Redrocksafetyplan

terraloco Desert Map Trek at Red Rock
Canyon State Park
A. EVENT OVERVIEW
1. The event will be held on Saturday, November 10, 2012 and Sunday, November 11, 2012 at Red Rock Canyon State Park, subject to a permit from California State Parks. The event's parking, registration, start, and finish will be by the park's main visitor center on Saturday and at the edge of the Red Cliffs Natural Preserve parking area on Sunday. There will be an unmanned aid station with water on each day’s course. We would like to hold the event rain or shine.
2. The organizer of the event is terraloco, a sole proprietorship.
3. The event is a map trek, also known as a rogaine, which is a special format of orienteering; in a usual orienteering event, the course must be done in a specific order. With the rogaine format, participants may find the checkpoints in any order. Each day, approximately 10 to 25 checkpoints will be placed over an area of the park of approximately 20 square kilometers. Teams and individuals will attempt to locate and visit as many checkpoints as possible within a time limit using a specially prepared map of the park. One map per participant will be issued. Checkpoint visits will be recorded by a pin punch unit in the checkpoint marker onto a special punchcard carried by participants. Checkpoints will be worth varying numbers of event score points. 4. On Saturday, a two-hour course only is offered. On Sunday, three divisions (time limits) will be offered: 2 hours, 4 hours, and 6 hours.
5. The proposed event schedule is detailed in the event information page.
6. The longest course that includes all checkpoints is approximately 30 kilometers. Some teams may be capable of finding all the checkpoints.
7. We will admit a maximum of 100 participants per day.
8. Participants take part on their own risk and are responsible for their safety. Each individual and each team member will be required to sign a liability waiver form (APPENDIX 5).
9. terraloco last held a map trek “rogaine” with 2 and 4 hour divisions at Red Rock Canyon State Park in February 26 & 27, 2011.
10. Participants will be required to carry a compass. A list of suggested equipment will be provided in the Safety Policy and Procedures section of the event bulletin (APPENDIX 3).
11. For an endurance event such as a rogaine, participants need food, water, and electrolytes. The organizers and the participants share the responsibility for these.
(a) Water will be provided at two locations on the course: at the start/finish and at one remote location. Plain water and water with electrolyte supplements will be available.
Post-course food and aid station snacks are included in the entry fee. The food will provide adequate protein and carbohydrates to speed up post-course recovery.
(b) Participants will be reminded of the need for adequate hydration, calorie intake, and electrolyte balance maintenance in the Safety Policy and Procedures section of the event bulletin (APPENDIX 3). In particular, we highlight the dangers of hyponatremia (low sodium).
12. The most likely site- and season-specific hazards at Red Rock in November will be steep slopes and possibly heat exhaustion.
(a) During the course of terrain survey for the map, all areas that the organizers deem excessively steep and/or unsafe will be noted. These areas, as well as all areas prohibited by the park, will be marked out of bounds on the participants' maps, and participants will be instructed to avoid these areas during a pre-event briefing.
13. In case a participant or team is lost, the safety bearing for this area is East to State Highway 14 on Saturday and West to State Highway 14 on Sunday, and is included on the participants' maps (APPENDIX 2).
14. The event organizer is trained in basic first aid and CPR and will have a first aid kit at the start/finish area. The event organizer will poll participants ahead of time to see if any are EMT’s, nurses, firefighters, doctors, or have any special medical training, and keep a list of those willing to help if a medical care situation arises. Nearest hospital information will be on the participants' maps (APPENDIX 2).
15. All car license plates will be recorded on registration forms. Personal cell phone numbers and emergency contact information (for someone not present at the event) will also be collected from registration forms.
16. A team or individual participant will be deemed missing if they have not checked in at the finish within twenty minutes of the course closing time; OR if other information surfaces earlier, possibly through contacts with other participants. Search operations will commence as soon as possible after a team is deemed missing. (a) Prior to the start, each team and individual participant will be required to complete an "intention sheet" showing their anticipated route. These sheets will be collected at the pre-start. In case a team is missing, the sheets will allow for quick checks of which area of the event to single out for the search.
(b) We will poll participants who have finished about where on the map they have seen the missing team, using this information to inform our search plan.
(c) The search area will be divided up between available participants. These search teams will communicate with the event director and may take vehicles to park closer to the edge of their search areas. Search teams will be equipped with flashlights and first aid kits.
