Mountain Rescue, Mudslide, and Elk Trial

The massive mudslide in Mesa County, Colorado is still in an unstable condition.  The three missing men are no longer being searched for.  Small slides continue at irregular intervals.  Some of the residents of the small town of Collbran have been told to be ready to evacuate immediately, and small ranchers have been trucking their horses, cattle, and other livestock to safer areas.  A grand piano was seen being loaded into a moving van yesterday...  A lake of standing water is forming at the foot of Grand Mesa, which is where the slide originated and the lake is expected to break through the mud-formed wall and cause another large mudslide.  Geologists and engineers have determined that the second, largest mudslide was moving around 170 miles per hour Sunday afternoon, when he three local men went up Salt Creek to find what had caused the water to stop running in their irrigation ditches.  My heart goes out to the two families who lost loved ones - and to those who might still lose their homes and livelihoods to further slides.
   A  19-year-old man from Quebec, Canada decided to go mountain climbing with a friend Tuesday.  The young man had no mountain climbing experience, and went along with his friend to climb the east face of Long's Peak in the Rocky Mountain National Park.  Wearing light-weight slacks, T-shirts, and sneakers, and carrying a backpack with snacks and water, the guys made it up to the 13,000 foot level.  The Quebec youth became separated from his friend, and called for help on his cell phone, from Broadway Ledge.  A team of 28 people and two helicopters spent almost 24 hours in the search and rescue operation.  A helicopter raised the young man from the ledge, and he was taken by ambulance to the Estes Park Medical Center.  Yesterday morning, with temperatures in the 70s and the sun striking the east face of Long's Peak, the rescuers were fighting falling rocks, falling ice, and melting snow.  he young man says he's feels both "lucky" and "stupid" to have survived the night on the mountain, at 13,000 feet (with temperatures about 30 degrees), wearing summer clothes.  If you are going to climb a mountain, please take along appropriate equipment and survival gear.  I shudder to think about the cost of that rescue.
   Marc Colin, the defense attorney for ex-Boulder police officer Sam Carter, stated yesterday that his client "was not guilty of anything" in the opening statements for Carter's trial, charged with multiple misdemeanor and felony charges in the death of a trophy elk called Big Boy.  Colin stated that Carter as performing his duty as a police officer, to protect the residents of Boulder.  He said that the elk was a menace and danger to society because home-owners in the Mapleton Hill have been feeding the elk during the winter for the past several years.   ....  If you've ever read my blog, and especially my entries about Edward the Elk (aka Big Boy), you know where I stand.  I want Sam Carter to pay heavily for killing a trophy elk out of season - for planning to do so with a friend who has already pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to kill a trophy elk out of season, and to picking up the elk's carcass on the night in question (having called in sick for his night shift work at Boulder Police Department), but being immediately available to pick up the carcass after midnight and take it to his home taxidermy shop.  I believe the friend, Brent Curnow, also received a light sentence for his part in this farce.  or more information, please see:  http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_25850065/boulder-elk-jury-seated-sam-carter