Closing of the McGill Outdoors Club House

The McGill Outdoors (Outing) Club House is up for sale!

If the House could speak, the stories ... well ...

From a forum post:

As many of you know, after 54 years of owning the MOC house in Shawbridge and renting it to us, McGill has decided to sell the house.

They have proposed that the Student Society of McGill University buy it which originally seemed feasible from SSMU's point of view. However, given the McGill's high asking price and the projected repairs necessary, SSMU have decided that they are not in a position to take on the financial liability of buying the house at the current asking price. As such, the house will be put onto the market and McGill will either find a buyer who is willing to pay the exorbitant asking price, or else the market will bring the price down to a level at which SSMU and ourselves will be able to reevaluate.

Shawbridge used to be out in the country, but now it's a commuter exurb. I suspect the House had become something of an awkward legacy.

I imagine Brian's shade might haunt the place.

We'll find a home for the bench we left there during a MOC memorial. I hope his tree will find receptive owners.

Highway of tears - British Columbia

CBC radio featured a story tonight on missing and murdered women. The interview subject claimed hundreds of women have gone missing across Canada, with a particular focus on a
Northern BC road called "The Highway of Tears".

The CBC journalist was clearly steering around sensitive topics. I would guess from the unasked questions that many of the women are thought to have a history of substance problems, and may have been trading sex for drugs or money. There was no estimate on how many have died or been murdered, the "Highway of Tears" story describes 18 presumed murders over the past forty years.

I don't think there's any connection to Brian's disappearance, save to note that, even in wealthy nations, more people disappear than is popularly recognized.

The return of the lost canoeist

I imagine it was a bit of an "emotional" reunion ...

Missing canoeist 'lost his memory for five years' - Times Online

A man who went missing after disappearing on a canoeing trip off Hartlepool in March 2002 has no memory as to what happened and where he had been during the past five years, a police office said today.

John Darwin, a 57-year-old father of two presumed to be dead by his family, walked into the West End Central police station on Saturday and announced: "I think I'm a missing person."

Mr Darwn went missing five and a half years ago after going paddling off Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool. The remains of his red canoe were found washed up on a nearby beach but despite a huge search operation involving five lifeboats and a fixed-wing aircraft no sign of his body was ever found.

His sons, Mark, 31, and Anthony, 29, who both live in the south of England, were called to an "emotional reunion" with their father at the police station off Regent Street.

Today, Inspector Helen Eustace of Cleveland Police told the Hartlepool Mail that she was trying to piece together Mr Darwin's movements but the missing man himself could not fill in the gaps himself.

"We have no account of what's happened in the last five years. He walked into a police station and said 'I think I am a missing person'," she said.

"The guy can't remember anything about what's happened or why he's come forward. He has no memory at all. He has obviously been somewhere for the last five years and a lot of questions need answering."

Ms Eustace said that Mr Darwin had been checked over, was "showing no signs of any illness" and had been free to leave the station.

She added: "It is very infrequent that a case like this happens. It's quite a shock really, more of a shock for the family."

Cleveland Police said that officers hoped to interview Mr Darwin later today to establish his whereabouts of the past five years, after which they could close his missing person file. "We need to speak to him before we close the case, to see whether there are any issues with him of if he needs help," a spokeswoman said. "It's entirely routine...

Entirely routine?

I don't think I'll bring this one up with my mother.

Update: An insurance scam. Not the first!

Images of Rainbow Mountain, and of the 2002 search

A few weeks after our failed search in 2002 I posted some photos of the search for Brian's friends and our family. They're still available on the semi-private site I used to use for photo sharing. Some of the photos are low quality snapshots from an awful camera I used to own, but some are high quality scans of 35 mm slides (thanks Max!).

A few things have changed with photo sharing since 2002, but the biggest change has been the integration of location and images. Images can now be displayed in the context of maps. The process is in its infancy, but it's a big change. My experience with Google's implementation is that it works somewhat unpredictably, but that under certain conditions the images may become publicly associated with image layers in Google Earth and/or Google Map's newish My Maps.

