Happy April Fool’s Day to my fellow mountain rescuers!

We all know that mountain rescue is serious business. As rescuers, we work very hard to project the image of ourselves as dedicated, non-paid professionals. And while we always tackle the mission at hand with complete seriousness, I feel that we desperately need to avoid taking OURSELVES too seriously.

I am a member of Colorado’s Alpine Rescue Team. We like to think of ourselves as highly skilled, well-trained non-paid professional rescuers. But if you look closely at the walls of our headquarters (AKA The Shack), tucked in between the official proclamations of thanks from politicians, yellowed newspaper clippings tacked to the wall, and next to photos of our ice-rimed members waving summit flags atop the world’s high peaks- you’ll find a framed photo from the 80s of eight of our members (male and female) mooning the camera at the base of an ice climb. Can you imagine the look on your boss’ face in Corporate America USA, Inc. if you put a photo of eight pairs of (blindingly white) cheeks on the wall of your cubicle for all the world to see?

Probably not.

And look! Next to all the fancy brass and glass plaques from the local Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club and the Red Cross – it’s a gnarled bristlecone pine tree trunk adorned with various trinkets and artifacts including, but not limited to: a chunk of melted aluminum (from a torched snowmobile), broken toy helicopters, busted toy snowmobiles, a cracked aircraft altimeter, a sticker that reads “emergency helicopter exit only” and the tag cut from one of our mission leaders’ Fruit of the Loom white bikini brief underwear. This is our team’s inglorious monument to our failures and embarrassing moments as mountain rescuers. It is lovingly known to Alpine members as the Windy Peak “Aw Shit!” Award, and the trinkets hanging from it are the contributions of past recipients.

This award symbolizes so many things that I truly love about mountain rescue. First and foremost, it is a recognition of our humanity. Our fallibility. It also symbolizes that cherished spirit of true irreverence that runs crookedly through the heart of mountain rescue. I feel that the “Aw Shit!” Award, bestowed each year upon the team member who had the year’s biggest goof-up, is our most important award. (And yes, I am a previous winner – DON’T ask). It serves as our yearly reminder to both honor that irreverent spirit of mountain rescue’s independent nature, and to lighten the hell up. For in mountain rescue, sometimes our sense of humor is the only weapon we have at our disposal when we are faced with tragedy in the backcountry. The temptation to take things too seriously is sometimes a strong one, and one that we must avoid if we hope to remain happy and sane while doing our important work in the place I like to call RescueWorld.

Ernest Hemingway is famous for saying, “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.” And though mountaineering could be thought of as a sport, it is most certainly not a TEAM sport. It’s a solo endeavor performed by individuals. And so it goes that mountain rescue teams can be thought of as extensions of these free-spirited mountaineering individuals.

Hell, given the fiercely independent nature of most mountain rescue teams in the U.S., it’s a wonder to me that a national organization like the MRA exists at all sometimes.  

For just as the mountains attract many hikers, climbers and mountaineers who march to the beat of a different drummer, so it goes for many of the men and women who sign on to help those having a bad day while enjoying the freedom of the hills.

The very dynamic and eclectic nature of non-paid professional mountain rescue itself often cries out for an eccentric and unconventional approach. It follows that those who are drawn to this type of service for lost or injured hikers, climbers and skiers in the mountains might be a little … off as well.

In fact, the more time you spend around almost any volunteer mountain rescue team in the world, you’ll find that most of us possess (and sometimes flaunt) a strong sense of independent irreverence that you won’t likely find in EMS organizations that are dependent on mill levies or those that are forced to march to the PC beat of a Human Resource (HR) Department.

And God help mountain rescue the day that we have an HR Department.

(Hold on for a moment here while I step up onto my soapbox.) The way I see it, if you can’t go to the mountains or the backcountry and let your hair down once in a while (whether to recreate or to rescue), where else is left? In our politically correct society’s quest to never offend ANYONE, we’ve taken a lot of fun away from EVERYONE. (OK, sorry about that, I’m stepping back down now.)

In non-paid professional mountain rescue, this kind of financial and institutional independence is essential to the survival of each and every volunteer organization. As the Langdale-Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team (from the Lake District in Britain) says on their website, “Self-funding means freedom - to experiment, to acquire the best equipment for the job, freedom from bureaucratic interference and cost-cutting to which so many public services have fallen victim, and freedom to enjoy the team spirit which rewards and respects initiative and competence in a way which binds and disciplines a team to the ultimate benefit of all.”

