Freedom Outdoors

I’m about to shut off the computer for the holiday, but I’m seeing reports that a small tsunami hit and the warning has now been lifted with minimal damage reports.

It’s good news going into the holiday.

Shana Tova, and I wish everyone a very happy and prosperous new year.

Report just came in - a magnitude 7.9 quake hit about 100km off the coast of Indonesia at a depth of only 15km.  I haven’t seen it hit the newswires yet, and there is still no conclusive information on whether or not a tsunami warning will be issued.

I guess my phone is going to remain on this holiday in case a situation develops.

[Update 12:05 UTC] Tsunami watch is in effect:

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1124Z 12 SEP 2007

THIS BULLETIN IS FOR ALL AREAS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN.

... AN INDIAN-OCEAN-WIDE TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT ...

A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR

 INDONESIA / AUSTRALIA / INDIA / SRI LANKA / THAILAND /
 UNITED KINGDOM / MALDIVES / MYANMAR / MALAYSIA / BANGLADESH /
 MAURITIUS / REUNION / SEYCHELLES / MADAGASCAR / SOMALIA / OMAN /
 PAKISTAN / IRAN / YEMEN / COMORES / CROZET ISLANDS /
 MOZAMBIQUE / KENYA / TANZANIA / KERGUELEN ISLANDS /
 SOUTH AFRICA / SINGAPORE

[...]

EVALUATION

 EARTHQUAKES OF THIS SIZE HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A
 WIDESPREAD DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI THAT CAN AFFECT COASTLINES ACROSS
 THE ENTIRE INDIAN OCEAN BASIN.                                      

 HOWEVER - IT IS NOT KNOWN THAT A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED.  THIS
 WATCH IS BASED ONLY ON THE EARTHQUAKE EVALUATION. AUTHORITIES IN
 THE REGION SHOULD TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THE
 POSSIBILITY OF A WIDESPREAD DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI.     

Ok, so it took me a bit longer than a day to get to posting.

Saturday started with our monthly high angle training exercise. I had to get up at 5:40 to make the 6:00 meeting time. We hit the road rather quickly and were on-site in Nahal Halamish by around 7:00. It’s a nice place for training, as it’s a 30-40m waterfall/cliff only 20 minutes out of Arad on the road to the Dead Sea.

The training was well-organized, and concentrated on knot-passing and other sudden problems that can come up. The thing is, outside of training and refresher courses from the army’s high angle school, we don’t often practice this. I was quite happy to see it, and I think we should actually do it more.

We finished around noon, and by the time we packed up the gear and drove back to Arad it was 1pm. I got home a few minutes later.

Often I’m too tired to hit the shower right away, but this time hunger got the better of me so I quickly showered and got lunch on the stove. I had JUST finished making lunch when my phone beeped. No way…can’t be a rescue. I was sure it was Ana saying ‘hi’. Nope. It’s a rescue. I left my lunch untouched on the table and ran out.

The rescue was a simple “go fetch” with a twist. A “go fetch” rescue is a basic rescue where we know exactly where someone is, they’re not really injured other than perhaps a bit dehydrated but cannot continue or are lost for whatever reason. What made this “go fetch” rescue unique was that the victim was…well…a dog. A girl had called in and said she was dehydrated as well as her dog, but reading between the lines she seemed fine. I can understand her wanting to say it that way, but in the end even if she were open with us we’d have gone out. After all, nobody is going to abandon their dog to die in the desert. If she stayed with her dog, we’d just be rescuing her at night.

On the way out I called Ana’s mother’s boyfriend who is very knowledgeable about dogs to find out what to do with a dehydrated dog. We got there, helped out the 4-legged victim and get everyone back into the jeeps for the ride out.

I got home at 4pm…exhausted.

Fun weekend!

SAR team training from 6am to 1pm.  I’m back home for 20 minutes - just enough time to shower & make lunch - when the phone goes off.  Rescue.  No time to eat.  Did not get home until after 4. 

More tomorrow…

I was in Geneva for a couple of days last week, and really like the city  - what little I had a chance to see.

I thought I was being smart by staying at a hotel only about a 5-10 minute drive from the area where I’d be spending most of my time, until I saw the cost of cab rides.  I think I spent about $125 in two days on cabs.  Ouch!

During one of these cab rides, I had an interesting conversation with the driver.  He was clearly not from Switzerland, so when asked where I lived, I responded with Canada and not Israel.  It turned out that he was from Algeria.  He went on to say that he spoke French, Spanish, Arabic…and Hebrew.  Hebrew?  I asked him if he was Jewish, and it turns out that he’s not, but rather than it interested him.  So after a brief exchange in Hebrew (really odd), I asked him where he suggested I go for dinner that evening.

He said that there was a really good kosher restaurant on Ave. Jules Crosnier in the old city.  Ok, so what are the odds of being in Geneva and finding a Hebrew-speaking Algerian who sends you to a kosher restaurant?  I hadn’t planned on looking for such a place, but under these circumstances, how could I refuse?

I spent 40 CHF on the taxi to take me there, and walked up and down the small street 3 times before pulling out my phone and searching google until I found this site that listed the address.  There was definitely no restaurant at this address.  I guess they closed.  The site showed another place, so I walked the 15 minutes to get there, only to find that it’s only open for lunch.

So much for that idea.  I walked a bit more, found a big-top circus in the middle of a downtown park, and then wandered into a great little Italian place. 

While the terrain of high angle rescue above ground often poses significant challenges, they are nothing compared to what can be encountered underground when a whole set of other factors come into play.

A NZ caver is currently being taken out of a cave where he became injured 3km into the system.  With a broken pelvis and head injury, this is almost one of the most severe combinations that would require immobilization.  Big kudos to the team who has to carry out a packaged patient as gently as is needed here over such a great distance.

On the other hand, as a rescuer himself, I’m sure Dr. Brewer is grateful of the commitment from his friends on whom he can count on when he himself is hurt. 

Dr Brewer had suffered suspected cracked ribs, concussion, and a broken pelvis in the incident, which happened about 3km into the caving system - a distance which usually takes about five hours to travel.

Caver two-thirds out of Middle Earth - 27 Aug 2007 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news

I saw an email go by today indicating that the team that went to Peru has been on the go since arriving.  Each day they’re in a different location, giving medical treatment to local residents in the affected region.  Contrary to what I’d been told, but much more as I’d expected, they’re sleeping in hostels as opposed to tents.

There hasn’t been much coverage since the coverage of the original announcement, and even then I’ve only seen one forum post that even mentions FIRST.  I hope that my friend who went is enjoying himself.

As for myself, my work on the project bid at the office is nearly done.  Tomorrow is the last working day.  I’m actually relaxing tonight, and I hope I don’t come to regret it tomorrow.  After spending nearly every waking moment for the past 2 weeks on it, I can’t wait for some downtime.