Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

i c-. • Q" c-. CD 0" 0; ~ • e oQ ~ CI) ~ ~ 101:I ..::I to) :>. to) • .., Se.cIt & R.scu. 'copter 1_1Ia lD plell up _.,s aad .rectlOllS flOlD De..,. rld. volllllt_. T.:. . .;h::...::...e~S=.....;;t'--""o.....;;...ry Be h ind The Hea d Ii ne S _By LY1III WiDelaJld DESERT CHAMPS PRAISED FOR SEARCH EFFORTS Valiant efforts and unceasing vigil by hundreds of volunteers and scores of authorities were brought to a halt just after noon. Saturday January 28. when the body of a missing Los Angeles County Fireman was discovered under several feet of snow a few yards from his bogged-down automobile. A week-long search for the lost man. Stan Woods of West Covina. had been fraught with problems. Uncertain destinations. misleading identifications _ and worst of all - heavy snows in the prime areas for investigation aU hampered efforts. Woods was reported missing when he failed to report for duty on Saturday the twentY""first. A check with his home revealed he had not been seen since going on a prospecting jaunt several days before. ostensihlyto the Piute Mountains northwest of Mojave. The Kern County Sheriff"s office in that desert town 100 miles north of Los Angeles was contacted and several off-duty firemen from Woods' unit sped there to begin looking • for him. That evening a storm front moved in, bringing high winds, hitter cold and rain. In higher altitudes snow began to fall. Continuing through Sunday with increased fury, the inclement weather made any sighting of the man's white car more difficult. The Woods family joined the searchers, hringing a helicopter for aerial survey. The L.A. County Fire Dept. supplied track-laying vehicles to get into the snow-bound passes. Their efforts were coordinated by Capt. Ross H. Barh, chaplain of the firefighting grouP. Sheriff units were headed by Captain" Gene Young, with Lt. Tom Shuell and Senior Deputy Don Glennon assisting. More volunteers arrived, among them many fire captains and battalion chiefs from neighboring stations. One fireman who joined the group was Frank "Wheelie" Wheeler, the Lancaster giant noted for such Hodakable adventures as round-tripping the length of Baja California on a 90cc hike and being the first man to finish a 500mile Greenhorn Ehduro on an under100cc machine. Frank brought his hikes to tbe search effort, scanned the situation and made a phone call. Desert Bikes to the Scene a-ks LC. - J-.., .d Gar, Joba_ look up fro_ l.c:II as IbYJ r.scu. 'copter flaps tIIf to r _ -.cII. IbIId -.talns, In IIackar-d, _ . also sullJeclDd to lboroap :scrutiny IIJ III..... asln. fDaI-....... s as 11011I1. 1Ia_ for co_ _ cations. fu.1 and tools. In Los Angeles, the telephone jangled at the home of Jean Carter, president of the AMA District 37 Sports Committee. It was Monday evening and as he heard the story. a promise was made that help would come. More phones rang as prominent riders and club leaders were contacted. Bikes were loaded into trucks and trailers, foul-weather gear gathered up and employers were contacted for leave time. UP over Angeles Crest and out the Palmdale Freeway they came, arriving in Mojave in the chill pre-dawn stillness. Early arrivals sacked for hrief periods in motel rooms provided by the Fire Dept. and others met in the coffee shop to review all possible details. Wheeler had gone ahead, taking his hike to the Piute summit in darkness the evening before, leaving his wife Nancy to meet the desert competition riders. Ekins Party Marooned At 5 a.m. a meeting was held with Sheriffs and Fire Dept. Officers. With all available information, the riders headed for familiar Jawbone Canyon. entrance to Kelso Valley and the Piutes. 25 miles north On tbe Sierra Highway. A report of a white car soutb of Claraville PinPOinted the search to that high mountain area. Even so, all roads, canyons and accessihle areas were to be cbecked out until positive identification of the car was made. One of the rider grouPS was given a handy-talkie unit to coo rdinate with others in the search team. At the end of the JaWbone Canyon pavement. several miles in from Highway 14. the trucks rendezvoused and hikes were unloaded. Warm-up was made before the sun brightened the overcast skies and with the first hint of visihility the men were off, split into two grOUPS to scourge the two main routes into Kelso Valley. A few miles away snow already covered the craggy hills lining the canyon. Just after 8 a.m. the groupS re-met at the point where Jawbone Canyon Road and Kelso Valley Road intersect. Nothing to report so far. From there it was only up. Two paths led to the summit, a few thousand feet higher and cloaked in clouds and mist. One party chose the direct approach UP Gerringer Grade with its steep switchbacks, and the ether set out the back way, going UP Harris Grade, to the Northeast. Both found the riding tough, with ice under snow on unmaintained roads. At 11 :30, the Harris Grade detail turned back. just short or the Landers Meadow summit. The radio reported the car as an old wreck, killing the lead. Conditions were worsening. Back at the trucks, after a few iceinspired spills, a head-count showed three riders missing. The Gerringer party had encountered deep drifts. hut three Pressed on to the (CoaUaaed _ pace 18) ...

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