So just who are these people who dedicate and donate so much of their time and effort “that other might live”? And what motivates them?

I’ve noticed two distinct personality traits that seem to be present in the folks who dedicate years of their life in service to mountain rescue. 

First of all, those who give that much of their lives to mountain rescue simply love helping people.Though a love of the backcountry and a deep respect for the awesome might of nature are important traits found in the mountain rescuer, it is their obsessive desire to help their fellow human beings that keeps the career mountain rescuer going year after year after year. After all, it is not unusual for most mountain rescue teams to go a couple of months with absolutely no calls, and if you joined mountain rescue strictly for the thrills, this is when you are likely to discover that you’d rather be climbing or skiing than sitting through yet another classroom presentation on line search techniques. From what I’ve seen, this is why adrenaline junkies make for terrible rescuers. These folks eventually discover that there’s a lot of standing around going on in mountain rescue, and that they’d rather be out recreating than being stuck back at Operations shuffling around in a parking lot inhaling diesel fumes from the rescue truck while waiting for a field assignment.

Secondly, career mountain rescuers have a screw loose-and I say that with the utmost respect. Professional mountain rescue has come a long way since its humble beginnings across the pond. But even with all the modernization of mountain rescue techniques and tools – and the equally modern concept of risk management – it is still a dangerous undertaking at times. It follows that those willing put themselves at risk for total strangers, year after year, with no financial reward or loaded gun to their head, are cut from a different cloth.

Like the bumper sticker says, “You don’t have to be crazy to work here, but it helps.”

Or, as Joseph Conrad once said, “There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.” 

And so it goes for the life in the mountains, dedicated to mountain rescue. 

In closing, I urge my mountain rescue comrades to savor the one day of the year that you are not only permitted-but encouraged- to play the fool. To let your freak flag fly.

So I say to my fellow mountain rescuers, remember to lighten the hell up-and may you always be a little…off.

Tom Wood is a 15-year veteran of the Alpine Rescue Team in Evergreen, CO and works as the Training Manager for Vertical Rescue Solutions by PMI. The preceding post contains material from his upcoming memoir: “Trading Steel for Stone: Tales of a Rustbelt Refugee Turned Rocky Mountain Rescuer”. This post does not reflect the opinions of the ART, the MRA, PMI or-quite possibly- anyone else, for that matter.

And fellow mountain rescuers-feel free to comment below and share your own rescue team’s odd or unique characters, traditions or awards.

Map Skills in the Digital Age

A Guest blog by Past President Neil Van Dyke

There was an interesting piece on National Public Radio recently about map making in the digital age.  While the discussion was quite broad reaching in scope, there was some very interesting commentary that related directly to search and rescue.  One of the points was that the younger generation in large part has no experience with the use of paper maps.  Their map and navigational world revolves around Google maps or other apps on their computer or smart phone. To this generation one navigates by asking their phone how to get from point A to point B then watching their progress, whether they are travelling by vehicle or on foot.  We increasing see this in the backcountry.  This past summer while on patrol one ranger I work with encountered a young man with an iPad slung around his neck which he was using for his map. I was personally involved in about a half a dozen incidents this year where people got lost while trying to navigate using their phone.  

Some of the issues these folks encountered:
-One party thought a blue line on the map was a trail, when in fact it was a stream. (This would have been obvious to anybody familiar with reading a standard USGS map.) They lost the trail, a search was initiated and they spent an uncomfortable night out in the woods.
-A solo hiker was navigating using his phone when the battery went dead.  He had no other map. He also spent a cold night in the woods and needed to be “rescued” and escorted out of the backcountry.
-Two different hikers got “lost” on or near the same trail which was not shown on the mapping app. We were able to talk them back onto the trail and convince them to turn around and retrace their route back out.

The problems associated with using electronic maps seem self evident to us old timers who grew up on paper maps and a compass:
- Batteries can quickly go dead, or even if not quickly then inevitably! This is especially true in cold weather. 
- Much mapping software requires cell coverage - obviously an issue in many remote areas.
-Most  electronic maps have incomplete (or non-existent)  trail data on them.
- Phones and other electronic devices are susceptible to damage or other operational issues in inclement weather.

So what’s to be done?   I wish there was a magic bullet on this one, but if there is I’m not sure what it is.  Some thoughts:

1.          Incorporate this topic into any public education efforts that we are involved with. Point out that sometimes  paper trail maps and a compass will be one’s best friend in the backcountry. They often have the most relevant information, don’t need an internet connection, and the batteries never go dead!
2.        As rescuers we need to be up to speed with how to use this technology to our advantage.  This can be a whole new topic, but every SAR team should know at least how to instruct somebody who is “lost” on how to text them their location from the mapping app. This has been a great tool for us on numerous occasions.

