Brown Bear attacks group of teens in Alaska

[csprague]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/24/alaska.bear.attack/

So much for assurances that bears don't attack groups of six or more. It looks as though 4 people in the group were attacked in total, 2 life-threatening, and 2 serious but not critical. Three more in the group had minor or "exposure-related" issues. Though the article doesn't state the total size of the group, other sources indicate that there were 7 people overall. The attack happened as they were crossing a creek.

 

[Seeker]

They were crossing in a line across the creek, one after another. It's possible that they looked less threatening as a result.

But that is pure speculation! I'm sure there are other details we don't know about. I'm a little surprised that the group was on the move so late in the day--aren't you more likely to see bears out and about at dusk and dawn?

What surprises me is that NOLS runs a program like this--without instructors--in grizzly country.

 

[una_dogger]

They were crossing in a line across the creek, one after another. It's possible that they looked less threatening as a result.

But that is pure speculation! I'm sure there are other details we don't know about. I'm a little surprised that the group was on the move so late in the day--aren't you more likely to see bears out and about at dusk and dawn?

What surprises me is that NOLS runs a program like this--without instructors--in grizzly country.

Agree on all these points.

Also wonder why the sudden increase in bear/human incidents -- environmental pressure on bears or media picking up more bear stories since Yellowstone?? (although this tragedy certainly is newsworthy)

 

[Maddy]

I believe that is what you sign on for when you do a NOLS course. Leaders spend weeks instructing the class, hiking, and helping you learn and practice all the skills you need to survive and lead a team in the backcountry. You finally get to go out as a team to complete your "expedition" putting everything you learned into practice. It's a leadership school and each person proves themselves to be leaders. This is the grand finale of the course. Sounds like they had emergency gear, bear spray, and the PLB. Those who were not injured appeared to respond appropriately caring for their injured peers.

I think it would have happened regardless of who was in the group. Certainly a group that large had to be quite obvious. A bear does not differentiate between a leader and a student. Momma did what she always does. She had a big cub and she was not a happy camper.

Sadly it happens and I do hope the kids all recover. It had to be a terrifying experience for them.

 

[TrishandAlex]

Sounds like they had emergency gear, bear spray, and the PLB. Those who were not injured appeared to respond appropriately caring for their injured peers.

Sadly it happens and I do hope the kids all recover. It had to be a terrifying experience for them.

Agreed.

The boys should be commended on doing everything right -- perhaps the badly injured might have died if not for the trained responses of the relatively uninjured.

I'm curious as to how they forced the grizzly and cub to abandon the attack. Did someone use the pepper spray?

I'm also curious if this is the first attack (on record) of a group of six+.

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

So much for assurances that bears don't attack groups of six or more.

As I understand it, a group is not just for size to deter an attack, it's also for the noise you make (talking) to prevent surprising a bear. If they were crossing a stream, perhaps the bear did not hear them that well and they surprised it.

How scary. I hope they all recover.

It's definitely looking like the Year of the Grizzly.

 

[Craig]

What surprises me is that NOLS runs a program like this--without instructors--in grizzly country.

It sounds like the students were on the "Alaskan Mountaineering Course"

Independent Student Group Travel
An emphasis of this course is the development of skills that permit you to be self-sufficient in remote backcountry areas. Our
teaching progression for accomplishing this is carefully planned and executed. Initially travel groups, usually of four to six
students, will include an instructor who will teach travel skills and leadership. Gradually, as you gain proficiency, the instructor
will allow you to take on more responsibility and make more of the decisions. If you demonstrate the necessary competencies
in risk management, outdoor skills and teamwork to the instructors, you may travel in student-led groups without instructors
for a day at a time as you hike from camp to camp off glacier. We call this daily independent student travel and it is an
effective educational tool. It allows you to practice travel skills and leadership and gives you responsibility for the outcome
while still having indirect supervision by instructors and the benefit of the NOLS support systems.

