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Surviving the backcountry

As a growing number of people head into the backcountry it's clear that education is key to enjoying it safely
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When the call came in Whistler Search and Rescue members knew they had to move fast.

Lying at the bottom of a 27-metre icy crevasse in the Brandywine Falls area lay a 50- year-old snowmobiler, injured, likely hypothermic and, rescuers were told, he had recently had heart surgery.

The sledder, visiting from the Lower Mainland, was riding a snowmobile along the fall line in the middle of the glacier around lunchtime in early February. Any mountaineer will advise not to do such a thing, but ride the fall line he did, right into a hole on the backside of a 90-degree rollover.

As soon as the team got there Whistler SAR sent one of its experienced team members into the crevasse to stabilize the man. But it was no easy feat for the crooked shape of the crevasse hampered the operation. The remaining team members set anchors in the snow and set up a pulley system. A sixteen-person team was assembled from Whistler Search and Rescue, the RCMP, Whistler Heli-skiing and Whistler Blackcomb to help with the rescue.

When the team member reached the injured man he had broken bones, was bruised all over and had difficulty breathing. He had injuries to his head, back and legs and his heart condition was complicated by the fact that he was on blood thinners. Using a harness he was moved to a place where daylight could be seen. But time was running out as nightfall approached. That is when it was decided to get ready to call in help from the Canadian Armed Forces in Comox if needed. In the end with twilight deepening into night the team managed to extract the injured man and by 5:30 p.m. he was in a helicopter on the way to Whistler's health care centre.

The snowmobiler did not have a daypack with food, water or any other safety equipment.

This is hardly an isolated incident. More people are entering the backcountry every year and the rates of incidents are increasing on average, year after year - with many of these adventure seekers travelling unprepared.

As this season of winter backcountry use draws to a close those who put their lives on the line to rescue others in need want to remind people to be prepared - staying safe is about education not policing the backcountry.

The British Columbia Search and Rescue Association has seen a steady trend upward in callouts. And while it's nearly impossible to count the number of people visiting the backcountry every year, there's no question more of them are having trouble finding their way out of it.

"I think it's relatively safe to say that on any given night there's at least a couple of people stumbling around back there, maybe not lost but certainly not absolutely sure where they are," says Brad Sills, manager of Whistler Search and Rescue (WSAR).

The most recent information available through the Provincial Emergency Program shows land search and rescue operations rose from around 270 in 1990-1991 to over 1,100 currently. The costs for all search and rescue operations for that same period rose from just under $200,000 to approximately $3.8 million currently. The $3.8 million spent for SAR incidents in 2010/11 does not include money spent by other agencies, nor does it include the funds provided by the province and the RCMP for training Search and Rescue volunteers.

The average cost for each SAR incident is about $3,200.

According to the B.C. SAR Association (BC SARA) in any given year rescue groups in B.C. respond to over 1,300 missing (lost) or injured persons. The 2,500 unpaid professional volunteers, located in more than 80 B.C. communities are available day or night. Together the men and women donate over 100,000 hours of their time on callouts annually, and an astounding 95 per cent of subjects are found or rescued within the first 24 hours of a volunteer SAR group being activated. If this volunteer service was to be replaced it is estimated that it would cost in direct salary dollars alone over $5,000,000 annually (excluding infrastructure and capital costs, which are estimated at over $50 million).

All SAR operators in B.C. act as an arm of the RCMP, and so are funded by the taxpayer. WSAR averages about 70 requests for assistance every year, and about 30 of them require action. They respond to every ability level and virtually every user group including kayakers, mountain bikers, climbers, skiers, snowboarders and snowmobilers. Rescuers try to reach the often-remote locations within an hour and a half of a call. Most incidents involving skiers are resolved on the same day or the next day and, for the most part, end well.

"But there have been other calls that have certainly tried our technical expertise," said Sills.

"...When we're thinking, 'We shouldn't be here,' well we try to avoid that at all costs."