I would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this!

Neil is team leader for Stowe (Vermont) Mountain Rescue, works as a seasonal backcountry ranger in New York’s Adirondack Park, and is a Past President of the Mountain Rescue Association

Avalanche!!!! The Snowpack Variable 


Snowpack is the last variable that we will use for clues.  By combining the clues you observe, identify and feel from the snowpack, a decision should easily be made whether or not the snow is unstable and has potential to slide. Some of the signs of avalanche are obvious.  The following clues are direct indications of instability in the snowpack: 


Recent Avalanche Activity 
Again, recent avalanche activity is the best indicator of dangerous slopes, especially when it is on slopes of similar aspect and steepness.  In other words, if you see the debris from a recent avalanche, know that there is danger of additional avalanches on similar slopes. 


                                              A bad day on the snow 

Recent Wind-Loading  
Recent wind-loading is another indicator of avalanche danger.  Smooth "pillows" and cornices as well as snow plumes of the ridge tops are indicators of wind-transported snow.  This means increased stress is being exerted on the snowpack due to the addition of the wind deposited snow.  Furthermore, wind deposited crystals develop dangerous "wind slabs," since this type of crystal is subject to numerous collisions while the snow is wind-blown. 


Hollow Sounds 
You must use your ears as you evaluate avalanche hazard.  "Drum-like" or "whumpf" sounds that occur under your feet indicate unstable slab conditions.  Also, pay attention to distinctive settling sounds; feeling the snow settle or drop are clues of an unstable layer of snow...indicating a dangerous avalanche condition. 


Shooting Cracks 
Look closely at the terrain you wish to cross.  Cracks in the snow around you are an excellent indicator of avalanche danger, especially if they are occurring around you as you move across the snowpack. You should not only avoid the slope where you see or produce cracks, but also any slopes with similar profile and/or orientation. 


Snow Stability Tests 
Through additional training, you can learn to recognize the weaknesses in the snowpack by evaluating a cut-away of the snow layers.  For now, just remember that avalanches occur when a weak layer in the snowpack fails.  Your ability to recognize these weaknesses will help you make an educated decision regarding safe backcountry travel. 


Conclusion 
In summary, by looking, listening and feeling you should be able to recognize, evaluate and avoid avalanche hazards that you may encounter on your next backcountry trip.  You must be thinking avalanche whenever you are on or near slopes, regardless of the slope size and time of year.  By always thinking avalanche you will be much more observant, you will gather more information from clues, and you will become a better decision-maker


For more information on avalanche safety check out the Mountain Rescue Associations public education program @ http://mra.org/images/stories/training/Avalanche.pdf as well as our Backcountry Skiing & Riding Safety Video  

Courage - Commitment - Compassion
     Mountain Rescue Association 

Situational Awareness in Mountain Rescue Operations - Projection into the Future

The third stage of situational awareness – projection into the future – is the stage where one puts it all together.  Once the clues are interpreted, the next step is to project how that information will affect the future of the operation.

Let’s use an example of a traditional backcountry search.  Rescuers are called to a local trailhead to search for a subject who is 6 hours overdue from a planned hike.  The subject told the reporting party (his wife) that he was going fishing at a local lake on the trail.  While some rescuers are searching the trail to the lake, other rescuers also search the subject’s car, and find that his fishing equipment is still in the back seat, including his fishing license.  Using this new information, the rescuers conclude that they need to expand their search area based on the projection that the man changed his plans, and did not go fishing at the lake as expected.

An Everyday Example of Situational Awareness 
Let’s consider another example of situational awareness, one that takes place in an everyday setting.

If you want to know if it is going to rain, you don’t look for rain, you look for CLOUDS.  If you look for rain you’ll only know that rain is coming at the very moment that it arrives. Looking for rain alone would mean that you are only OBSERVING and INTERPRETING, but not PROJECTING into the future.

If, on the other hand, you instead look for clouds, then you have added PROJECTING into your situational awareness.  In that case, you are more able to anticipate rain BEFORE it arrives.

Still, even looking for clouds does not constitute the only important element that is missing if you only look for rain.  You need some training to know WHAT TYPES of clouds cause rain.  For example, a sudden build up of high cirrus clouds means something completely different than a steady accumulation of cumulonimbus clouds.  Only through training and experience can you learn this important distinction.

