Pete Thomas Outdoors

BASE jumper Jeb Corliss injured in Table Mountain crash

Renowned American BASE jumper Jeb Corliss suffered severe leg injuries and remains hospitalized but is fortunate to be alive after a failed leap Monday from Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.

Corliss was wearing a wingsuit and parachute, and was jumping with photographer Jeff Nebelkopf. The leap was videotaped (Corliss is in black) and footage shows the daredevil striking a rocky outcropping and tumbling about 180 feet onto a path below. (Warning: There is brief profanity in the video.)

 

Corliss, 35, is famous for his exploits and has completed successful jumps from the Eiffel Tower and Golden Gate Bridge, to name a couple.
 
A story in the Cape Times states that Corliss issued this message to friends and fans from his bed in the intensive care unit of Barnard Memorial Hospital, via hospital spokeswoman Michelle Norris: "I feel better than I've ever felt."

However, he faces charges for attempting an illegal jump within Table Mountain National Park. Park spokeswoman Merle Collins told the Cape Times:

"The danger associated with base jumping does not allow us to issue permits. He did not have permission. We will definitely fine him and possibly press charges."

Corliss reportedly completed the same jump a week earlier, for a cable television special.

Joby Ogwyn, a friend and fellow BASE jumper, suggested that a sudden gust of wind could have been a factor in the crash.

Yellowstone visitation tops 3 million for fifth consecutive year

The natural beauty of Yellowstone National Park continues to draw visitors in record numbers, with almost 3.4 million people spending time in Yellowstone in 2011.

Last year was the fifth consecutive calendar year visitation topped the 3 million mark and the second highest annual numbers on record, bested only by the year prior when a record 3.6 million people visited the park.

In fact, the last time Yellowstone recorded fewer than 3 million annual recreational visits was 2006, with 2.87 million visits.

Overall, more than a quarter of the park's total 2011 visitation was during the month of July, with 906,934 recreational visits recorded.

December visitation was down 5% compared to year-ago levels, with 16,509 visitors recorded in 2011 compared to 17,386 during the same period in 2010.

Detailed park visitation information is available online at http://www.nature.nps.gov/stats/.

Yellowstone National Park - Annual Recreational Visitors:

Rank	Year	Visitation
1	2010	3,640,184
2	2011	3,394,321
3	2009	3,295,187
4	2007	3,151,343
5	1992	3,144,405
6	1999	3,131,381
7	1995	3,125,285
8	1998	3,120,830
9	2008	3,066,570
10	1994	3,046,145

Image of Old Faithful geyser in the winter and attendance chart courtesy of National Park Service

Search continues for killer of Mt. Rainier park ranger

 

The "manhunt on the mountain" continued Monday for the man believed to have shot and killed a Mount Rainier National Park ranger on Sunday during a traffic stop inside the vast Washington state wilderness park.

[*Monday night update: Police find body of shooting suspect.]

Margaret Anderson was married with two young children and Benjamin Colton Barnes, 24, a veteran of the Iraq war known to possess survivalist skills, is "a strong person of interest" in the case. Barnes, a suspect in an earlier shooting that injured four people in Seattle, is said to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and prone to anger spells.

Police believe Barnes may have fled into the national park to hide out in the aftermath of the Seattle shooting.

Park officials evacuated 125 visitors and the manhunt involves about 200 personnel, searching from the ground and air.

Webcams installed throughout the park reveal the vastness of wilderness, and a mostly snowy landscape, with dark and threatening skies.  It's eerie to look at the webcams, knowing that a sick killer is on the loose.

Anderson, certainly, could not have known what kind of person she was contending with after the gunman sped past a checkpoint used to make sure visitors carried tire chains for the snow.

After a pursuit she was able to use her vehicle to block the road in front of the gunman—the road that leads to Paradise—and according to the Associated Press, Anderson was fatally shot before she stepped out of her truck.

She had worked at the park for four years. She and her family lived in the nearby small community of Eatonville. Above is an AP video news report about the incident. Below is an image showing a view of Mt. Rainier National Park from its "Mountain" webcam.

Lottery registration open for Yosemite's Ostrander Ski Hut

Cross-country skiers and snowshoers considering making the 10-mile trek from Badger Pass to the Ostrander Ski Hut in Yosemite National Park are advised that the lottery registration period for the winter season ends on Nov. 16 at 5 p.m.

