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xkyczar
Aug 1, 2005, 4:38 PM
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Anyone around the park in the last couple of days? Hope this guy shows up.
In reply to: Rocky Mountain News Number of searchers doubled for missing ranger By Rocky Mountain News August 1, 2005 The National Park Service doubled the number of searchers looking today for a ranger missing since Friday evening in the remote high country of Rocky Mountain National Park. Jeff Christensen, 31, was last seen by his co-workers at 11 a.m. at the Chapin Pass Trailhead off Old Fall River Road on Friday. Christensen was planning a backcountry patrol to the Lawn Lake Trailhead that evening but he did not radio in to park dispatch that evening and did not arrive for his shift on Saturday. On Sunday, over 50 people, including park staff Larimer County Search and Rescue, Grand County Search and Rescue, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Front Range Rescue Dogs and the Larimer County Search and Rescue dogs looked for Christensen, who is an experienced mountaineer and extremely fit, said Kyle Patterson of the Park Service. Two helicopters assisted in Sunday’s search, a Bell 407 helicopter from Western Area Power Authority (WAPA) with the Department of Energy along with a Lama fire suppression helicopter contracted by the United States Forest Service. The WAPA helicopter is equipped with an infrared device which will be used for its heat seeking capability. The helicopters are being used to carry searchers into the back country and conduct aerial searches. Today, over 125 people are combing the rugged terrain in search of Christensen. Specialized teams from other national parks in the intermountain region are also being brought in to assist with managing search efforts. Searchers will continue to focus on areas of the Mummy Range. The search area covers roughly 8 to 12 square miles with extreme elevation, Patterson said. Searchers are focusing today on steep hazardous terrain along the east side of Jeff’s intended route of travel. An intensive search began early on Saturday morning with over 25 rangers and other park staff covering numerous trails and drainages in the Mummy Range in the northern part of Rocky Mountain National Park. The Mummy Range is a remote, high altitude, rugged area which includes Mount Chapin, Mount Chiquita, Ypsilon Mountain and Desolation Peaks. There are few designated trails in the area and hiking mainly occurs cross country. Although Jeff was not intending to spend the night out he had a backpack with a variety of gear, Patterson said. He also had a park radio with him, however, in some drainages radio coverage is spotty or his battery may have run out. Park officials are asking for help from visitors who might have seen Jeff in the Mummy Range area on Friday or Saturday to contact the park at (970) 586-1204 to help determine where he might have been seen last. Copyright 2005, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved. |
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overlord
Aug 1, 2005, 7:18 PM
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man, i hope hes ok, though i have a bad feeling about this one.
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aznrockclimber82
Aug 1, 2005, 8:04 PM
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That's kinda...weird...did they say he was riding an ATV or was he on foot? horseback? they just said he went a certain way and didn't include a mode of transportation.
Monk.
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bustinmins
Aug 1, 2005, 8:09 PM
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In reply to: That's kinda...weird...did they say he was riding an ATV or was he on foot? horseback? they just said he went a certain way and didn't include a mode of transportation. Monk.
I was in the RMNP two weeks ago. I met a backcountry ranger in the vicinity of Thunder Lake. He was solo with the equivalent of a 2500 cu/in pack. He was staying at a cabin at the lake. I don't know anything about this specific trail. However, sounds like a wildlife issue to me. Otherwise, he'd be on or near the trail and would have been found.
Hope he's well...godspeed to him if he's hiking out injured.
Peace,
JD
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djoseph
Aug 1, 2005, 10:03 PM
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Is there a way for the general public to assist in the search? If so, please post info on whom to contact.
Thanks,
Dan
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xkyczar
Aug 2, 2005, 2:11 PM
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In reply to: Is there a way for the general public to assist in the search? If so, please post info on whom to contact. Thanks, Dan
This is the number if you want to help - 970-586-1363
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djoseph
Aug 2, 2005, 6:21 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: Is there a way for the general public to assist in the search? If so, please post info on whom to contact. Thanks, Dan This is the number if you want to help - 970-586-1363
Thanks. They actually forwarded me to another RMNP office: 970-586-1286. The folks there are taking names/telephone numbers for volunteers. It sounded like they had a reasonable number of volunteers already signed up... but I'm sure more names can't hurt.
Prayers/best wishes for a successful search.
Dan
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jeffers_mz
Aug 4, 2005, 10:00 PM
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From the RMNP site:
Yesterday, searchers received clues that may help to narrow the search area. During the late
afternoon, park visitors reported hearing gun shots in the search area. There were also reports of
smoke in the same general area. At approximately 8 P.M., park rangers responded to the reported
location and stationed themselves at critical areas. One of them discharged their weapon
(standard procedure in search operations) to elicit a response. Another ranger in a different
location reported hearing a response shot a few minutes later. More rangers were then brought in
to the area and spread out along road and trails to listen for more responses. No new gun shot
responses were heard, but they did hear a radio being keyed after several gun shots from the
rangers. At this time, there is no confirmation that the responses came from Christensen, but it
does raise hope that it could possibly be him.
