Avalanches on Red and Granite

That's what I was thinking. Cairns, tat, and tape seem as likely to be left by disoriented people as by people who knew where they were going. I tend to leave cairns but remove tape and tat as litter/garbage. So two things: 1. Get something that indicates it's been left by SAR/MR and should not be removed and, 2. Remove it when you're done so it doesn't become litter.

LOL The levee protecting the park entrance road is not too far from my house. It has been the subject of a number of research studies, risk assessment, and rehabilitatiion efforts. Every time a survey crew goes out there and leaves pins, stakes, and flagging, they only last a day or two before somebody rips them out (marking makes no difference). Surveying is expensive and is paid for by tax payers. The area is also an area that people like to construct artistic cairns (people actually come from far away to photograph them); they don't last long as people, apparently disgruntled with life, destroy them quickly, along with chainsaw constructed half-log benches placed where people might like to sit and watch the river and its wildlife. Isn't great we all feel so empowered in so many different ways

I was out of town for several days last week and was away from local news. Has the missing person on Granite Mountain been found? Last I heard, the search had been suspended....

The search remains suspended pending stable conditions due to such long exposure to Granite's start zones, I think.

Big thank-yous to everyone in the rescue effort. 

www.komonews.com/news/local/Searchers-fi...anche-206593211.html

Today's Seattle Times has a paid obituary for Dr. Mitch Hungate, the Granite Mountain avalanche victim. I'm impressed by what an accomplished athlete and experienced mountaineer he was. He also sounds like a great person. Tragic and sobering.

www.legacy.com/obituaries/seattletimes/o...64971523#fbLoggedOut

[size=10pt]Dr. William P. "Mitch" Hungate, 61, died April 13th in an avalanche on Granite Mountain, Snoqualmie Pass, WA. He was born November 25th, 1951 in Ridgewood, NJ and moved to the Pacific Northwest with his family in 1956. Mitch graduated from Sammamish H.S. in 1970 continuing his education at the University of Washington completing both his undergraduate and dental school programs. Mitch told stories of his seven summers in Alaska cooking for the cannery workers to earn his way through University. He passed the Dental Board Exam in June of 1978 and went on to an internship in the Navy in Norfolk, VA where he served in the Public Health Sector as a Lieutenant DDS.

Mitch practiced dentistry in Renton for 34 years. He enjoyed his patients, friends, colleagues and community, winning their trust and esteem. During these years Mitch continued his affiliation with the UW; he was recognized as an Affiliate Professor, volunteering his time helping third and fourth year students in the dental clinic. Teaching came naturally to him. He was an avid Husky fan, never missing a season of football games.

Mitch was a member of The Knights of Columbus and a member of The Renton Rotary Club, serving as president in 1984. He received the Paul Harris Fellowship Award.

An accomplished athlete all his life, Mitch was encouraged to compete in a full Ironman Triathlon and found that he excelled at it. He won slots to the World Championship Ironman in Kona in 2006, 2007 and 2011. He also won admission to the World Championship Half Ironman in Clearwater, FL for two consecutive years and again in 2011 in Las Vegas.

Mountain climbing was his heart's delight. It was a mutual love of the mountains that drew him and his wife, Marilynn, together some 17 years ago. Mitch climbed many of the world's greatest mountains: Aconcagua, McKinley, Kilimanjaro, Mt. Kenya, Pico de Orizaba, the Matterhorn, Mt. Blanc, Mt. Whitney, Mt. Assiniboine and the major peaks in WA and OR. He climbed Mt. Rainier over a dozen times including two one-day ascents by different routes. The North Cascades were his playground and he mentored people in the sport as he did with triathlons, dentistry and other fields that gave him joy.

Mitch is survived by his wife, Marilynn Hungate; sister, Cheryl Hungate; brother, Robert B. Hungate, Jr.; sister-in-law, Sandra Neely Hungate; nephew, Adam B. Hungate, PhD; niece, Serenity Hungate Shelby and her husband, H. Allen Shelby; grand-nephew, Micah Burns and grand-niece, Chloe Burns. Mitch is also survived by his step-son, Brody Rutter; step-daughter, Darcy Sera and husband, Bryan Sera; their children (Mitch's grandchildren) Lucelia Sera and Griffin Sera.

People from all walks of life found Mitch's enthusiastic personality engaging. Heroes seldom believe the kindnesses they do are anything out of the ordinary. Mitch was extraordinary, joyfully helping and mentoring throughout his life. He is so loved and so missed by us all.

Services for William P. "Mitch" Hungate will be held on June 1st at 11:00 am at St Matthew Lutheran Church in Renton with a reception in the church hall.

Please visit www.yahnandson.com to sign the family's online register.

Published in The Seattle Times from May 25 to May 26, 2013
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