This course may culminate in a Student Expedition. After successful practice with daily independent student travel and if the
terrain is appropriate and your instructors think your group is ready, the instructors may help you divide into student
expedition groups (usually four to six students each). With instructor oversight, each group will then select a leader and
carefully plan and execute a multi day independent student led expedition. This part of the course builds on the skills you've
learned and practiced and allows you to travel without instructors for up to four days. Students are aware of where the
instructors and the other student groups are planning to travel and camp. Each Student Expedition group will carry an
emergency locator beacon that when activated in the event of a serious emergency will initiate a response from local search
and rescue agencies. The instructors with a satellite phone may be up to 24 hours away from the students. Our students often
say the student expedition was the highlight of their course.

I believe the last death on a Nols course occurred during the "Student Expedition" on a mountaineering course. A student was lost, never found and presumed dead. It was theorized that he fell in a moulin while getting water.

 

[Craig]

Nols Press Release

LANDER, Wyo.— On Saturday evening, July 23, 2011 a group of seven NOLS students hiking without instructors was attacked by a bear. Four students have been injured in the attack. The student group is part of the NOLS Alaska Backpacking Course that started on June 30, 2011 with 14 students and three instructors.

The Alaska State Troopers were contacted via personal locating beacon, activated by the student group, and responded to the scene. The students were evacuated in two groups via helicopter. Two injured students are at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. The other two injured students were transported to Mat-Su Regional Hospital in Palmer. One student has been treated and released. The parents of the injured have been notified.

The incident occurred in the western Talkeetna Mountains approximately 45 miles northeast of the town of Talkeetna. The students had crossed or were in the process of crossing a creek when they came in contact with a bear that attacked the group.

Students indicate that they were following accepted bear safety practices—calling out to warn bears of their presence and carrying bear spray.

The students were on the 24th day of a 30-day backpacking course that teaches outdoor travel and camping skills. They were on the first day of their student expedition, in which students hike for the remaining days of their course as a student group without instructors.

The rest of the course and instructors have been evacuated by helicopter. The parents of all students on the course have been notified.

NOLS was founded in 1965 by legendary mountaineer Paul Petzoldt. More than 15,000 students graduate from NOLS each year. The school teaches leadership, teamwork, environmental ethics, wilderness medicine, and wilderness technical skills.

Nols does extensive post expedition debriefings. I'm sure they will share that information with other wilderness organization. There may be some valuable lessons here.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Grizzly Bear Attack Survivor Describes Ordeal

Tim

 

[dug]

Wow, that is a wild story. I can absolutely picture being in that situation in my only trip like that.

Alarming.

 

[TrishandAlex]

The boys did a commendable job taking care of each other after the fact. The following question is asked in a "what-can-we-learn-from-this" spirit, and NOT as any negative comment on the boys' actions.

Would the attack have happened if they had not turned and ran?

Again, that's not a criticism of the boys, since I'm not sure I wouldn't have done the exact same thing in spite of knowing that's not what you're supposed to do. Sometimes fear kicks in and makes your legs move. I think all the boys should be congratulated on their teamwork and overnight capabilities. Just trying to learn from this situation -- glad everyone is alive and in good medical hands.

 

[Jaytrek57]

Couple of points:

In that area there are so many "braided" river crossings, at least what I recall, that "noise" is the important factor. You cross a river up there, the bank is still in brush.

That so many "ran", leads me to believe, that yes "human" nature took over, but, their level of education is questionable. (not there/MO).

I am I huge supporter of NOLS, but unsupervised SOLOS of teenagers is a huge turn-off for me.

pEACE.

 

[Craig]

Reading through some of Nols blog posts it has been unofficially stated that:

Not all 7 members of this group were given bear spray
Nols is being asked to supply enough bear spray to all of their Alaska courses, currently underway, that each student will have there own. This to be done during scheduled resupplies.
The stream they were crossing was a know salmon stream
Nols did not notify other course family members of the safety of their sons/daughters timely. Most parents heard the news that - Alaskan Nols students had been mauled by bears - from the new media.

