DAVE TAYLOR | SKEENA-AN _ROB BROWN Hypothermia ob Taylor, expert angler and good friend, phoned last week. Before I could give him hell for driving all the way from his home in Van- couver to the Bulkley River without taking a day to make the drive to Terrace, Bob recounted a chilling tale that helped me understand why he decided to shorten his stay. After a promising start, the fishing on the Morice and Bulkley had slowed down, Bob told me. He and Gerry Wiatle had been fishing to- gether. On one fateful day they ran upstream in Gerry’s tin boat, found no fish where there should have been some, turned around and were headed back to another promising run. Before they pushed off, said Bob, they’d been passed by a pair of fishers in an inflatable raft. “They had a malamute with them that was wearing a red vest,’’ Bob added. ‘‘Bill Daw- son,’’ I said. ‘‘That’s right,’’ said Bob, sur- prised. Bill, long time fire chief of Kitimat, now tetired, is the only fisher I know who fishes with a malamute which he dresses with necker- chiefs, vests and bells to Ict hunters know that his beloved pet is not a wolf. It was Bill who screeched to a halt on the Copper River Road years ago and ordered me out from under my truck where I was carelessly attempting to free a spare tire from its storage spot on the frame, The jack holding the truck was teetering precariously, and had it not been for Bill’s powers of observation it’s likely the truck would have fallen upon my chest I owe him. Now, as it turns out, Bob does too. Gerry piloted the boat down river veering off into a side channel in an uncharacteristic me- ment of poor judgment. Side channels are often full of snares, their problems in inverse propor- tion to their size. This one was narrowing quick- ly and had a mess of roots and a tangle of trees at the far end. Gerry squinted downstream, ‘“‘] think we can make it,’’ he said to Bob, “T don’t like this sound of this,’’ I said to Bob. When in doubt, scout. This is the first com- mandment of river running. If you think you can make il, you need to stop, get out, look, and think before the attempt. Gerry knew this, but even seasoned pros like him have bad days. The water got skinny too quickly. The leg of the molor caught. The boat flipped. Gerry and Bob found themselves floating dowastream. “‘l can’t swim,’’ admitted Bob, which was a fact | didn’t know and one that surprised me since Bob is an old tattooed Navy man who has spent alot of time in and around rivers. As it turns out, when you are swept away ia waders, whether you can swim or not is not nearly as important as whether you have flota- tion and a belt around your waders. If you wrestle with a river you will loose, Strong swimmers have attempted to buck the flows clad in waders, have tired quickly, and drowned as a result, You must stay calm, and, thank God, that is what Bob did. ‘‘T couldn’t sit wp, but [ had no trouble floating,’ he said. ‘Were you wearing your inflatable vest?’ I asked. ‘‘No,” he replied sheepishly. Eventually the current will take an uprooted angler to shore, but in a big river like the Bulk- ley or the Skeena this can take some time. With the exception of wool, clothing loses 90% of its insulating value when it gets wet, and water sucks the heat from a body 240 times faster than air docs, You don’t have to do the math to real- ize that in a situation like Bob found himself in it doesn’t take long to chill out, man. The body shuts down from the outside in, The death dance goes like this: 96 degrees, uncon- trollable shivers; 95 to 91, slurred speech and stupidity; 90-86, rigidity and amnesia; 81, . stupor, 79, brain closes shop, 78 heart fribula- tions followed by edema, hemorrhage and death. Compared to this, drowning is mercifully swift Bob yelled for help, Bill Dawson and his part- ner Bill Rich heard him, rowed to his assistance and got him to shore. Bill recognized hypothermia in Bob’s blue lips and white face. They got Bob and Gerry, who had washed ashore upstream, but couldn't get out of the river, to the farmhouse and out of their clothes, Later that night both men had violent shakes twice, Without realizing it Gerry and Bob had encountered the most deadly and insidious crea- ture an outdoorsman faces, one that stalks and kilis a over thousand people in North America a year In all seasons, hypothermia. Thanks to Bill Dawson and Bill Rich, tvo ploneer anglers will keep fishing and keep con- tributing to our sport.” TERRAC SPORTS The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, Cctober 23, 1996 - B7 638-7283 Swim camp launches season SOME 212 swimmers were In Terrace last weekend for the Dalry Queen invitational. Our Bluebacks got a head start on the season with a training camp, held a week earller, THE TERRACE Bluecbacks swim club held their opening training camp two weekend ago. Members got some tips, training and a little in- spiration from former world record holders. Blucbacks coach Mike Carlyle says that the camp was an excellent springboard to launch into the group’s first meet of the year, the Dairy Queen Invitational, held here this past weekend, “It was just excellent,’” says Carlyle. “The kids got a lot out of it that hopefully helped them in the meet.’ The Bluebacks brought a couple of coaches up from down south, one of whom was former Na- tional team swimmer and world record holder, Bill Sawchuck. “It’s really good for them to hear advice from someone other than their coaches sometimes,” says Carlyle. ‘Especially when it’s coming from Bill Sawchuck. The kids get too used to hearing their coaches’ voices telling them over and over what they’re doing wrong.” Carlyle says that the guest coaches were also very funny, and managed to keep the youths’ at- tention throughout a one-and-a-half hour class- *Tt was just excellent. The kids got a lot out of it that hopefully helped them in the meet.”? Mike Carlyle room session on technique. “They were hilarious,”’ Carlyle says. The main focus of the camp was technique, and how swimmers could improve their strokes. The young swimmers also gained experience in the water from three pool sessions. Carlyle says that the goal was for every swimmer to come away from a session with at least one im- provement, “It was really valuable for the kids,’ Carlyle says. ““They got a very high level of coaching and they had lots of fun.” Carlyle says that the Bluebacks still have room for more novices and swimmers in their lower development group. He says he’d like to see more of those spaces filled by the next meet. Results of the Dairy Queen Invitational swim meet will be in next weck’s edition of The Stan- dard. The meet brought 212 swimmers from around the northwest to Terrace last weekend, Hiking Club scores cabins THE TERRACE Hiking Club will benefit next year from a pair of cabins donated by a local out- doorsman. Ken Kolterman left the cabins to the club for mem- bers to use for backcountry camping. One sits high atop Thornhill Mcuntain, the other near the headwaters of Klcanza and Chindamash Creeks, on Bornite Mountain. “The one on Thormhill, some friends and I built when we were teenagers, around 1970,”’ says Kolterman, ‘‘We had it flown up so we could use it for hiking and some skidoo- ing in the winter.”? The other cabin was: originally built by a mining company, When the compa- ny no longer needed it, New sound “GOAL SCORED by mmm tamm mmmmm.” “Marks for (pap!) techni- cal (fizzle!) are mmm mmm.” ‘Attention Mr.(crackle!) mnimm, your car is on fire in the parking fot."” That’s what things have sounded like for many years as announced over the Ter- race arena’s old sound sys+ tem, But things are about to change now that the city has agreed to fund $25,000, and the Kinette Club a further $3,000, to help replace the arena’s aging boom box. “It’s archaic at best,” Gail Lamb says of the 25- year-old sound system. “It totally distorts music, which is quite critical to figure skating,’’ Lamb is the President of the Terrace Skating Club, and has been one of the main proponents of a new system for a couple of years now. She explains that it’s very important to have good sound for figure skaters be- cause their routines are timed to music. Individuals have one-and- .a-half to three minutes to perform a routine, and they are judged ou their timing. “When the girls go to other arenas, sometimes they don’t even. recognize their own music because it sounds so different,’’ Lamb says. “‘And they lose points if they aren’t in time to their music.’’ But that will all change with a new $30,000 system that could be in place by as early as Chrisimas. Steve Scott, Superinten- dent of Parks and Recrea- tion says that all that’s left to do is figure out some technical issues. Then new system could be ordered by the end of the month. “Tt is really needed,”’ Scott says. ‘You can’t hear the current one at all when there's a full house,’’ Scott says the mew system will be louder, and the speakers will be distributed around the arena so the sound won’t be distorted,. and can be heard clearly . throughout the building. Right now, the speakers are all clustered in the center of the arcna, Gail Lamb says that the | new sound system — is certainly overdue and will bencfit not just figure Skaters, but fans, recrea- tional skaters, hockey players and anyone else using the arena — especial- ly with the upcoming North- em BC Winter Games, “T think everyone will certainly appreciate it,” she says, ‘It will be music to their ears’” Kolterman and friends had it. Europe, and there's quite a— flown up to the top of few inthe Rockies.” Bomite Mountain so they Jyrkkanen says that using could use it. the cabins for overnight Both cabins are in need of trips means that hikers don’t some repairs, but Jorma have to carry bulky, heavy Jyrkkanen of the Hiking — tents. Club.says the group is lucky —_‘‘Plus, there are a lot of to be able to use them, ‘bears around here, which “They will be areal boon tends to worry some to alpine hiking,?? Jyrk-- tenters,’’ he says, ‘‘And ina kanen says. ‘‘These kinds of survival-type situation, it’s cabins are very popular in nice to know they’re out there.’* Jyrkkanen says that he hasn't been able to check oul the cabins yet, but he understands the one on Thornhill is in pretty rough shape. “That's not a problem,” he says. ‘We'll just get some volunteers out there in the spring with some ham- mers and nails and we'll fix them up.” system for arena FIGURE SKATERS are just: some of the many athistes who will benefit from a new $30, 000 sound system at the Terrace, arena.