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With winds clocked at over 100 mph at the WAC weather
station on Snoqualmie Pass, three trees blew over, causing a huge hole through the
roof of the Cabin. It crashed into the roof of the new addition, breaking
through and causing the sprinkler system to engage. Doerte received the
first call on Friday morning and served as dispatch with the Snoqualmie Pass
Fire Department, Fire One, and various cell phones, and then manned the
phone banks to keep folks informed, while Dave Mitchell drove up to do an
initial assessment of the damage.
There is serious damage to the structure, and also serious water damage. The
wet mattresses, couches etc will have to be disposed of. While many parts
Western Washington, including Bremerton, Seattle, and east all the way to Cle Elum were without power
( almost a million people!), the friends and family of
the WAC found time to help with the cleanup with no notice.
We had a beautiful sunrise driving up I90, through the strangely dark and
quite suburbs to the east. It was very cold, with 60 inches of snow on the
ground and 8 inches of very nice light power. We were shocked at the damage we found on
such a beautiful morning.
Our quick disaster response team was 20 strong. We
organized into three groups to effectively handle the situation. Outside,
Inside cleanup and Inside Repair. We were challenged by the wet conditions
and lack of electricity. The team got the stoves going, the water on, and
with a generator brought by Archie rigged emergency lighting in most rooms.
Lunch was hot soup. The power was
restored about 6 pm Saturday.
Participating:
Dale Ott, Archie Brenden, Ed Kelting, Nic Pottier,
Jason Peacock, John Sargent, Tim Sargent, Jeff Sargent, Karl Koemmpel, Mike
Mahanay, Doerte Mahanay, Lee Parsons, Rachel Parsons, Dan Miller, Bill Lober,
Eli Holmes, Karel Zikan, and Dave Mitchell.
Bill Hooper came by for an inspection, and Fred,
Jonathan, and Eileen came by and hauled a load of non burnables to the dump.
Sunday, Dave, Mike, John, Bert Bradley, Allison Longley, Chris Snow, Laurie Rich, and Jeff
Wright did additional cleaning.
Thanks to everyone
that saved the day, and provided support!!!
There will still be more work to do through the winter,
spring, and summer.
The Cabin is certainly usable with the exception of the
women's dorm and honeymoon suite. The work is not done yet, as we'll need to
inspect some walls and ceiling, and repair the sprinkler. We are in contact
with the insurance company.
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The branches of the big tree knocked out the light and
damaged this section of the upper entryway. |
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The big tree went across the stairs wiping out the
rails. John, Bert, and Mike measured 30" diameter at the base. |
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The damage in the ladies dorm. |
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In the honeymoon suite (above the ladies dorm). Notice
the bend and broken steel fire sprinkler pipe. The sprinkler pipe did a
good job of breaking the big trees fall. |
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More damage in the Honeymoon Suite.
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Besides the damage to the structure we also had
significant water damage. The tree broke the sprinkler pipe in two
places which caused it to engage as designed. The insulation and ceiling tiles in the
bathrooms were all soaked and on the floor. |
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John Sargent hauls the couches out. We put the ruined
mattresses, couches, rugs, and carpet in two big piles in the yard. We
covered them with tarps for the winter. next summer we'll dispose of the
debris. |
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Rachel Parsons bags ruined stuff in the Fireplace Room.
It was flooded, along with the ping pong room, bathrooms, and central
hallway. |
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Our Outside crew was led by Dale Ott who took a day off
of work. He brought an assortment of chainsaws and cut the tree into 18"
rounds. The tree was 25" in diameter 30' from the base. There were 75
rings on the tree indicating it started it's life when Guye Cabin was
build in 1932. |
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Dale Ott used a special long handled saw to trim the limbs
from the tree. Due to it's precarious position on the stairs and roof,
it was very unstable and dangerous.
Jason Peacock and Nic Pottier were also instrumental in the Outside
work. |
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The impact on the sturdy Cabin caused the tree to break.
It also broke over the top of the Cabin. One rafter was shattered and
will have to be replaced. Considering the size of the tree, and Cabin
held it's own. |
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Nic Pottier attaching the static gold line to the top of
the tree. Our plan was to pull the tree off of the roof. |
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Three guys couldn't pull the tree off, so we doubled the force.
This is cream of the venerable WAC muscle!
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Off it comes!
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Yee Ha! |
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And down to the ground where it belongs! |
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With perfect timing Dave Mitchell brought the supplies,
plywood, and two by sixes to shore up the roof. Bill Lober and Eli
Holmes. |
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Ed Kelting and Archie Brendan removed the damaged joist,
and reinforced the roof to prevent further damage. They wanted to be sure it holds the snow through the winter.
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Archie clears the snow from the roof to get it ready
for
the patch. |
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Ed Kelting, Mike Mahanay, and Dan Miller install the first of the 4 patches.
Bill Lober and Dan Miller prepared each patch by using three quarter
inch exterior plywood and wrapping it with plastic sheets. |
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Mike Mahanay, nailing the last patch as the sun is setting. Karel
and Mike witnessed an excellent sunset, and spectacular alpenglow from the roof. Bill Loper and
Dan Miller did the rigging and belaying.
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The finished patch. We hope this will hold until
next May or June when we can make a permanent repair. |
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www.washingtonalpineclub.org
Washington Alpine Club
P.0. Box 352
Seattle, WA 98111
Guye Cabin was originally built in 1932 by a
bunch of volunteers just like us.
Several additions were built over the years. The work has always been done by
volunteer work
parties of Club members! We are working hard to make sure that
maintenance and needed repairs are done to keep the Cabin in top condition.
Our Cabin deserves our respect and
care! Remember, 2007 is the 75th anniversary of Guye Cabin!
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email at
mikem@rem0vethisgrandcanyontreks.org
