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Search and Rescue

On a Saturday in mid June, the weather at the 1,400-meter level on Mount Brunswick where six hikers were gearing up for the last 300 meters to the summit looked promising. A mixture of sun and cloud kept the temperature warm.

On a Saturday in mid June, the weather at the 1,400-meter level on Mount Brunswick where six hikers were gearing up for the last 300 meters to the summit looked promising. A mixture of sun and cloud kept the temperature warm.

But on the peak 45 minutes later the weather had changed. Mist swirled around the black rock outcroppings and fresh ice coated the branches of stunted evergreen trees exposed to the wind.

Back down in a cull the sun came out again and, we decided to follow the trip plan, traversing the Howe Sound Crest Trail to Magnesia Meadows, climb Mt. Harvey, then descend to our vehicles parked at Lions Bay.

Things started out well enough. The sun was still warm. And our small group of hikers had expected the trail to be reasonably free of snow given the mild winter. But the terrain above 4,000 feet was still covered in deep snows from winter avalanches and windfalls obscured trail markers. Ice axes were required and within 20 minutes the clouds had moved in. Then hail started falling. It was only a matter of time before someone got into difficulty.

"Wait a minute," a woman called out from behind the others. "This is too steep for me. I’m scared! And I’m not having fun."

Instinctively the hiker directly ahead of her turned around and went back to assist.

"Let’s do this together," the returning hiker said good-naturedly. Use your ice axe!" And really kick those steps in!"

Giving someone confidence is one thing, the second hiker thought as he returned to his place second to last with the group making the traverse. Being angry with yourself is a natural reaction to the disappointment one feels when you realize your abilities are not up to the challenge. But it was the tone of her voice that alarmed him- as if it were the group’s fault for bringing her up here.

The second hiker firmly planted his ice axe and took stock of the situation. The weather was getting worse. The hail had turned to sleet and the group was stretched out across the traverse. The better-conditioned hikers were already out of sight in the trees. If one hiker started blaming the others we’d have all kinds of problems. Those hikers who had gone ahead would have to come back. We’d have to regroup and come to a consensus about how to handle the situation. We were tired and already an hour behind schedule. A prime scenario for accidents was setting up.

Tim Jones, search manager for North Shore Search and Rescue, sees situations like this all the time in the backcountry near Vancouver and up Howe Sound.

"Usually it’s people who go out on an organized hike who don’t know each other that well," Jones says. "What happens is the group dynamics break down. People will simply get strung out and those at the front will just keep going."

The reason someone might become separated from the group can be as simple as a blister on a person’s foot. Or there can be a personality clash that breaks the group up.

"It centers around one of the people getting tired," Jones continues.

A pre-plan to ensure people going out on the trip are prepared and physically fit is a prerequisite to any hike in the backcountry.

"What happens if you have a group and only half the people have ice axes?" Jones asks. "So it’s equipment, it’s physical fitness, it’s the boots they wear."

It’s a good idea at the start of a hike, especially if the weather is uncertain, for the leader to make it clear that the trip plan may have to be altered. A briefing can avoid disappointment if the group has to turn back later on.

"A lot of people can’t accept that," Jones continues. "They’ll just push on. Two guys will just go ahead and finish the thing leaving people to their own devices then hopefully pick em’ up on the way back."

Jones, 47, has been a member of NSSR since 1987 and full-time active since 91’. When he started, the NSSR had 35 to 40 call-outs a year and no real communications system.

"We had a vehicle that suffered from mechanical breakdowns and, we had no storage facilities," Jones adds.

North Shore Search and Rescue slowly began to acquire better harnesses, helmets, ropes and hypothermia equipment. Now members are much better prepared to respond to an incident.

"We’ve got a very good infrastructure in place," Jones continues. "We’ve got five mountain top radio repeaters, a command support and off road vehicle and snow mobiles."

Before Search and Rescue was organized, the Mountain Rescue Group, a loose group of mountaineers, responded to incidents around the British Columbia. But by the 60’s and 70’s the numbers of incidents was increasing and the Mountain Rescue Group couldn’t cover the whole province. Mountain Rescue was separated into smaller rescue teams. Today local search and rescue teams are connected via the Provincial Emergency Program and work closely together. Last year, Jones responded to a joint operation on Mount Sloan north of Goldbridge with Whistler Search and Rescue.