Visualize While En Route to a Call 
In many emergency medical training programs, students are taught the value of visualizing the scenario prior to arriving at the rescue call.  In search and rescue operations, rescuers often have an extended period of time traveling to the scene of the SAR call.  During that transport time, it can be valuable to take the clues given (e.g. the description of the rescue accident) and project into the future what kind of problems will be encountered by the rescue team.  For example, a rescuer may know that a rescue of an injured climber on the
east side of Highway 9 means that the rescue team will need to create a technical system to cross above a large creek.  While en route to the call, rescuers will already be planning in their heads the tyrolean system
necessary for the creek crossing.

Similarly, SAR field teams can talk about their pending rescue while heading into the field.  On a recent rescue of a survivor from an avalanche, rescuers were performing a technical lowering of the patient to a rock band where the helicopter could “hover load” the patient.  During that technical lowering, the helicopter crew members were sitting in their helicopter at the trailhead parking lot.  The rotors were turning, and the crew was discussing in great detail how they would do the “hot-load” of the subject.  They could have been discussing the latest basketball game, or the lovely weather, but instead they used the opportunity to brief each other on what their duties would be, and on what possible complications might occur.

Experience teaches rescuers to ANTICIPATE possible scenarios based on information provided.  Still, that same experience teaches rescuers that the information provided may be wrong.  While at work one day, an out-of-breath co-worker ran into my office and said, “Charley do you know CPR?”  I followed the co-worker to the hallway, where another staff member was lying on the ground, seemingly lifeless.  Prior to starting CPR, I checked my colleague for a pulse, and asked bystanders what happened.  They described the patient as having experienced what sounded to me like a Grand Mal seizure.  Indeed the patient was in a Post Ictal state, and was not in need of CPR.

For more information on situational awareness in mountain rescue operations, check out the Mountain Rescue Associations public education programs @ http://mra.org/images/stories/docs/sitawareness.pdf

Courage - Commitment - Compassion
     Mountain Rescue Association 

Situational Awareness in Mountain Rescue Operations - Stage II -  Comprehension and  Interpretation of the  Relevant Information 


The second stage of Situational Awareness, “comprehension and interpretation,” requires you to have and utilize your training and experience.  Training is a key component of teaching SAR workers, but experience is the key to understanding how to best utilize that training. 


The second stage of Situational Awareness is the stage wherein one attempts to comprehend and interpret the data collected in the first stage.  While the collection of data and the perception of the relevant information are important, the comprehension and interpretation of that data can not be overlooked. The key to this stage of Situational Awareness is that it requires one to have and utilize key training and experience.  For example, a rescuer in a high mountain rescue might have already perceived that the temperature is very hot.  Still, without proper training in helicopter management, that rescuer he might not be able to interpret that the high temperatures will have an effect on the rescue team’s use of helicopter resources – since temperature has a significant effect on helicopter performance at altitude.  Without the proper training, a SAR worker might not be aware of the limitation that temperature has on the performance of helicopter assets. 


Experience is also a key factor in this stage of Situational Awareness.  While training is essential for any SAR professional, there is no substitute for experience.  It is through experience that we learn and master the  important skills associated with interpreting data that is presented in the first stage of situational awareness. 


Understanding the Clues 
In order to interpret clues, you must first understand them.  But how do you interpret clues if those clues do not make sense?  On a search for a missing hiker one summer night, a rescue professional notified the search command post that he’d found “a bunch of orange pails” in the middle of a trail while searching.  The searcher went on to say that the pails were meticulously laid out in the shape of an arrow, pointing down the trail.   The Incident Command team struggled to figure out why there would be orange pails many miles back on a remote backcountry trail.  Several minutes later, the command team asked for a clarification from the rescuer, who coincidently was a southerner with a deep southern drawl in his voice.  He was asked, “What kind of orange pails are these?”  The man replied “You know, the kind of pails you pail off an orange before you eat it!”  The man was talking about orange PEELS, but that only became evident after the command team asked more questions.  The data presented did not make sense at first, but made complete sense later, once the command team remembered that the field rescuer was from Georgia, and had a distinct southern drawl. 


Interpreting the Clues Requires Training 
Do you have sufficient experience to interpret the information that you have assembled?  Traditional training might not teach you the skills necessary.  For example, one search and rescue team trains its members on helicopter skills in a unique and different way… the rescuers are not schooled in how to help a helicopter pilot, rather they are schooled in how to BE a helicopter pilot by learning how a pilot actually FLIES a helicopter.  As such, these SAR professionals are better able to think like a pilot. 


