[pct-l] Found...Re: Another lost soul-- My friend John..anyone been near McLoughlin?

[calliger at infolane.com (rjc)]

McLoughlin is about 4 miles from the PCT between Medford and Klamath falls.

Here is the result of my partners and I search for our friend:

http://members.bigvalley.net/calliger/JOHNZ.htm

http://johnzazzara.worldofadventures.com/index.htm

Richard




At 03:33 PM 6/22/2005, rjc wrote:
>I am on my way there now with several others to continue the search.
>Pleae contact the Sheriff directly if you can aid at all...John was attempting
>to climb a reverse cantilever feature (a structure like your nose when you are
>lookiing at your toes...you climb the bottom of your nose and go down and out
>to the tip and then up the surface of your nose to the summit--hence the
>reverse part)...if anyone knows of such a feature (it is not too far from 
>the PCT
>I **believe** )...please post and call the Sheriff (Tim Evinger)
>
>Thanks,
>
>Richard
>
><http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2005/06/18/news/top_stories/top3.txt>http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2005/06/18/news/top_stories/top3.txt
>
>
>http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2005/06/18/news/top_stories/top3.txt
>
>
>Rescue efforts end on mountain
>Zazzara
>Published June 18, 2005
>
>Searchers believe a lost climber is at the top of
>Mount McLoughlin, but
>they have given up trying to get to him.
>
>Daunted by snow, wind and cold Friday, searchers
>assumed that John
>Vincent Zazzara, 54, of Beaverton, is dead. He's been
>missing since Sunday.
>
>"This effort is no longer a rescue effort," Klamath
>County Sheriff Tim
>Evinger said. "It's a recovery effort. ... The
>probability of survival
>is low."
>
>He said there are no plans to resume the search until
>the weather
>improves, perhaps early next week.
>
>Zazzara is believed to have gone to the summit alone
>for a rock climb,
>but rescuers couldn't get there, or see it from
>aircraft.
>
>The volcanic peak is 9,495 feet tall. At 7,500 feet,
>searchers were
>"literally about to get blown off the mountain,"
>Evinger said.
>
>At about nightfall Friday, a U.S. Army National Guard
>Blackhawk
>helicopter from Pendleton abandoned its efforts.
>
>Evidence in Zazzara's car and reports from his friends
>suggested he
>went off the main trail to the summit to attempt a
>tricky climb up a
>backward-sloping cliff, Evinger said.
>
>"His hiking stuff is in his car, the technical stuff
>is gone," the
>sheriff said.
>
>Friends told authorities that Zazzara is an
>experienced climber who
>could handle technical routes. Climbers call routes
>that require ropes and
>other gear "technical" to distinguish them from easier
>hikes.
>
>Zazzara was described as a quick climber who goes
>light, with minimal
>equipment.
>
>"He does it in less than half the time of most
>people," Evinger said.
>"He doesn't take much with him - it is just up and
>back."
>
>Friends said Zazzara liked climbing McLoughlin and
>nearby Mount
>Thielsen.
>
>They recalled that he was interested in a cliff near
>the top of
>McLoughlin, but hadn't left behind specific
>information about this trip,
>Evinger said.
>
>Searchers spent most of Friday battling the weather. A
>low pressure
>system brought in snow and wind. Temperatures dropped
>into the 30s and
>then the 20s.
>
>On the ground, more than 30 searchers, afoot, riding
>horses and using
>dogs, combed the woods below the mountain's
>timberline. Personnel came
>from the Klamath and Jackson county sheriff's
>departments and the U.S.
>Forest Service.
>
>The chopper came late in the day as the weather
>grounded a Cessna 185.
>
>Zazzara works at Intel and missed work Monday through
>Wednesday. His
>employers called a friend, who alerted authorities.
>They found his red
>2005 Toyota RAV4 at the McLoughlin trailhead Thursday.
>
>The mountain is popular with hikers and climbers. But
>most of them
>stick to the trail and climb between mid-July through
>early
>September.<http://bend.com/news/ar_view.php?ar_id=22789>http://bend.com/news/ar_view.php?ar_id=22789
>
>
>Search for Beaverton man suspended on Mount McLoughlin
>
>Bend.com news sources
>Posted: Saturday, June 18, 2005 10:30 AM
>After two days of exhaustive efforts, the Klamath
>County Sheriff's
>Office, assisted by the Jackson County Sheriff's
>Office, has suspended the
>search for John V. Zazzara, 54, of Beaverton.
>Searchers closed down the
>search command post at the trailhead at dusk Friday
>night and Zazzara's
>vehicle was removed from the parking lot.
>Zazzara is thought to have been on Mt. McLoughlin
>since Sunday, June
>12th after going for a "day climb". He was reported
>missing to
>authorities Thursday at approximately 10:00 A.M.
>
>The sheriff's office also received assistance Friday
>evening in the
>form of a Blackhawk helicopter, based out of Salem
>with the Oregon Army
>National Guard's Military Air Rescue Team.
>
>Approximately 30 searchers on foot, horseback and with
>search dogs over
>two days looked for Zazzara. A fixed wing aircraft was
>also used on
>Thursday.
>
>A great deal of area was searched and eliminated
>without finding the
>missing man. The 9,495-foot summit of the mountain has
>continued to be
>elusive visually for the searchers in the two aircraft
>as well as those
>on foot. The summit has remained shrouded in clouds
>and blowing snow
>since the search began.
>
>The weather forecasted for the next several days is
>not showing much
>promise of improving conditions. The search was
>suspended after weighing
>the risk to the search personnel against the
>increasingly narrow
>probability of the missing person's survival.
>
>Efforts to find Zazzara may be continued over the next
>couple of weeks
>as conditions and accessibility to the mountain's
>summit improve.
>
>Sheriff Evinger said this evening; "It is very
>difficult to make the
>decision to scale back any search before a missing
>person has been found.
>In this instance, little is known about the man's
>intended whereabouts
>and how he was prepared for his outing". Evinger
>continued, "In this
>case, time and conditions were not in our favor".
>se,