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2005 Incident Response Log
December 29, 2005
Subject was on a snowmobile tour in Cottonbrook and hit a tree head on approximately 2 miles from the trail head. He was ejected over an 8 foot embankment and suffered shoulder and rib injuries. Team members stabilized his injuries, packaged him, and evacuated by snowmobile to the trailhead where he was transported by Stowe Rescue. His wife was also on the machine but did not suffer any obvious injuries.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Couper, Govoni, Reinhardt, Selby, Van Dyke | Stowe Rescue | 13:30-16:15 | Raining, 40 |
November 19, 2005
Five college students went for a walk behind the Stowehof Inn, got turned around on the trail system in Weissner Woods, and were not able to get out of the woods before dark. They called 911 for assistance. Team members talked to them on the phone, found they were on the Catamount Ski Trail, and were able to quickly find them and walk them back to the Inn in time for their fraternity formal party.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Govoni, Reinhardt, Selby, Van Dyke, Veliko | N/A | 16:55-18:45 | Cloudy, 40 |
November 13, 2005
A subject suffered a knee injury after falling while descending the Stowe Pinnacle trail. The team hiked in with a stokes litter and wheeled him out. Photos below taken by the subject's wife.
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John waits for rescue after his fall. |
Heading down the trail. |
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Couper, Govoni, Strong, Van Dyke | Stowe Rescue | 9:51-12:45 | Partly sunny, 50 |
October 29, 2005
The team assisted Vermont State Police at an evidence search in Montgomery.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Dyke, Selby, Veliko | Vermont State Police & others | 8:00-15:00 | Partly cloudy, 45 |
October 23, 2005
Colchester Rescue requested assistance in locating a potential suicide victim. The subject was located before we arrived on scene and response was cancelled.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Govoni, Couper, Strong, Stewart, Veliko | Colchester PD & Rescue | 6:35-9:55 | Cloudy, 50 |
October 14, 2005
A young female who was hiking with a school group on the Stowe Pinnacle fell and lacerated her knee approximately 3/4 mile from the trailhead. She was treated on the scene by Stowe Rescue and carried to the ambulance by stokes litter.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Govoni, Van Dyke, Selby | Stowe PD, Stowe Rescue | 12:32-13:45 | Cloudy, 55 |
October 10, 2005
Five students from Champlain College hiked up to the summit ridge of Mt. Mansfield from Underhill State Park. They didn't start their hike until 3:30pm, and started to run out of daylight as they started down the Halfway House Trail. They called 911 and were advised to return to the summit ridge and proceed to the parking lot at the top of the Toll Road. It got dark before they were able to get to the Toll Road, and again called 911 reporting that they were cold and wet and needed rescue. From their description it was clear that they were only a short distance from the parking lot, so team member Van Dyke hiked out to them, walked them off the ridge, and gave them a ride down the mountain to Stowe.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Dyke | N/A | 19:15-21:15 | Overcast, 50 |
October 9, 2005
The team was actived by Vermont Emergency Management to stage in Brattleboro for flooding. On arrival in Brattleboro the team was diverted to Keene, New Hampshire, where they assisted the local Fire Dept. in evacuating flooded areas in Keene. They also evacuated several youths who were stranded on an island in the middle of a river. Also responded to a report of a kayaker holding onto a tree in the middle of a river, but arrived just after he disappeared. They conducted a shoreline search but were unable to locate the subject.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Govoni, Strong, Veliko, Selby | Many local NH agencies | 3:56-22:00 | Cloudy, 55 |
October 3, 2005
Two 11 year old female youths got separated from their families while traversing the summit ridge of Mt. Mansfield between the Chin and the Visitor's Center at the top of the Toll Road. They were last seen at the "Lower Lips" travelling south ahead of the group at approximately 14:30. When their families arrived at the Visitor's Center the children were nowhere to be found. Green Mountain Club caretakers were notified of the situation, who then called Stowe Mountain Rescue. At approximately 15:45 a passing hiker reported hearing cries for help on the west side of the summit ridge in the vicinity of the Canyon and Halfway House trails. Green Mtn. Club staff hiked to that location and were able to briefly make voice contact. They also saw a trail of "trail mix" left on the trail, which was consistent with what the youths were known to have with them. Underhill/Jericho Fire Dept. and staff at Underhill State Park were notified of the situation, and located the children shortly thereafter at the base of the west side of the mountain.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Couper, Govoni, Strong, Van Dyke, Veliko | Stowe PD, UJFD, Green Mtn. Club | 15:35-18:15 | Sunny, 70 |
September 21, 2005
A 52 year old Long Trail through hiker tripped on the summit of Whiteface Mountain and injured her kneee. She was hiking with her son who was able to assist her .4 miles to Whiteface Shelter. They felt she would be unable to hike out, so called for assistance at approximately 18:15 on 9/20.. N. Van Dyke called them on their cell phone and determined that they would have no problem spending the night at the shelter, so plans were made for an evacuation the following day. Team members started up at 6:00am. They were able to drive with ATVs to within 1 mile of the shelter, and carried a litter and wheel up to the patient (approx. 1000' vertical). She was packaged and evacuated out to the parking lot by 11:15am, where she was transported to Copley Hospital by ambulance from Morristown Rescue.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Govoni, Reinhardt, Selby, Van Dyke, Veliko | Colchester Tech Rescue | 6:00-12:30 | Sunny, breezy, 60 |
September 14-15, 2005
A mountain biker fell down a steep slope on Snake Mountain in Addison and suffered injuries. After local first responders determined they could not evacuate the subject from his location on a steep cliff face, they requested assistance from Colchester Technical Rescue, who requested Stowe to also respond. (See article from Burlington Free Press.)