The immensely popular hut, at the end of a physically demanding but truly spectacular trek, is a rustic two-story stone building at the edge of Ostrander Lake at 8,500 feet. It provides overnight accommodations for $42 Mondays through Thursdays, and $52 Fridays through Sundays.

"Along the routes to Ostrander, there are places of solitude and awe-inspiring views of Half Dome, the Clark Range and Mount Hoffmann," says Mike Tollefson, president of the Yosemite Conservancy, which is handling the registration lottery. "The ski area around the Ostrander cirque offers many unique ski trails, including multiple descents off Horse Ridge."

Adds longtime hut-keeper Fritz Bagget: "It's truly a unique experience to be in real wilderness in a national park during winter. Imagine open granite bowls stretching from ponds and lakes to peaks and steep ridges--it’s very special."

Accommodations are limited and in high demand so applicants are chosen via a random lottery system. Applications must be submitted to the Yosemite Conservancy by the deadline and, beginning Nov. 28, remaining reservations can be made by calling 209-379-5161. For lottery and registration information, visit the Conservancy website.

The hut will be open from mid-December through early April.

-- Image of Ostrander Ski Hut is courtesy of Hugh Sakols

Yosemite National Park trail improvement project completed

Yosemite National Park is a place of such natural beauty that it seems easy to take little notice of the areas that help visitors enjoy their magnificent surroundings. Thankfully, there are those who realize the importance of maintaining these oft-overlooked spots, and a 75-mile trail restoration project in Yosemite has come to completion with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday at the park's East Valley Loop Trail.

The six-year, $13.5-million project -- funded mostly by Yosemite Conservancy doners -- is reportedly the largest trail repair and restoration project ever undertaken in Yosemite.

"Our goal was elegant in its simplicity -- improve the condition of Yosemite's most treasured, high-profile trails in order to protect irreplaceable natural resources," said Yosemite Conservancy president Mike Tollefson.

More than 30 miles of the John Muir Trail, from Tuolumne Meadows through Little Yosemite Valley to Yosemite Valley, had work done. There are new stone walls and rock staircases as well as drainage structures and habitat restoration to improve safety and protect areas bordering the trail.

Restoration and improvements were also made to about half a dozen trailheads along Tioga Road, offering better defined routes to popular locations, safer parking, food storage lockers or wilderness education exhibits.

"Yosemite's trails are pathways to discovery and inspiration. Some of the park's most important trails were improved to reverse years of degradation," said Park superintendent Don Neubacher. "The result is better trails, restored habitats and greater education opportunities for visitors."

 

Photo: Hikers enjoy the John Muir Trail near Nevada Falls and Liberty Cap in Yosemite National Park. Credit: Keith Walklet

Young mountain lion killed while trying to cross L.A. freeway

With so little open space and so much human bustle in just about every direction, it should come as no surprise that a 15-month-old mountain lion was struck and killed earlier this week while trying to cross Interstate 405, just south of the Getty Center southbound freeway off-ramp.

The male kitten, named P-18, embarked on his own earlier this summer after leaving his mother's home range in Malibu Creek State Park. His slow easterly progress was tracked via GPS collar by the National Park Service as part of a long-term study on the movements of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains. (P-18 is pictured above.)

Because male mountain lions are territorial and claim large wilderness parcels as their territory, and because there are two other male lions with GPS collars in the Santa Monica range, it's likely that the young male had been moving east, closer to civilization, in an attempt to stake out his own territory.

The death of P-18 underscores the need for safe wildlife corridor crossings, for wild animals to pass through rather than having to traverse freeways and highways.

In fact, Caltrans and several government and nonprofit partners are trying to identify suitable locations for such crossings along the 405, 118 and 101 freeways, according to a news release issued today by the National Park Service.

These crossings, intended to facilitate safe movement between the Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Susana Mountains and the Los Padres National Forest are deemed critical for the long-term health of mountain lion populations, and to ensure genetic diversity among the small population that exists within the Santa Monica Mountains.

"Mountain lions must be able to move freely between large parklands with suitable habitat throughout the course of their daily movements, as well as exchange genetic material to prevent inbreeding in specific parkland areas like the Santa Monica Mountains," said park superintendent Woody Smeck.

Since the study began in 2002, only one lion has been documented safely crossing a freeway surrounding the Santa Monica range. Ironically, it was P-12, who sired P-18. He crossed the 101 Freeway in 2009 and has been in the Santa Monica range ever since.