One growing trend appears to be the increase in the mutual aid calls where more than SAR is called in to help with the rescue.

The backcountry around the world has beckoned adventure seekers for as long as humans have established society but there seems to be more adventure seekers these days than ever before.

And resorts like Whistler, and similar ones in the U.S. are looking at what the best way is to make sure that backcountry users enjoy nature but get out safely.

Tracking the number of people going into the backcountry is difficult but equipment sales are a good indicator of the numbers. According to the Ski Industries of America 2009 Intelligence Report, nearly 35,000 units were sold in the 2007-2008 winter season - the most ever purchases made in one season - and only slightly less were sold in 2009/10 season. The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that Washington ski resorts and backcountry touring operators are cashing in on more people looking to escape crowded resorts.

Bernie Protsch, Whistler Blackcomb's (WB) ski patrol manager, says the rise in popularity of backcountry skiing in particular has been influenced by marketing in the media: Cinematic depictions of the great backcountry, glorious peaks with a couple of riders gliding through the freshest snow - with no one else around.

"There are no ski lifts. There are no 7-Elevens. And there's adventure, pure simple adventure," Protsch says.

But Kyle Patterson, public information officer for Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park, says that the percentage of backcountry explorers is about the same as it ever was, it's just that more people are exploring the great outdoors than ever before, front and backcountry alike.

"I don't know if more people are coming, it's just that when you have more visitors, that same percentage are recreating in the backcountry," she says.

"We're not seeing a big jump in people. Percentage-wise, it's just increasing."

If more people are heading for the backcountry, it's only because more people are crowding the ski resorts.

Rocky Mountain National Park, which had one of the highest rescue incident rates in the country in 2010, is popular with hikers and mountaineers. The park authorities combine on-site outreach with a variety of education methods, including a park newspaper and a recently-developed podcast all about Long's Peak, the highest peak in the park.

"We try to communicate a very simple message that safety is your responsibility," says Mark Magnuson, chief ranger of the park.

Over three million people visited the park in 2010 and there were 249 search and rescue incidents, higher than the park's five-year average. In the 2010-2011-ski season, Whistler had about two million skier visits and, according to Sills, SAR response was about average at 30 rescue operations to date. But those skier visits do not track those who head into the backcountry outside the boundaries of Whistler Blackcomb - and that is where some of the best backcountry experiences can be found.

In the U.S., there is a broad public national safety policy in place that allows each national park and agency the authority to develop strategies to communicate and address the risks. In Canada, AdventureSmart provides education and trip-planning advice for people heading into the backcountry. Created by the B.C. Provincial Emergency Program with the help of the National Search and Rescue Secretariat, the RCMP and the BC SARA, AdventureSmart combines online trip-planning checklists and advice for every type of terrain and activity, as well as on-site awareness with targeted outreach to try to reduce the numbers of search and rescue incidents. Information from the Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA) is also a key component of any preparation to head into the backcountry.

Sills, who co-founded the WSAR 35 years ago, says the number of responses has climbed over that time, although the rate of incidence from one year to the next is "kind of random."

"You can't graph it in any way," he says.

"In some years you're really, really busy and in some years you're not. You may have two or three years with a reduced call volume and then just get hammered."

Of course, the incidents relate to the amount of people out in the backcountry. On bluebird weekends, Sills says that WSAR will most certainly be working for the first few days. After those first few days, however, the number of rescue calls varies, seemingly randomly.

"The Red Cross did studies on drowning," he says, "and the only trend they found was that - and they've kept statistics since 1920 or so - more people drown every year, but there's no rhyme or reason to it. They've tried to figure out if it has something to do with weather or holidays or anything and it's almost random."

Backcountry mishaps follow a similar path. WSAR rescue workers can't say for sure that there will be "X" number of calls in March - typically their biggest month. They may receive a bulk of their calls in February, which has been the case so far in 2011.