(d) State Parks emergency dispatch will be contacted as soon as the search as being planned; the event director will continue to update the dispatch with the progress of the search.
17. Rescue operations will commence as soon as information about a team or individual in distress reaches the organizers.
APPENDIX 1: EVENT SAFETY PERSONNEL(PROPOSED) others to be added as information is gathered by surveying participants.
APPENDIX 2: SAFETY INFORMATION ON PARTICIPANTS' MAPS There will be one map per participant issued. The text below will be on the face of this map.
SAFETY BEARING: EAST TO STATE HIGHWAY 14, THEN NORTH OR SOUTH TO VISITOR’S CENTER ENTRANCE +1 510 681 6181 (will not have cell coverage at either start/finish area.) EMERGENCY DISPATCH:911 (to call, nearest spot with cell phone coverage is Jawbone Station, 6 miles south of either entrance on State Highway 14) DIRECTIONS:1. Closest - non-urgent care: Ridgecrest Regional Hospital, 1081 North China Lake Boulevard, Ridgecrest, CA, 93555. From the event start / finish, head north on State Highway 14 to State Highway 178 / W Inyokern Road, and bear right onto that road. After 12 miles, turn right on North China Lake Boulevard. The hospital is 0.7 miles from there.
2. Urgent care - Antelope Valley Hospital, 1600 West Avenue J, Lancaster, CA, 93534. Take State Highway 14 south about 45 miles to Lancaster. Exit at Avenue J and turn left. Take the third right onto 15th St. West.
SAFETY BEARING: WEST TO STATE HIGHWAY 14, THEN NORTH OR SOUTH TO RED CLIFFS NATURAL PRESERVE ENTRANCE APPENDIX 3: RED ROCK CANYON MAP TREK SAFETY POLICY AND PROCEDURES(SECTION 1 OF THE EVENT PARTICIPANT BULLETIN, ALSO PROVIDED TO EVENT STAFF) A. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
If there is an emergency, find a ranger in the park (try the area around the campground
and the visitor’s center,) or get to an area with cell phone coverage where you can call
the emergency dispatch number 911. The nearest spot with cell reception either day is
6 miles south along State Highway 14 at Jawbone Station. Also notify the organizers.
Contact info is on the front of your map.
B. REQUIRED AND SUGGESTED EQUIPMENT
REQUIRED: Compass
SUGGESTED: Appropriate clothing and shoes; Water bottle/hydration pack; Salt tablets;
Food; Blister tape; First aid kit.
AID: One fully stocked aid station. One water-only stations on the course with plain water
(bottled water or treated spring water) and water treated with a sports electrolyte
supplement. Your water reservoir should be large enough to sustain you between visits to
these points.
C. HAZARDS
STEEP SLOPES: If we thought it's not safe, it's marked out of bounds on the map. Shoes
with a good tread are helpful.
HYPONATREMIA: Take salt pills or eat salty food starting at 3 hours into the event at the
latest.
200—400 milligrams of sodium ion per hour are advised. Drinking only plain water depletes
sodium in your body. Other electrolytes may also help prevent cramps.
D. TIME LIMIT
Course closure times--
2 hour course Saturday:
04:00 P.M.
2 hour course Sunday:
12:00 P.M.
4 hour course Sunday:
02:00 P.M.
6 hour course Sunday:
03:00 P.M.
E. INTENTION SHEET
Each team and individual participant will be required to fill out an intention sheet, which is a copy of the event map, with their anticipated route. The actual route taken does not have to match the intended route exactly. Intention sheets are due at the briefing 20 minutes before the respective start.
G. TEAMMATES STAY TOGETHER
All teammates must stay within unaided voice distance and must visit all checkpoints together.
H. SEARCH PROCEDURES
Twenty minutes after the course closing time each day we will initiate search and rescue if any team has not returned. We will meet with participants to find out what is known about the last sightings of the remaining teams. We will enlist participants to form search teams to find each missing team. Intention sheets (stating the teams’ intended routes) and reports of sightings from the course will be used to focus the planned search areas for each team, and these areas will be divided up into areas that pairs will search in. Each team will have a time limit and report back to the event center - by that time, either the team will be found and on its way back, or we will plan to search a different area. State parks emergency dispatch will be contacted as soon as reasonably possible (by going to the park office or the nearest area with cell phone coverage) and kept informed of the progress and status of the search. If there is a medical situation where the participants can be moved we will transport them given their consent. If the participants have an injury where trained medical staff must move them then we will have the search team stay with the injured person while emergency medical service is summoned.