This morning, searchers will concentrate their efforts in this section of the search area, using
ground crews, dog teams, and a helicopter equipped with a device that can help detect heat from a
person. Today’s weather is forecasted to be cloudy and rainy which will hamper helicopter
operations at the higher elevations.
Jeff is 31-years-old and is an experienced mountaineer. He is extremely fit and capable of
covering long distances in a short period of time. Although Jeff was not intending to spend the
night he had a backpack with a variety of gear. He also had a park radio with him, however, in
some drainages radio coverage is spotty or his battery could have run out. This is his fourth
season as a park ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park. Jeff is an EMT (Emergency Medical
Technician) and has worked ski patrol at Winter Park for the past seven years. His hometown is
Fraser, Colorado."
http://www.nps.gov/romo/downloads/press/christensensearchthursday.pdf
Fingers crossed.
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zozo
Aug 4, 2005, 10:08 PM
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In reply to: Fingers crossed.
Yeah no doubt, that would be amazing. Sounds like he is very experienced in the backcountry. It's pouring down here today, hopefully not so much in the park.
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jeffers_mz
Aug 6, 2005, 7:24 AM
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No significant new developments.
I put up some maps.
This one is an overview of the area with intended and possible routes:
http://i4.photobucket.com/...r/overviewlegend.jpg
This is the same as above without the route data:
http://i4.photobucket.com/...0Ranger/overview.jpg
This one is a shaded relief underlay that uses a slope analysis routine to generate an image where slopes less than 20 degrees appear as bright green areas, slopes greater than 55 degrees appear as bright red areas, and slopes in between those angles graduate between shades of green and red. I have tuned the analysis routine based on experience in the San Juan Range that indicates a person is very likely to slide or begin falling on slopes steeper than 55 degrees, that a falling object will continue falling on slopes between 20 and 55 degrees, and that a falling object is likely to come to rest on slopes below 20 degrees.
http://i4.photobucket.com/...20Ranger/bighorn.jpg
There are higher resolution variants of the above and a legend at the folder located here:
http://photobucket.com/...mz/Missing%20Ranger/
Never give up, never surrender.
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jeffers_mz
Aug 6, 2005, 11:00 PM
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They found him, he didn't make it.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,164957,00.html
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/4818434/detail.html
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--ross
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Aug 7, 2005, 5:46 AM
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So above Spectacle Lakes and at 13K he was below Ypsilon summit?
I remember doing Donner ridge as a descent, we made a couple of short raps, very tedious down climbing.
ESTES PARK, Colo. (AP) -- A hiker found the body of a missing Rocky Mountain National Park ranger Saturday, eight days after the ranger apparently fell during a routine patrol, park officials said.
Jeff Christensen was found dead near Spectacle Lakes at roughly 13,000 feet, park officials said.
More than 200 searchers, some in helicopters and others with rescue dogs, had been searching the vast and rugged Mummy Range for the 31-year-old ranger for the past week.
He had told co-workers on July 29 that he was planning a routine backcountry patrol to the Lawn Lake trailhead, and visitors told park officials they saw Christensen that afternoon near the summit of Mount Chiquita. But when Christensen didn't show up for work the next day, search teams were sent out to find him.
The area he had been patrolling covers 26 square miles and has few designated trails. It's peaks top 13,000 feet, and overnight temperatures dip into the 40s.
On Saturday, when the hiker discovered Christensen's body, searchers were focusing on an area where rangers and park visitors on Wednesday heard gunshots and radio clicks that might have come from the missing ranger.
''Obviously, just like all of us, they were hoping for a happy ending too,'' park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson said. ''It just didn't happen.''
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overlord
Aug 7, 2005, 8:33 AM
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thats sad. condolescences to the family.
it also shows that there are not "routine" things in the backcountry.
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charley
Aug 7, 2005, 2:12 PM
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my condolences to family and friends.
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jeffers_mz
Aug 7, 2005, 4:24 PM
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Which ridge is Donner and which is Blitzen?
The slope analysis algorithm shows that each of those ridgelines (Donner and Blitzen) has sections in excess of 85 degrees.
In fact, this run:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y138/jeffers_mz/Missing%20Ranger/70degreespeclakes.jpg
...shows that there is no descent possible (at 10 meters per pixel resolution) without negotiating any slope less than 70 degrees.
In this image bright red indicates slopes equal to or greater than 70 degrees, bright green indicates 20 degrees or less.
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turtlewomyn
Aug 8, 2005, 5:04 PM
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I grew up in the same home town as Jeff, Forest Lake, Minnesota. I haven't seen him since he graduated in 92, but I remember him being a very nice person. His whole family is really nice. My heart goes out to them.
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--ross
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Aug 9, 2005, 12:50 AM
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Donner is south, on the left as you look at the east face. Yea there were a couple of short raps, to keep it safe, but the majority is down-climbable.
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