-- Image shows P-18 as seen via web cam before he was killed while trying to cross the 405 Freeway. Courtesy of the NPS

Hiker falls to death on Half Dome in Yosemite National Park

A 26-year-old woman fell to her death Sunday while descending from the summit of Half Dome within Yosemite National Park.

Hayley LaFlamme, of San Ramon, Calif., plummeted about 600 feet from the cabled route on the granite monolith. The incident is under investigation but thunderstorms were in the vicinity most of Sunday morning and the incident occurred at about noon.

Stormy weather makes for extremely hazardous conditions. Those planning to climb Half Dome should consult a web page set up by the park to show how to prepare for the endeavor.

The last hiker to have died on Half Dome was Majoj Kumar, also from San Ramon, on June 13, 2009. The most recent fatal accident on Half Dome's cabled route before that was in 2007.

Yellowstone bear encounter interrupts taping of safety lecture

These are crazy times in Yellowstone National Park. Last Wednesday a hiker from Torrance, Calif., was killed by a grizzly bear while on a park trail with his wife. It marked the first fatal attack inside park boundaries since 1986.

Now comes word that a CNN crew visiting the park on Friday, to film a segment on bear safety, witnessed an actual encounter between a hiker and a black bear.

The hiker, Erin Prophet, was walking backward toward Joffe Lake, away from the advancing bear.

Fortunately, the bear seemed only to be intent on reaching the the water and showed no aggression toward Prophet. Once at the lake's edge, Dave Beecham, one of three men in a kayak, helped her swim safely away.

"When the guys in the kayak offered to pull me across, that seemed like a better plan because the bear seemed like it wanted to be down there by the edge," Prophet told Reuters.

Said park spokesman Dan Hottle, who accompanied the CNN crew: "That was what we refer to as an incident within an incident."

The incident occurred as Yellowstone biologist Kerry Gunther was about to demonstrate the proper way to use bear spray.

Sales of the bear repellent have been brisk in the area, in the wake of last Wednesday's fatal attack on Brian Matayoshi. Neither he nor his wife, who also was attacked but was not seriously injured, carried bear spray.

-- Generic black bear image is courtesy of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Hiker killed by grizzly bear in Yellowstone park identified

The hiker killed by a grizzly bear Wednesday morning in Yellowstone National Park has been identified as Brian Matayoshi, a 57-year-old from Torrance, Calif.

He had been with his wife on the Wapiti Lake Trail when the mauling incident occurred. Marylyn Matayoshi also was attacked briefly, but not seriously injured, after the attack on her husband.

The incident marked the first bear-caused fatality inside the Wyoming wilderness park since 1986.

According to a park news release, the couple had been hiking toward their vehicle at about 11 a.m., about 1.5 miles from the trailhead. The husband and wife spotted a bear about 100 yards away and turned to walk in the opposite direction. That's when the bear started running toward them.

The couple began to run and the bear quickly caught up, first attacking the husband and then chomping onto the daypack worn by the wife, lifting her briefly. She fell to the ground and remained still, and the bear wandered off.

She shouted for help and and nearby hikers used a cellphone to place an emergency call, to which rangers who were on backcountry patrol responded.

Brian Matayoshi suffered multiple wounds and was dead when rangers arrived, at about 11:30 a.m. The female bear was presumed to have been acting in defense of her cubs, according to a preliminary investigation, and does not appear to have a prior history of aggression toward humans.

Though the case will be reviewed, typically the park does not trap, relocate or kill a bear under these circumstances.

The Wapiti Lake Trail and nearby trails are expected to be closed for several days. Visitors to the park, are advised to hike in large numbers when possible, make noise in areas where bears might be surprised, and to carry bear pepper spray. The Matayoshis were not carrying bear spray.

Man killed by grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park

A man was killed by a grizzly bear in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday morning while walking on a trail with his wife. A news release issued by the park stated that they encountered a mother with cubs and the adult bear apparently perceived the couple to represent a threat.

The incident occurred on the Wapiti Lake trail east of the Grand Loop Road south of Canyon Village. Nearby hikers dialed 911 after hearing cries from the wife, who was not attacked. Park rangers arrived soon afterward.

The park did not release the name of the victim or his wife. No action was taken against the mother bear.

The news release did state that bear warnings are posted at the Wapiti Lake trailhead, and that this marks the first bear-caused fatality in the park since 1986.