So I've republished the images and associated them with Rainbow Mountain, at times making some rough guesses about where they might belong. Google's satellite images of this region are still quite low resolution, so precision isn't possible anyway.

The first of these links is the most interesting way to view the images in context, but it requires Google Earth. The others work with a browser.

• View in Google Earth (requires Google Earth and a browser)
• Map view (browser)
• Album view (browser)
  

Who knows, perhaps another connection to the NetMind will, someday, aid in the resolution of our personal mystery.

Rainbow Mountain

Five years later - Jon Francis story

Five years ago today I returned to Minnesota after joining the unsuccessful search for my brother Brian, who was last seen leaving the Shoestring Lodge in Whister BC July 12, 2002. There's been no news of course.

I thought of Brian today when I came across this article in our local paper, written about two weeks ago:

Family still searching for missing Minnesota hiker
Associated Press
Last update: July 16, 2007 – 1:23 PM

STANLEY, Idaho — It's been a year since Jon Francis disappeared while climbing in the Sawtooth Mountains near this central Idaho town.

Yet despite exhaustive efforts by rescue teams, volunteers and cadaver dogs, his family refuses to call off their quest for answers.

"We're playing to mixed reviews," David Francis, the father of Jon Francis, told KTVB in Boise. "There's a lot of support from people who knew Jon and loved Jon and ... also a number of people who say, 'Why don't you just give your son up to the mountain?' and we're not ready as a family to do that."

Jon Francis, of Stillwater, Minn., was a counselor at a Bible camp in the area. According to friends, he told co-workers he planned to climb the 9,733-foot Grand Mogul, high above Redfish Lake. Searchers said he made it to the top on July 15 and signed the log book, but they don't know what happened to him on the way down.

The search initially drew the attention of the governors of Idaho and Minnesota when Custer County officials called off the search, a move the family called premature. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty wrote then-Idaho Gov. Jim Risch, asking that state and local authorities assist in the search, and Risch met with the Francis family days afterward.

As the search resumed, Idaho authorities incorporated a U.S. Air Force plane with infrared sensors designed to see body heat in the mountains. More than 400 volunteers joined the search and at least 50 cadaver dogs were brought in to search for remains.

Still, searchers still came up empty.

This summer, the family bought a boat to ferry searchers across the lake to the trailhead believed to be used by Jon Francis.

The family is also working to promote safety and accident prevention for hikers and climbers by launching the Jon Francis Foundation, aimed at instructing hikers and climbers with basic safety and survival information.

"Jon in his brief life made a lot of difference, he left a lot of footprints for a young man," his father said. "We intend to remain here until the snow falls ... until it's unsafe to search."

It's not the path we chose, but I think I can understand it. Perhaps if we'd had a better idea where Brian went we might have returned to search, but really we had only knew of a stated intent to climb Rainbow Mountain. We don't even know that he made it to a trail.

I wonder how often lone hikers like Jon Francis fall to predators.

Michael Cinnamon - last seen in Whistler 2002

I received a curious note asking for help tracing a Michael Cinnamon, who was last seen in Whistler in 2002. He would have 3 years your than Brian (born 1972). My sense from the inquiry is that this is someone who dropped out of sight deliberately, but of course the timing caught my attention.

Update 6/24/07: I was thinking about this today. Assuming Michael's dropped out voluntarily (this happens reasonably frequently), and if he doesn't have a phone or a credit card, he might be very hard to locate. On the other hand, maybe he occasionally Google's his name. "Michael Cinnamon" is reasonably uncommon, but there are no Google hits at all for "Michael Shawn Cinnamon". This might be the first one, and if I echo it in Gordon's Notes Google will pick it up fairly quickly.

So Michael Cinnamon, if you happen to read this, your aunt Phyllis from Kelowna BC, has been trying to reach you.