The backcountry is, in broad terms, a region that is isolated, remote, undeveloped and difficult to access. In B.C., there's a whole lot of it - 94 per cent of land in B.C. is Crown land and is accessible to everyone. You enter at your own risk.

"Hazards exist within the ski area boundary and outside," says Whistler RCMP Staff Sergeant Steve LeClair. "There's always going to be these types of incidents happening. Our goal is for them to have the best possible outcome, to reduce the number of fatalities and reduce the severity of injuries."

The RCMP's role is to patrol and beginning next year it will do so in the backcountry with recently purchased ATVs and snowmobiles. Its mandate does not include prevention and LeClair says that the RCMP only addresses the public after an incident occurs. And by then, of course, it's already too late.

Police detachments tend to be the first point of contact through the 911 line and all missing person calls, regardless of where the person goes missing, are its responsibility. If there is a fatality, it's up to the RCMP to contact the police of jurisdiction, who will then inform the family. If the deceased is a Whistler resident, then Whistler RCMP has the job. If the deceased is an Ontario resident, the Ontario Provincial Police are contacted to handle the job. Likewise, if the person is visiting from overseas, Interpol is contacted.

"It's devastating, and having done it a number of times, it's never something you get used to," says LeClair.

"You handle it with the most empathy and compassion that you can to tell someone with a loved one, they won't be seeing them again."

So far in the Sea to Sky backcountry this year there has been one fatality.

"That's considered low when you consider the number of skier visits, so we're happy to see that's the case. In previous years, I've seen four fatalities on the mountain," LeClair says.

These fatalities can be prevented if the proper precautions are taken. Accidents can happen but for the most part, preparation can substantially limit the risks.

"Anytime that anyone goes into the backcountry, they should be prepared for self rescue, and along with that, they should have a knowledge of how to take care of themselves out there - rescue, terrain evaluation, what the avalanche danger is at the time," says WB's Protsch.

The (CAA), Canada's national public avalanche safety organization, has extensive resources on its website for pre-trip planning, frequent bulletins for avalanche awareness, and advice on what kind of gear to take: avalanche probes, a shovel, and a cell phone.

Protsch says common sense is an important element. Learn to use a transceiver. Know the basic capabilities of the people you're travelling with. Learn to use a compass, to read a map, wield a shovel.

Most important, have a plan.

"Let someone know your plan so that should you be delayed with bad weather, or worse, if an event occurs, at least someone has an idea where you are," he says.            Snowmobilers in particular need to use extra caution. There have been an unprecedented number of incidents involving snowmobiles and serious injuries as a result of collisions and falls. The spike may have something to do with the rising popularity of snowmobiles and inexperienced operators and, says Protsch, and these riders need to be aware of the risks associated with the activity.

Whistler Blackcomb works hand-in-hand with local SAR groups to respond to any emergency that occurs in the backcountry behind their two tenured mountains, and will often be a first responder to some of these calls. Protsch says that a majority of search and rescue cases are a result of inexperience.

"We do at times get people who are experienced, and those are unfortunate events where someone has an injury," he says. "That can happen to anybody, but we have a lot of people who are just unprepared in basic training."

People will often visit locations they've been before in better weather conditions, but once the weather turns to fog or snow, they get turned around, get disoriented and end up spending a night or two in the backcountry. If there's a fatality, water is usually involved. It's the single biggest cause of backcountry fatalities. In winter, people will often fall into a creek or river and risk hypothermia. In the spring and sometimes summer fast moving water is the danger.

No one's saying, "Avoid the backcountry." The landscape is there to be enjoyed, and should be enjoyed. It's how people enjoy it - whether they assess the risks properly and take the necessary precautions - that will determine how much enjoyment they actually take out of it.

"The backcountry is there for people to enjoy responsibly," LeClair says.

"People are welcome to use it like any other recreational area, but we want people to enjoy it responsibly and make sure that they're safe."

 

 



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