. Mammoth members would be trainees for an entire year, and then they could only join by gaining the unanimous approval of the members of the June Lake team.

Now that the shock is subsiding, Schrager is trying to get the Mammoth team reinstated. He has written a letter to Wilson, the Mammoth Lakes Town Council, and the Mono County Board of Supervisors explaining the Mammoth team's predicament and reiterating the team's desire to continue search and rescue operations in Mammoth.

An excerpt from Schrager's letter states, "As a resident of Mammoth Lakes, I am concerned that my town will not have a fast-responding search and rescue team available. The bulk of the county's populace and visitors are in the Mammoth Lakes area."

The letter also cites the Mammoth team's many successful rescues, and problems encountered with the June Lake team's travel time to Mammoth rescues.

As of now, Wilson's decision seems final; but Schrager is not ready to give up. Currently, both Schrager and Wilson believe that each side has been misinformed and does not fully understand the situation.

According to Schrager, the sheriff's office is arranging a meeting between the two teams and the sheriff, but the sheriff's department was unable to confirm any word of such efforts at press time.

Mammoth town council member Greg Newbry, who was involved in the creation of the Mammoth Search and Rescue Team in 1978, says he does not believe the town council will intervene unless it becomes obvious the three groups cannot reach an agreement by themselves.

"I do think the sheriff's department handled it poorly," Newbry commented. "By taking and dissolving the Mammoth Search and Rescue Team, they have taken able-bodied individuals out of Mammoth."


From November 28, 1985 The Review newspaper report by Dave Roknic:

Mammoth Search & Rescue Members Can Join June Team - Members of the Mammoth and June Lake search and rescue teams met last week with Mono County Sheriff's Assistant Coordinator for Search and Rescue Mike Donnelly to discuss the status of search and rescue operations in the county.

The meeting was triggered by Sheriff Lloyd Wilson's action in early October which removed the Mammoth team from active status with the sheriff's department. At the same time, Wilson named the June Lake Search and Rescue Team as the only recognized team in Mono County.

Although the decision originally created animosity between the Mammoth team and the sheriff's department, the most recent meeting has resulted in more of a "let's give it a try" attitude. Although Mammoth Search and Rescue President Craig Schrager is not convinced the new system will work, Schrager said he will encourage Mammoth's displaced search and rescue members to join the June Lake team.

Donnelly said the sheriff's department will stand firm on Wilson's decision, and he believes, in spite of the controversy, this is a positive step for search and rescue in Mono County. He noted it will be better to have one, strong team in the county because everyone will know each other's abilities.

Schrager believes it is important to have a strong search and rescue team in Mammoth, and for that reason he hopes Mammoth members will be accepted by the June Lake team.

One bone of contention has been that Mammoth members would have to undergo at least a six-month "trial period" before becoming official members of the June Lake team.

According to June Lake Search and Rescue spokesman Igor Vorobyoff, the trial period is a team tradition and new members are "candidates" rather than "trainees." Candidates participate fully in the searches, but they do not have an official vote in the organization until the trial period is up.

"In the team's history," Vorobyoff said, "no person has ever been turned down [after the six months]."

Vorobyoff and Donnelly stressed Mammoth team members or anyone else interested in search and rescue should contact the June Lake team. Vorobyoff noted the team also had two members from Mono City and welcomed members from anywhere in the county. "We don't discriminate by area," he said.

One catch to joining the June Lake team is that the candidate must participate between June 15 and Sept. 15 when most searches take place. So technically, a person who joined today could not be an official member until Sept. 15, 1986.

Vorobyoff said Mammoth team members will be treated individually. "Even though we know some of the members are qualified, we just want to get to know them," he said.

To help things along, the June Lake team has also decided to rotate its regular monthly meetings between Mammoth, June Lake and Lee Vining in order to accommodate all members.

Two Mammoth members, Gary Gunther and Leigh Molson, have already become involved with the June Lake team. Their overriding reason was simply a strong desire to be involved in search and rescue.

Gunther, who is also associated with Inyo County's team, has already participated in a rescue in northern Mono County with the June Lake team. He said although he was virtually a stranger, June Lake members treated him fairly. "Everything went fine," Gunther said, "and I felt I was accepted as well as I could be accepted under the circumstances."

"I don't think that those people [other Mammoth members] have anything to worry about," Gunther said.

He noted the Inyo County team has a trial period similar to June Lake, and he believes the system is successful. "I've found that it worked very well," he said.

If the Mammoth team is truly finished, one question does remain. What will the team do with its cache of rescue equipment and funds, which were both donated by the Mammoth community?

Although all the groups involved are tentatively in agreement on the restructuring of search and rescue in Mono County, the sheriff's department's Donnelly realizes everyone may not be convinced the new system will work. Donnelly made it clear that anyone concerned with the effectiveness of search and rescue or anyone who would like to join should contact him for details or answers to questions.

October 9, 1985 Virginia Lakes-Sonora Pass area, missing hunter - Cole Hampton went hunting the evening before and did not return. A search of dirt roads between Virginia Lakes and Sonora Pass revealed his truck at Little Walker Recreation Area, just below the Sonora turnoff. A ground search of the area was initiated at 1100 hrs. The subject walked out at 1300 hrs. on his own. He had become disoriented in a snowstorm the night before. Responders were: Magee, Vorobyoff, Doug Nidever, Carr, Alexander, ?

October 11, 1985 Grant Lake, body recovery - A motorist went off the road on Hwy 158 by the North end of Grant Lake. He was ejected from the car and killed instantly. The team raised the victim to the road using low-angle litter raising technique and collected personal belongings and debris. Responders were: Ellsworth, Magee, Vorobyoff, Schoerner, Carle, ?

October 22, 1985 - Training - Tracking theory - Participants: John Ellsworth, Steve Gold, Pete Schoerner, Igor Vorobyoff, Larry Ford, Gray Alexander

December

No record of operations

December 18, 1985 - Training - Winter - Participants: Jim Collins, John Ellsworth, Harvey Lewis, Doug Nidever, Pete Schoerner, Igor Vorobyoff, Larry Ford, Randy Robinson, Gary Guenther, Nancy Guenther

Return to Previous Page