Recognizing the Frequency of those Clues 
As mentioned earlier, one should not only pay attention to the clues themselves, but also to the frequency of clues.  This can help a rescuer ascertain whether numerous seemingly inconsequential anomalies are coming together to draw one large problem.


Stay tuned to our blog for the continuation of our discussion on Situational Awareness with Stage 3 Projection into the Future. 


For more information on situational awareness in mountain rescue operations, check out the Mountain Rescue Associations public education programs @ http://mra.org/images/stories/docs/sitawareness.pdf

Courage - Commitment - Compassion
     Mountain Rescue Association 

Situational Awareness in Mountain Rescue Operations Stage 1 - Perception of the Relevant Information

Situational Awareness in Mountain Rescue Operations Stage 1 - Perception of the Relevant Information

Yogi Berra once said, “You can observe a lot by just watching.”  Observation is the key to perception.  


In this first step of situational awareness, we are looking for clues.  These clues can come in many forms, including: 
• Sensory clues - something you see, hear, smell, touch; 
• Anticipated clues - something that comes from prior experience; and 
• Innate clues – something you just “feel in your gut.” 


In conventional search missions, for example, rescuers are looking for CLUES more than they are looking for the missing subject.  Why?  Simply because there are far more clues than there are missing subjects, and by finding and following clues, one can find the missing subject much more quickly. 


The first stage of situational awareness – perception – is arguably the most important stage.  After all, without perception of information, one cannot really comprehend, interpret and draw conclusions. Many accidents in search and rescue operations result from a series of different things happening.  There are often a number of contributing factors that, if occurring individually, might not have resulted in an accident.  Break any rescue accident down, and you will often find that there were a number of elements that came together to make that accident possible. 


In this important perception stage of Situational Awareness, rescuers need to be very attentive – not only to the occurrence of situations that are beyond their expectations, but to the frequency and number of those situations. This perception stage requires that you OBSERVE!  In order to be an effective observer, one must remain attentive.  This can be one of the greatest challenges to a search and rescue professional, as periods of  inactivity and boredom can hamper one’s ability to be an effective observer. Similarly, searchers and/or rescuers who are overworked might not be able to observe the environment around them.  This too can be a serious detriment to one’s ability to be an effective observer. 


Stay tuned to our blog for the continuation of our discussion on Situational Awareness with Stage 2 Comprehension and Interpretation of the Relevant Information.


For more information on situational awareness in mountain rescue operations, check out the Mountain Rescue Associations public education programs @ http://mra.org/images/stories/docs/sitawareness.pdf

Courage - Commitment - Compassion
     Mountain Rescue Association 

Situational Awareness in Mountain Rescue Operations

“Situational Awareness” is “the degree of accuracy by which one’s perception of his/her current environment mirrors reality.”  The essence of Situational Awareness is fairly simple… perception vs. reality.

For over 30 years, Situational Awareness has been studied and applied in military, civil, commercial and aerospace applications.  More and more, emergency service organizations are focusing on situational wareness as a key factor in reducing risk and increasing safety. Situational Awareness can also be looked at as a constantly evolving picture of the state of the environment.  It is the perception and comprehension of the relevant elements in an incident within a volume of time and space.  In this regard, Situational Awareness is not an event, but rather a process that only ends when the SAR incident is concluded. Data collection and interpretation.

Situational Awareness requires the human operator to quickly detect, integrate and interpret data gathered from the environment.  In the case of search and rescue operations, the “human detector" can be anything from the Incident Commander to a “field grunt.”  That is the beauty (and challenge) of situational awareness – it requires and demands awareness by all users.

In a search and rescue response, the “information” that is collected can come in many forms, including:
1. Information provided by outside sources (e.g. interviews with reporting parties, information provided by local law enforcement, etc.)
2. Information from the environment (e.g. weather)
3. Information from previous experiences (e.g. other SAR missions in the same location)

Situational awareness is also much like the Incident Command System (ICS), in that it is flexible and should grow or shrink as the SAR incident grows or shrinks.

To fully understand Situational Awareness, we need to look closely at its three important stages, the perception of the relevant information, the comprehension and interpretation of that information, and  the projection of their states into the future.

Over the next few weeks the MRA Blog will examine each of these stages in detail.


For more information on situational awareness in mountain rescue operations, check out the Mountain Rescue Associations public education programs @ http://mra.org/images/stories/docs/sitawareness.pdf

Courage - Commitment - Compassion
     Mountain Rescue Association