"We had to do a long line to get an injured climber out," Jones recounts. "I responded from North Van with another member and Whistler responded with two of their members and, we did the operation together."

Funding and securing long-term commitments from personnel are two huge challenges for search and rescue teams in BC. In the beginning NSSR had a very small operating budget. Municipal support has increased significantly but it’s the private sector that’s really made a difference.

"We’re treated very well by the municipality," Jones says. "But most of our money for corporate infrastructure is raised through donations outside municipal funding."

Funding is only adequate if members keep after it.

"If we don’t go looking for it we ain’t gonna’ get it," Jones says.

On June 17, Jones was awarded the National Search and Rescue Secretariat Achievement Award at a ceremony at North Shore Search and Rescue’s equipment facility in North Vancouver. Jones was formally being recognized for his contribution to fund raising for North Shore Search and Rescue.

There are one or two members on every search and rescue team in British Columbia who put in as many as 50 hours a week fundraising and networking to make the team work.

"We’re basically the chief cook bottle washer types and, we love doing it," Jones says. "Every team’s got that particular type of individual."

Fundraising also remains a challenge in Whistler where the cost to operate Whistler Search and Rescue is between $30,000 and $40,000 a year. WSR is fortunate to have a number of organizations in Whistler that annually hold fundraisers.

"When we find that we can’t meet our fund raising obligations and we’re in dire straits, we can always turn to those organizations and be treated well," Brad Sills, search and rescue manager with Whistler Search and Rescue, says.

Assistance also comes in the form of a small annual grant and aid from the municipal council for between two and five thousand dollars. Search and rescue requires a minimum of three hours a week outside of actual calls and members take turns in various fundraising campaigns.

Fund raising is ongoing for all search and rescue teams BC. But the biggest challenge facing the North Shore and Whistler Search and Rescue teams is succession.

"A young guy on our team just became a chartered accountant," Jones says. "He’s leaving for Phoenix. There goes our future treasurer."

WSR, which was formed in 1972, has had a very stable search and rescue team for 30 years. The difficulty has been keeping personnel in Whistler because of affordability.

"We have over the past seven years been trying to turn the reins over to younger guys and ensure they have the experience to handle the situation," Sills explains. "The problem in Whistler of course is that due to the increasing cost of living it’s becoming more difficult to find younger people who are capable of living here."

And if young people can afford to live in Whistler then it’s finding the time to participate in such a time intensive type of volunteerism.

"It’s a big problem," Sills confirms.

Last winter was a bad year for avalanches in British Columbia. A combination of persistent weak layers of snow and weather and human error resulted in 28 people loosing their lives. There probably weren’t as many people in the backcountry on the north shore mountains as in other years because of the lack of snow.

"But when there was snowfall the backcountry was just crawling with people," Jones says.

Avalanche risk is directly related to weather patterns and changes annually.

"We were fortunate this year in that, we had a more stable snow pack than resorts in the Interior," Sills says. "That lessened the relative risk but on any given day you can find a slope that will cause an avalanche in the backcountry. It’s a numbers game. The more people who are out there the more chances of somebody doing something that would initiate a slide."

Now that we’re entering the summer hiking season there are a couple of dynamics that search and rescue teams have to deal with. First there are the group hikers.

"People don’t realize there’s still lots of snow out there," Jones continues. "People underestimate the terrain and go in either under equipped or not trained for that kind of terrain."

There can be 20 calls in July for lost or injured hikers on the north shore. Then there are the mountain biker calls. When North Shore Search and Rescue gets a call about a mountain biker it usually means the mountain biker isn’t moving. In Whistler there has been a very low incident rating with mountain bikers.

"I bet within the past five years we’ve had less than ten incidents," says Sills, who has been with Whistler Search and Rescue since 1976.

Sills hears stories about a lot of people who have been injured who get on their bikes and somehow get out.

"They seem to self evacuate more readily than perhaps a skier can, maybe just because a lot of them are participating in a gravity kind of exercise," Sills suggests.

