Hikers trapped on Schunnemunk Mt

“Was just checking out the afternoon news from various news sources and ran across where several hikers were trapped. Do we have any TTers from that area?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,53452,00.html”

“It sounds like a freak occurrence. These weren't amateurs. Wow.”

“Wow, I live about an hour from there, and used to live about 10 mintues from there. Luckily, all my friends are accounted for. Sucks that accident happened.”

“This is plain very bad luck...lucky they had a cell phone with them...wonder if this is going to start up the "cell phone in the wilderness" topic?”

“Let's give credit where credit is due. This is a pretty well written news story, considering the reporters haven't been able to talk to the survivors yet. Very complete and provides good context on the hikers and location. The media is criticized on TT a lot (including by myself), but this is a clear and balanced story -- no sensationalizing, considering it's Fox, too!”

“Pekka - it was actually an Associated Press story, lifted from the wires by Fox and placed on their website. They didn't make any changes, otherwise they would have attributed accordingly.”

“....that's what I get for trying to read TT while finishing up the semester's grading! Well, at least AP was on the ball (which means the local AP member did a good job when filing to the wire). And Fox didn't screw it up by turning it into a "terror on the trail" story with their own "enhancements."

When I worked news in the U.P., we always had our fingers crossed when we filed a story to UPI or AP in Detroit or Chicago because we weren't sure what would happen when city folk edited our copy. Mostly they were okay, but once in a while the attempt to compress a very regional story resulted in some misunderstandings.”

“It’s hard for me to understand how this could have happened. The terrain in that area is relatively mild – these are old, glacial worn mountains. Sure we have had some soaking rains lately, but I wouldn’t expect a rock slide.”

“Pekka - I hear ya. I still work in the media world, and used to work in national news. You're right, Fox was good at not putting a crazy slant on the story, and it was very soundly written! :-)”

“do:3”

“Pekka did I get an A?”

“Sarabelle's in heat.”

“sirpete, I think I lost your term paper...I'm sure it will turn up.”

“Pekka,
Where did you work in the U.P.

Say Ya To Da U.P., Ay”

“Marquette. Queen City of the North.”

“Just curious, we used to live in Alberta, just south of L'Anse.”

“I know Alberta. I have friends who used to live there while one was affiliated with Michigan Tech and the other worked in Marquette. That's a U.P. commute for ya, lol. My wife's family roots are in Alston-Nisula and Hubbel areas.”

“We were L'Anse for 8 years and Alberta for 6, prior to moving to Montana. Alberta from '90 to '96. Worked out of Houghton.”

“When enough water percs under a bed of shale, it acts as a lubricant. It can happen any time in wet weather. Former glacial action has nothing to do with what happened. Shale is a relatively unstable rock, compared to sandstone or limestone.
Geology continues to proceed all the time. It's not something that is in the past. These kinds of events are just a natural part of mountains eroding, sometimes slowly, and sometimes chaotically. This sort of thing is a risk we all face whenever we go out on the trail, but the level of risk is minimal. For these folks it was just an unlucky time to be there.
Mudslides are another risk in very wet weather, particularly on very steep slopes and where soil has not built up. The Adirondacks are particularly prone to mudslides, as are mountains out west, I presume.
My sense was that the writer was either a hiker or nature person. There are a few here and there.”

“Geezr, I was in Marquette from 77-94 (minus a 92-93 year in China). Came through L'Anse regularly. If you read Marquette Monthly magazine, you know my wife's work and maybe some of mine that I did for her after leaving daily newspapers.”