Jeff Graves of Minnesota - lost

Jeff Graves, a 40 yo Minnesotan on day hike, has been lost near Mount Ranier for 3 days. We have to assume he went off trail, he was hiking alone.

I'll update this post as we learn more.

Update 6/20/07: Sad news.

A body discovered by a search helicopter in Mount Rainier National Park was identified Tuesday afternoon as that of missing hiker Jeff Graves, according to a park spokesman.

Kevin Bacher, the spokesman, said rescue teams confirmed the Minneapolis man's identity after an extensive search launched Saturday when Graves failed to return from a day hike. Park officials are investigating and could not speculate about how Graves died.

Graves, 47, was hiking the 7.2-mile round-trip Eagle Peak Trail on 5,958-foot Eagle Peak, which rises above the Nisqually River near Longmire...

... A park service search helicopter spotted what appeared to be a human body in red clothing at the base of a cliff on Eagle Peak about 3 p.m. Tuesday. Graves was wearing a red Gore-Tex parka at the time he went missing, Bacher said.

The helicopter was redeployed, and a ground team moved into position to reach an area Bacher described as "remote and difficult to get to." The team, which carried ropes to rappel to the body's location, helped confirm searchers' fears.

Rescue efforts included 50 people, vehicles and German shepherds.

Graves was wearing fleece and his Gore-Tex jacket and carried a daypack.

The Eagle Peak Trail, park officials say, is a strenuous day hike, gaining 3,000 feet of elevation in 3.6 miles, beginning at Longmire. The trail, which is popular with hikers, is snow-covered above 5,100 feet, officials said.

It appeared to searchers that Graves left the trail during his descent, lost his footing and fell about 200 feet in a heavily forested area. He landed at the base of a slope about 650 feet from the trail, Bacher said.

Searchers covered rugged, heavily forested wilderness with many cliffs and ravines. Saturday and Sunday nights were cool, with rain, fog and temperatures in the mid-30s.

Elizabeth Lunney, executive director of the Washington Trails Association, said Tuesday extensive volunteer efforts are needed at Mount Rainier National Park to repair trail damage from last fall's storms. She said that while trail crews did not have an updated assessment for Eagle Peak Trail, the association previously had scheduled four days of work on the trail from July 5 to July 8 to repair storm damage...

A solo hike in the wilderness is dangerous. Going off trail is dangerous. Doing both is very dangerous. I've done both intentionally of course, just about everyone who's done any wilderness travel has. Jeff might have decided to take a look off trail, or, more likely, he might have lost the trail during the descent then slipped and fallen. That's very easy to do, especially since trails were damaged by storms.

Even though there was a massive search effort, with dogs and helicopters, and even though his route and time were well known, and even though he was wearing high visibility clothing, it still took four days to find his body. The wilderness is vast beyond the imagination of the city dweller. In the case of my brother Brian there were none of those advantages -- if his body is ever found it will be by chance encounter sometime in the next thousand years.

Brian Faughnan - age 40

If he had lived, Brian would have turned 40 today. He might be a bit gray by now, though I'm more prone to that than my brother Steven. In about five weeks, on July 12, 2007, it will have been five years since he was last seen outside the Shoestring Lodge in Whister, BC.

There has been no news. No new theories either, just everything from a fall into a glacial fissure to being eaten by bears to spontaneous quantum teleportation across the galaxy.

Sometime in the next few weeks I'll call the RCMP office in Whistler and update my records, I'll note the updates in this blog.

Alpine Accidents in Canada: Entry for Brian

I don't remember seeing this before. It's an entry in the Alpine Club of Canada's database of climbing accidents. I don't know when it was written, it is remarkably well done. I came across it via an email from someone who'd hiked Rainbow recently. One caveat is that we never knew for sure that Brian actually started up the Rainbow Lake trail, only that he seemed to be headed that way when he left the Hostel. The search by friends and family was actually in the same week as the official search. I didn't remember anything about a post-melt aerial search but that's certainly plausible. I've copied it here for the record.

