75 Years of Rocky Mountain Rescues

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

75 Years of Rocky Mountain Rescues Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/07/2022 - 00:00

For 75 years, the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group (RMRG) — a solely volunteer organization — has served as the main response agency for mountain search and rescue in Boulder County. Beginning in 1947 with its first headquarters in the basement of the ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder engineering center, RMRG has held close ties with the university for decades. There is an RMRG student volunteer group at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ that is one of the university’s longest-running student organizations. Many alumni are also volunteers.

“Being a part of RMRG means being a part of a long history of excellence in mountain search and rescue,” said Steve Dundorf (CivEngr’97; MS’01), an RMRG volunteer for almost 30 years. “It is about helping those in need and saving the lives of people in our outdoor community. And it is about working in the outdoor environment that we all love.”

Technical mountain search and rescue can include:

Scree evacuations
Snowmobiles
Helicopters
ATVs
Avalanches

RMRG’s main priorities:

Technical mountain search and rescue
Outdoor safety education
Disaster response

Dog rescues happen at least once a year

First meeting: Feb. 3, 1947 (celebrating 75 years this year)

Works with more than 40 other emergency response agencies around Boulder County

Everyone is a volunteer and there is no charge for rescues

RMRG funding sources: 18% grants, 30% donations, 52% government contributions

RMRG covers 450 square miles of Boulder County, where there are 10M+ visits to open spaces a year

200 search and rescue calls per year on average

15,000+ volunteer hours a year

8,100 search and rescue calls since its formation in 1947

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Photos courtesy RMRG

For 75 years, the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group (RMRG) — a solely volunteer organization — has served as the main response agency for mountain search and rescue in Boulder County.

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The Frankenstein Switch of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ’s Old Main

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0000

The Frankenstein Switch of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ’s Old Main Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/05/2021 - 00:00

Christie Sounart

From 1924 to 1925, Old Main underwent renovations to redesign its theater, add a laboratory and generally improve the building, originally built in 1876.

“Those were the days when Old Main was the University,” declared the ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Alumnus in November 1924. “Its windows rattled, its walls rocked during storms and its floors and stairs creaked with the weight of a hundred students, the entire University population. And it still stands, but it will rock and creak no more.”

Electric ceiling lighting replaced kerosene lamps, candles and gas mantles. This particular electrical switch is believed to be one of the switches that sourced the building’s power.

Similar in appearance to the one used in the 1931 Frankenstein film, the heavy switch contains a slate baseplate and a tiny triangular logo from electric manufacturing company, Trumbull-Vanderpoel, based in Bantam, Connecticut.

Fred Luiszer (Geol’87; PhD’97) donated the switch to the ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Heritage Center in 2018. He acquired it as a student in the late 1960s when minor upgrades were made to Old Main. Read more about this Heritage Center artifact.

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Photo by Mona Lambrecht, ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Heritage Center

An artifact of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ’s Heritage Center is believed to be one of the switches that sourced power for Old Main.

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The Frankenstein Switch of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ’s Old Main

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