Finding Wilderness

Archive for December, 2009

Kids and adults try biathlon for the first time

This year the US Biathlon Team is celebrating a historic first — Tim Burke, from Paul Smiths, NY, will start the new year wearing the Yellow Bib as the World Cup leader. Never before has an American led the overall World Cup.

This is an accomplishment given that biathlon is much less popular here as it is in Europe and Canada. Biathlon is said to be the most popular winter spectator sport in Europe. Large crowds assemble there to watch their favorite athletes speed around the ski course on fast skate skis, interrupted by tense shooting bouts that frequently cause the lead to change several times during the race.

Though participant numbers here are small compared to other sports, there are actually two active biathlon clubs in Washington. The Methow Valley Nordic Team has a biathlon group that caters to youth, but has adult racers as well. A few of the teenagers in the club are nationally ranked. Last weekend (see picture) my kids and I participated in a biathlon in Methow Valley and we had a blast. (No, not literally. The .22 target rounds barely make a popping noise.)

The other local club is the Washington Biathlon Association, based in Seattle. Each year they host six winter races at Stevens Pass and four summer races (run/shoot and mountain bike/shoot) here in Seattle.

They WBA welcomes new participants and is hosting a beginner’s training clinic on January 9th at the Stevens Pass Nordic Center. For more information contact WBA President Bob Vallor, whose contact information is in the linked flyer.

There are a few cases where people have successfully fought off an attacking mountain lion with a pocket knife.  The victims usually end up on the ground with animal, and the cats are relentless until killed or severely injured.  I just came across this attack from 2007 in California.  A 65 year-old women used a ballpoint pen to fight back against a mountain lion that was attacking her 70-year old husband.  Here is the pertinent part of the story as reported by Paul Bright of Associated Content.

Jim Hamm of Fortuna, CA, and his wife, Nell, were enjoying a hike at the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park near the California north coast when a female mountain lion suddenly pounced on him. His wife, walking ahead of him was unaware of the attack at first until she heard him call for help. Nell Hamm quickly attacked the lion with whatever she could get her hands on as Jim’s head was in the lion’s mouth.

Nell first grabbed a branch and began to beat the mountain lion, but it wouldn’t let Jim go. Jim told her, “I’ve got a pen in my pocket and get the pen and jab him in the eye,’” she said. “So I got the pen and tried to put it in his eye, but it didn’t want to go in as easy as I thought it would.” When the pen failed to work, Nell picked up the log and began to beat the lion again. The mountain lion released its grip, stared at Nell, and slowly walked away as she screamed at it.

A few interesting reports about mountain lions this week:

As reported by KUSA TV, in Colorado, a 12 year old snapped two photos of a mountain lion with his cell phone camera from his car in a suburban neighborhood near Denver.

A female mountain lion was killed in Iowa County.  One of the residents had been saying for years that he had seen a mountain lion, but no one believed him.

But the top story is this man, who defended himself last July (2009) with a chainsaw when a mountain lion rushed at him while he was sawing wood near Grand Teton National Park. His young child had been with him just a few minutes before the attack.

This is cross posted from News Channel 9 in Chattanooga, Tennessee:

Susan Cenkus of Clyde, Ohio, survivor of the April 2006 bear attack at the Cherokee National Forest in Polk County, will share her personal story of how she risked her own life to save those of her children on the Animal Planet’s I’m Alive, Friday, December 4 at 9 p.m.

Susan Cenkus and her son, Luke, and daughter, Elora, were hiking near the Chilhowee Campground near Benton Falls when they were attacked by a black bear. Cenkus’s six-year-old daughter Elora Petrosek was killed in the attack and Susan and Luke were flown by LIFE FORCE to Erlanger in critical condition. Both Susan and Luke continued to receive treatment for several weeks at Erlanger.

Susan has returned several times to the Chattanooga area over the past three years to thank all the many first responders and medical personnel that she credits for saving hers and Luke’s life.

Susan’s story will air Friday, December 4 at 9 and 11 p.m. on Animal Planet.

This looks like it will be an interesting program.  I am looking forward to Susan’s insights.