Alpine Accidents in Canada

Date: 12 Jul 2002
Location: Rainbow Lake - Whistler
Province: British Columbia
Park or Region: Whistler

Topo Map: 92 J/2 Whistler; 92 J/3 Brandywine

Route: unknown (16 km. return, 825 m. gain)
Type: Hiking
Persons Killed: 1
Persons Injured: 0
Type of Injuries: unknown

Search and rescue efforts, Grouse Mtn.
Photo by: BC Search and Rescue Association

Description: B.F. was last seen Friday July 12, 2002 in the vicinity of the Shoestring Lodge, Whistler, BC Canada. On Thursday afternoon, near Brandywine creek, he discussed the Rainbow Trail with Steve, his tour bus driver. He showed Steve the Brandywine topo map, and Steve described an ascent to Rainbow peak as a very enjoyable 9.5 hour day hike. Later that night. On Friday July 12th B.F. told this roommates that he would go out seeking a peak and snow, and might not return for the next day's bus departure. A security video recorded him leaving the Shoestring Lodge at 0957 with a full day pack. At 1030 he asked directions of Steve (bus driver) to the Valley Trail (and not the Rainbow Trail). He likely had crampons and an ice-axe with him, but was not carrying a sleeping bag and was likely not carrying a tent. He was probably carrying the 103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia book, the Brandywine topographic map (See 103 Hikes Information), and a photocopied portion of the Whistler Area Topographic and Street Map. The weather was sunny and pleasant that Friday, as it had been for a few days. By 0300 Saturday July 12th the weather changed to rainy, cooler and overcast. It remained that way until July 18th. The tour group left for their next destination Saturday July 13th at 0800. B.F. was not on board. Lodge checkout was later in the day. His gear was found in the room at that time. He left behind his passport, his day planner, his sleeping bag, clothing, and a diskette with some of his film writing work on it. The hotel checked with the adventure tour company, and when they learned he was not on the bus they contacted the RCMP at 1516 on July 15th (see contacts, below). His family was notified Tuesday July 16th, 2002 that he was missing. On Wed July 17th the RCMP activated the Whistler Search and Rescue team after his brother traveled to Whistler to meet with the RCMP. A search and rescue effort began Wednesday, July 17th 2002. It was as intense as the weather allowed, but the helicopter flights were limited by a low ceiling. On Thursday, July 18th, the Search and Rescue team and his brother spent the day interviewing people, reviewing data, checking purchase records and planning. On Friday July 19th the most intense search began under improving conditions, focusing on the Rainbow/Sproat Peak area with no findings. The RCMP then placed the search on hold. On Sunday, July 21, a limited search in the same region was triggered by reports of a footprint, but that was determined to be a false clue. On Sunday July 21 the RCMP terminated the search but maintains a missing person file. Later that summer friends and relatives commenced their own search of the trails and terrain in the area, but were unsuccessful in finding further clues. A further aerial sweep of ice covered areas around Rainbow Peak was planned during this season's maximal melt time, in case his body had been exposed. UPDATE:The search for B.F. was futile and has been officially terminated. A memorial service is planned for September 28, 2002.

Analysis: The overwhelming likelihood is that B.F. experienced a fatal accident while hiking alone and off trail and that his body is inaccessible....

Rescue Mode: still missing

Source: http://www.faughnan.com/brian.html

Notes from a recent explorer of Rainbow Mountain

I received a surprising note today from Matt C, who has just returned from an overnight at Rainbow Lake. I almost missed the email, the title was a single word and I didn't know the author -- that's typical of modern spam. It was a bit by chance I happened to read it.

Matt sounds like someone Brian would have recognized as a kindred spirit. Happily Matt did not run into any problems on his solo exploring. Like Brian, he was surprised by the lack of trail registration.