The terrain on the north shore of Vancouver is short and steep which may partly explain why there are more incidents involving mountain bikers and hikers in that backcountry area than at Whistler.

"The north shore mountains are a lot steeper than what we have here," Sills says. "North Shore Search and Rescue has to go out when they first get a call because the mountains are gentle at the top for a short period and end up in very steep sided slopes and canyons. Once someone goes over the edge then it gets epic."

The mountainous terrain on the north shore necessitates that rescue personnel and people who are injured get out very quickly.

Ironically even though the volumes of people in the backcountry have increased North Shore Search and Rescues’ call volume is down this year. This is partly because people are more prepared. Cell phones are also a major factor.

"We’ve actually talked people out on a cell phone," Jones says.

When rescuers can talk to someone on a cell phone who is lost they have a good idea what the dynamics are.

This past winter has been a moderate year for Whistler Search and Rescue.

"A low snow pack high up precluded a lot of people from traveling outside from the ski areas," Sills says. "Generally speaking, historically it wouldn’t be referred to as a stellar winter."

The call-out volume this past winter in Whistler was 20, representing for the first time represents a small decrease in call-outs through Whistler Search and Rescue.

"Lower numbers of people in the mountains and poor snow pack limiting travels," Sills says.

Typically the call-outs were running fifty percent skiers and fifty percent snow boarders.

But the exhilaration of wilderness skiing and pristine snowscapes will continue to draw skiers from all over the world to the Whistler backcountry.

"A lot of people are being initiated into what I would call the big mountain experience for the first time," Sills explains. "They’re coming from smaller ski hills and once you venture outside of the protected ski areas the world is a much different place here. So it becomes the initiation grounds for huge numbers of people."

The experience of members with Whistler Search and Rescue is that search and rescue in Whistler is basically a numbers game.

"The more people you have coming here the more people you’re going to have involved in serious incidents," Sills maintains.

In terms of call volumes the main concern for WSR in summer is still hikers.

"In terms of serious incidents, swift water rescue and mountaineering would be the ones that certainly command our fullest attention," says Sills.

North Shore Search and Rescue just barely keeps up with the numbers of people venturing into the backcountry unprepared. Sills tends to think that people hiking in Whistler might be a little better prepared than those hiking on the north shore. On the north shore people who come right out of the city may just be interested in going for a walk then suddenly find themselves in over their heads. People who come to Whistler are more the destination hiker types.

The Whistler corridor has a myriad of outdoor users and the backcountry is only going to get busier.

"Certainly the use of the backcountry has increased dramatically by all user groups particularly with the motorized recreationalists," Sills continues.

Traditionally ski tourers travel perhaps 15 or 20 kilometers a day, whereas a snowmobiler can reach speeds of 100 kilometers per hour. So the range is much greater for a snowmobiler than for someone on cross-country skis. If something happens to a snowmobiler then by necessity the amount of area that needs to be searched increases. That has caused a huge increase in resources needed to search the backcountry. And at some point search and rescue teams can’t even begin to search an area without air support.

"The danger that comes up is that the weather is so bad, you can’t get up there," Sills continues. "These people have to face that risk when they embark on that activity because there is no help for them in that instance."

Sills and his colleagues in search and rescue teams around the province would ask that people realize that it is a natural world out there and there are going to be unpredictable events despite the knowledge one might have.

"There will always be that situation that you cannot predict," Sills says. "Preparedness and caution must be exercised all times."

The second weekend in June was the first weekend that people were starting to venture into the high alpine in Whistler. Sills expects that the summer hiking season will be closely related to the weather this year.

"If it’s a relatively dry summer then, we will see a huge number of people

utilizing the Whistler backcountry," he says. "That would be the expectation for the year."

The trip up Brunswick ended okay. We all got over the traverse. After a short break in the hut at Magnesia Meadows, we scrambled up Harvey then boot skied and walked down the mountain. Later on, sitting around the Lions Bay Café having coffee, Sills’ words about being informed, knowing the risks and

being prepared made a lot of sense.

"Get out there and enjoy the backcountry," Sills said. "That’s what it’s all about."