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Couper, Govoni, Ketcham, Selby, Veliko | Addison F.D., Colchester Rescue, Many local Fire Depts. | 20:45-4:45 | Partly cloudy, 70 |
August 16, 2005
A 5 year old tumbled off a hiking trail approximately 40 feet into the rocks at Moss Glen Falls, suffering a fractured clavicle and other injuries. He was packaged into a stokes litter, lowered over two short drops in the river, then carried out for transport by Stowe Rescue.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ketcham, Stewart, Reinhardt, Veliko, Selby | Stowe Rescue, Stowe Police, Vermont Fish & Wildlife | 9:54-12:00 | Partly cloudy, 75 |
August 4, 2005
A subject suffered a leg injury at Bingham Falls while jumping into a pool in the river. He was packaged, carried across the river, and evacuated to Route 108 for transport by Stowe Rescue.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Couper, Libby, Govoni, Reinhardt, Selby | Stowe Rescue, Stowe Police |
July 26, 2005
A subject called on his cell phone after getting confused while hiking to the top of Mt. Mansfield from the Stowe gondola station. He ended up on an unfamiliar trail while trying to hike back down to the gondola. He did not have a map and was unfamiliar with the area. It was determined that he was probably on the Sunset Ridge Trail heading down the west side of the mountain, opposite from where he came up. He eventually made it to the bottom and got a ride back to Stowe where his wife was waiting for him.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Libby, Van Dyke (by phone) | Stowe Mountain Resort | 16:00-17:30 | Clear, 80 |
July 19, 2005
A male subject fell while hiking on the Cliff Trail above the gondola station on Mt. Mansfield, and required evacuation by stokes litter for back injuries.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Couper, Govoni, Reinhardt, Van Dyke | Waterbury Backcountry, Colchester Technical Rescue | 13:30-17:00 | Overcast, showers, 80 |
June 24, 2005
The team's assistance was activated by Vermont State Police to assist in the search and subsequent body recovery of the drowning victim at Huntington Gorge on June 21st. The subject's body was located by rapelling to just above the water level, and the Town of Richmond was able to dam up the river to slow water flow to the point where the body could be safely removed through use of a high line above the river. See article in Burlington Free Press.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Couper, Govoni, Selby,Veliko | Richmond Fire & Rescue, Colchester Technical Rescue | 06:00-19:00 | Clear, 80 |
June 23, 2005
The team was cancelled en route to a report of a subject who had dislocated his shoulder while jumping into the water in Richmond. Colchester Technical Rescue arrived first on the scene and was able to swim the subject safely to shore.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancelled | Richmond Fire & Rescue, Colchester Technical Rescue | 16:23-16:38 | 70, partly cloudy |
June 22, 2005
A male hiker in his 50s broke his ankle while hiking down the Stowe Pinnacle. The subject was evacuated by litter and transported to Copley Hospital by Stowe Rescue.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Couper, Govoni, Ketcham, Libby, Stewart, Van Dyke, Veliko | StoweRescue | 16:29 | Partly cloudy, 68 |
June 21, 2005
The team's assistance was requested in Richmond at Huntington Gorge to assist in locating an apparent drowning victim. The search was called off at dark due to poor visibility and high water.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Couper, Govoni, Ketcham, Libby, Veliko | Richmond Fire & Rescue |
June 11, 2005
A 19 year old male subject was hiking with a friend in the Hidden Gully area of Smuggler's Notch. While attempting to climb a 40-50 foot high rock face, he lost his footing and fell. The subject suffered a significant head injury, and was transported by Cambridge Rescue and DHART helicopter to Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Couper, Govoni, Ketcham, Libby, Strong, Van Dyke, Veliko | Cambridge Fire & Rescue, Colchester Technical Rescue | 14:08-18:45 | Hazy, 85 |
May 13-14, 2005
A 20 year old Middlebury College student fell in one of the gullies in Smuggler's Notch and suffered multiple injuries. A lengthy and dangerous evacuation took over 6 hours to complete.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Couper, Govoni, Ketcham, Libby, Stewart, Van Dyke, Veliko | Cambridge Fire & Rescue, Colchester Technical Rescue | 16:04-02:30 | Clear, 45 |
February 25, 2005
A female snowmobiler in her 60's flipped over her machine on a VAST trail in Morristown and suffered a knee injury. The team treated her on scene, then transported her by snowmachine to Morristown Rescue ambulance
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Govoni, Ketcham, Libby, Stewart, Van Dyke | Morristown Rescue | 14:24-17:00 | Cloudy, 30 |
February 14, 2005
A male skier died on the side of Mt. Mansfield in Smuggler's Notch when he was swept off his feet by a loose snow avalanche and down a steep gully.
Photos below show access point on Notch Road, toe of the avalanche where the subject was located, and ice bulges that subject was swept over.
See complete report including news articles (large .pdf file!)
See write-up from his associates who were with him at the time of the accident.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Couper, Ketcham, Strong, Reinhardt, Van Dyke, Veliko | Mt. Mansfield Ski Patrol |
16:15-21:30 | Snowing, 30 degrees |
January 27-28, 2005
Assisted in the evacuation of an ice climber who had fallen and suffered fractures of both legs in the Town of Stockbridge.
Read about the incident in the Rutland Herald.
| Team Members Responding | Other Agencies Responding | Time of Call | Weather Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Couper, Govoni, Ketcham, Strong, Stewart, Van Dyke, Veliko | Stockbridge FD, Hartford FD, WRVA, UVWRT, VSP, DHARTl | 20:20-02:20 | Clear, -18 |
Want to Read More? Click Here for 2004 Responses
STOWE MOUNTAIN RESCUE
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