APPENDIX 4: SAFETY-RELATED PROCEDURES(MANUAL FOR EVENT STAFF) A. REGISTRATION AND START
AT REGISTRATION (OPEN 12:30 PM SATURDAY; 08:00 AM SUNDAY): 1. All participants must read, understand, and sign a liability waiver form.
2. All participants must provide a legible name, address, phone number, car license plate number, and an emergency contact (for someone not at the event) if not already submitted through pre-registration, or if the early submission is incorrect.
3. All participants are informed of the course closing times: 4:00 Saturday and 2:00 Sunday.
DURING COURSE PLANNING (1:00 PM—1:40 PM SATURDAY; 08:00 AM—09:40 AM SUNDAY): 4. Each team and individual participant must mark their anticipated route on an intention sheet. This sheet is a copy of the event map, and will be retained by the organizers. One sheet per team.
DURING MANDATORY PRE-EVENT BRIEFING (11:40 AM SATURDAY; 08:40 AM
and 09:40 AM SUNDAY):
5. The participants are informed of the mandatory out-of-bounds areas, and any and all possible hazards discovered by the organizers.
6. The participants are reminded of the safety and emergency information, the time limit, penalties for late arrival, and search procedures if over 20 minutes late.
DURING PRE-START (until 12:00 PM SATURDAY; until 9:00 AM or 10:00 AM
SUNDAY):
7. The number of each team's members is matched with registration information.
8. Intention sheets are collected from all teams and individual participants. If the intention sheet is not available or is incomplete, the team/participant will not be allowed to start.
9. Required equipment is verified. If any of the required equipment is missing, the team/participant will not be allowed to start.
B. FINISH

1. The finish will be manned until all teams and individuals who started have reported back
or been otherwise accounted for.
C. SEARCH
Twenty minutes after the course closing time each day we will initiate search and rescue if any team has not returned. We will meet with participants to find out what is known about the last sightings of the remaining teams. We will enlist participants to form search teams to find each missing team. Intention sheets (stating the teams’ intended routes) and reports of sightings from the course will be used to focus the planned search areas for each team, and these areas will be divided up into areas that pairs will search in. Each team will have a time limit and report back to the event center - by that time, either the team will be found and on its way back, or we will plan to search a different area. State parks emergency dispatch will be contacted as soon as reasonably possible (by going to the park office or the nearest area with cell phone coverage) and kept informed of the progress and status of the search. If there is a medical situation where the participants can be moved we will transport them given their consent. If the participants have an injury where trained medical staff must move them then we will have the search team stay with the injured person while emergency medical service is summoned.
WAIVER OF RESPONSIBILITY
IF YOU DO NOT FULLY ACCEPT THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS AND DO NOT SIGN THIS
WAIVER, YOU WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS EVENT.
I know that map trekking, or “rogaining,” as an outdoor action sport, carries significant risk of personal injury. I know that there are natural and man-made hazards, environmental conditions, and risks, which, in combination with my action, can cause me serious, or possibly even fatal, injury. I agree that I, as a participant, must take an active role in understanding and accepting these risks, conditions, and hazards. In consideration of the acceptance of this entry, intending to be legally bound, I do hereby for myself, my heirs,executors and administrators, Waive and release any and all rights, liabilities, and claims for damages and/or suit I may have against terraloco, sponsors, its representatives, successors, and assigns; And the State of California, its officers, agents, and employees; For, or by reason of, any death of or injury or injuries to any person or persons, or damages to property of anykind whatsoever, whether the person or property of terraloco, its agents or employees, orthird persons, From any cause or causes whatsoever while in or upon Red Rock Canyon State Park or any part thereof during the term, or because, of this event, Or occasioned by any occupancy or use of Red Rock Canyon State Park or any activity carried on by terraloco in connection therewith. print)___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Parent or guardian must sign if entrant is under 18___________________________________________ Date ______________________________________________________________________________

Source: http://terraloco.com/events/2012/1110_1111_discover_red_rock/redRockSafetyPlan.pdf