... I noticed you updated your blog recently, http://faughnan.blogspot.com/. I had a nice overnight at Rainbow Lake. After returning tonight, and reading your website, I'll definately be more careful in my solo camping/hiking style, specifically leaving an iternerary (always!) and being more cautious about what I'm getting into, my #1 concern solo-hiking is a fatal fall.

I camped at hanging lake last night and in the morning ventured towards madalay lake, but turned back noting the sharp decent, (yes, it would be 600m elevation loss that would have to be gained back..). That's why they call it hanging lake?

I headed not directly back to Rainbow Lake, but up the valley on the left instead. About half way up the valley I heard a rustling noise, and got a good view of a bear's butt. It turned briefly for a picture then continued to scurry off up the other side of the valley. I continued up the valley taking the left route thinking it would spit me out in a better position to do rainbow mountain. Eventually I got to a beautiful lake, maybe 1/8 the size of hanging lake, and not on the main maps. I hiked out of this dished area and was greeted with views to rainbow lake.

I hiked down to meet the stream/trail that goes North from Rainbow Lake, the trail one would supposedly take for doing rainbow mountain. Along the way I sighted a route through the vegetation. As the 103 [jf: 103 hikes is a well known book of hikes in this region, I think Brian used it] was back in the car, it wasn't much help stating the trail would go up the valley a while or whatever. I must have missed crossing over the trail sowewhere anyways. Heading up my chosen route things became more steep, at times I was using my hands which suggests to me it was getting difficult.

I arrived at the waypoint below for lunch. There's a standing deadwood tree a little down from there that I used for balancing the camera. Deciding thre was no way I'd make it to the top I headed back down, this time a different route, but just as annoying. More trees/shrubs/rocks, but still steep.

ELEV: 1842m
N 50 09.813'
W 123 03.811'

About 300m or so from the bottom/trail/stream, I found a metal snow shovel, no handle. I picked it up, perplexed. It was blue, the blade was well worn, and it was stamped "survival on snow" in jagged letters, with Edmonton, AB, Canada also stamped in caps. I hiked down another 20 ft and put it upside down on one of two huge boulders. Hiking down a little farther, I met up with the trail that I hadn't found earlier, and it looked as if it would have taken me to the peak. Shrug. I was a little ways down from the standing deadwood tree perched on the tall narrow rock.

Anyways, I guess my point is the 103 hikes should maybe re-word their description for rainbow peak. I was a little out of my comfort zone. The 5th edition says:

"the energetic could ascend rainbow mountain. It is an easy ascent if you continue along the length of the lake before striking upward to the ridge south of the peak."

Granted I wasn't on the trail to the peak.. if it went that far, but it was also not clear if there was a trail all the way to the peak or if the peak would be done off trail. I did "strike upwards to the ridge south of the peak." But there's no way it was an "easy ascent". Looking at the 103 back at the car I probably should have been farther North before striking upwards... though on the trail all the words I remember were "easy ascent".

I was also surpised there was no registration box at the trailhead.. (as at lynn headwaters).

Anyways, thanks for your story and what it has taught me. I got to your site from a google search to alpine club of canada --

http://alpineclub-edm.org/accidents/accident.asp?id=752.

It was great to receive this note. Matt probably wondered if he would open old wounds, but Brian is never far from my mind. I liked hearing from someone who would understand Brian, and it's also good to hear that Matt is weighing the risks of off-trail solo scrambling. It is not bad to take risks, but it is bad to miscalculate the risks one takes.

I hadn't known of (or perhaps I once knew and forgot) about the Alpine Club database entry, but I'll blog on it next.

Was the shovel Brian's? I didn't hike beyond Rainbow Lake, but of course it's conceivable that he would have followed a similar route to Matt. I think Andre and some of the Outing Club (now Outdoors Club) might remember this route -- it reminds me of one of the inaccessible approaches Andre might have explored. I don't know of any reason to suspect it was Brian's but I'll ask his friends if they remember this piece of equipment.

Thanks Matt C.