Again, these are unofficial comments.

 

[JacobH]

It sounds like the students were on the "Alaskan Mountaineering Course"



I believe the last death on a Nols course occurred during the "Student Expedition" on a mountaineering course. A student was lost, never found and presumed dead. It was theorized that he fell in a moulin while getting water.

http://www.alaska.net/~jlanders/Fatal/Nazzaro.htm

http://juneauempire.com/stories/071399/Loc_glacier.shtml

I believe this is the most recent one you're talking about (damn, 12 years now). Thomas lived in the house behind me in Durham. He was one of the first people I met when I moved to NH from Michigan. Really outgoing, personable, everyone liked him. In the boy scouts. We actually shared a birthday. He was an amazing guy, just starting his life really. I miss him. Sad story.

 

[una_dogger]

Wow-- what a harrowing experience .

Almost sounds like they all took eachother by surprise.

 

[B the Hiker]

Long and fascinating account/analysis

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/analyzing-alaska-bear-attack?page=0,0

Brian

 

[una_dogger]

Excellent read, thanks B.

 

[TrishandAlex]

Long and fascinating account/analysis

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/analyzing-alaska-bear-attack?page=0,0

Brian

Thanks for the link, Brian.

Sounds like that Boas kid is quite the amazing young man. Kudos to him and the rest of the team.

So it seems they were in a situation where the bear was initially seeing and hearing only one or two people due to narrow confines, immediate landscape, and water noise. She attacked, then realized there were more people while she was already in attack mode. Chaos ensued.

Very glad this story has a somewhat happy ending (none were killed, teamwork prevailed, rescue was successful, all are alive to tell the tale).

 

[dirtpig67]

I lived in a very remote area of Alaska for a number of years and my job there resulted in me camping in the outdoors for weeks on end in the summer. As a result, I had many a run in with bears.

Firstly, bear spray is of very limited value in my opinion. While it can and does work, it is of limited value due to the usual nature of a bear attack. Most bear attacks are very sudden, with little warning or time to react. Most hikers do not hike around with it in hand, and would have very little if any time to put it into action if needed. Most of the stories I have heard about successful deployments of bear spray were on bears that were simple loitering around camps or homes and acting threatening rather than in full attack mode defending cubs. The only thing that I have ever heard of stopping a bear in full attack mode was a firearm. I have been stalked by a grizzly before and I would have felt rather unprotected if all I had was bear spray in that instance. Nearly every Alaskan that I knew, met, or heard about that spent any time in the woods never carried bear spray. The only people that carried bear spray were mostly tourists or other temporary visitors.

On average, there were probably 4-5 attacks in the news up there per year when I lived there and many of those reported attacks are on tourists or visitors. Living in a bush community, I can tell you that this number is only a fraction of the number of actual incidents per year in the state as many that occur in the bush never get reported. The ones that you read about are usually the ones that someone got hurt or occurred near the major cities. If tourists knew how many bear on human incidents actually occurred every summer, there would be a lot less visitors!!!

As long as man ventures into the wilderness of Alaska, there are going to be attacks. Alaska is a harsh, unforgiving place, in which one of the world's apex predators calls home. When man enters the woods there, he enters the home of this predator and in doing so takes a risk. There are a number of things that can reduce the risk to very acceptable levels, but the risk will always be there. I think a lot of tourist companies and other outdoors outfits like NOLS do a disservice to people when they advertise and give the impression that precautions alone can make an wilderness experience in Alaska perfectly safe. These things do eliminate a large amount of the risk, but the risk is still there - especially for those that have not lived in that environment and are only there visiting and may not know a lot of the "sourdough" woodsman skills except those in their bear safety book. I lived there for a quite a while a still considered myself somewhat of a cheechako.

 

[Bob]

I lived in a very remote area of Alaska for a number of years and my job there resulted in me camping in the outdoors for weeks on end in the summer. As a result, I had many a run in with bears.

nice to hear from someone with actual experience, not paraphrasing a book...