Neighbor helping neighbor

The call came at 1 a.m. By 2 a.m. we had responded to the trailhead and were starting down the trail as a hasty team. It was early October, dark and starting to snow. The report had been of an injured camper over five miles from the parking lot; his camping partner had hiked out for help. It was unknown the exact details of the injury, other than he was potentially unconscious when left behind. This was a medical emergency.

I sleep with my phone by the bed for just this reason (and really, only this reason). A backcountry search and rescue (SAR) call can come at any time of day or night, during the week or on the weekend, and of course … holidays. Most people don't realize it is volunteers like myself who respond to these calls. Volunteers who are adventurers and hikers and skiers and climbers and all-around outdoor enthusiasts like those very people whom we are called to help.

But let's back up a bit. You might be imagining we were responding to the distressed camping buddy directly. Not the case. My group, the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group, operates under the auspices of the Alaska State Troopers. In most cases AST receives notice of a backcountry emergency through either a 911 call (via good cellphone coverage in the mountains or a device like a personal locator beacon) or a call from a concerned friend or family member who has noticed someone overdue. From there, the Troopers decide what resources they need for the incident, including ground searchers, dog teams, avalanche specialists, skiers, swiftwater rescue technicians, high-angle rescue technicians or incident management teams: all volunteers in the state of Alaska in this capacity. And many factors are taken into consideration before volunteer teams are deployed to the field—other than the obvious question of where the emergency is—including the age of the person missing or in trouble, number of people, injuries reported, medical history, current weather conditions, and hazards facing those who are responding. From the outset it is often an incomplete package of information and therefore a mystery.

That's one reason that search and rescue has held my interest—the sense of mystery that each mission presents. Someone is in trouble. We have some of the details, possibly enough to deem it an emergency, but part of what we are doing is trying to solve the mystery. But more than that, as volunteers we are setting out to help our peers in adventure. Alaskans who put themselves on call 24/7 to help with backcountry emergencies are your peers in adventure. When that call comes from the Troopers to an agency representative then to the individuals who'll crawl out of bed or duck out of a work meeting to grab their rescue packs, it is neighbor helping neighbor. And that includes the friends and family safe at home yet worried about the missing or injured.

"I lost my best friend in a climbing accident in 1998," says AMRG volunteer David Hymas. "When he went missing, his wife called me early in the morning saying that he hadn't made it home the night before. We had absolutely no idea what to do or where to turn. Then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, the local SAR team showed up and took over the search. Four days later they brought him home to his friends and family. Prior to that incident, I knew on some vague, undefined level that SAR teams existed. But I had no clue that they were mostly volunteers from all walks of life. After having seen how important they were when things went bad, I wanted to be part of that community to both give back and to honor my friend's memory."

Fellow AMRG member Sarah Shimer is an outdoor enthusiast. "I see hiking, climbing and skiing as a way to enjoy nature, challenge myself, and spend quality time with my family and friends," she said. "Contributing through search and rescue allows me to use my recreational skillset to give back to my community in a really meaningful way. I enjoy continuing my training for the benefit of lost or injured backcountry travelers, and to improve my personal safety on my own adventures. SAR has also introduced me to a number of outstanding friends and colleagues I might not have otherwise met."

Read why Alaska search and rescue volunteers do what they do.

So how can we help each other out? What of preparation? Both yours and ours. How do we each prepare for the unexpected?

As volunteers we train on a monthly basis on search theory and technical skills like incident management, navigation, wilderness first aid and skiing, climbing or dog handling (depending on which group we're a part of). As fellow adventurers, you can remember to leave a trip plan with a friend, take the necessary gear to face the elements of Alaska, have common sense and use good judgment. And when you've done all these things and s–t still hits the fan (let's be honest, this is Alaska), know that there are some incredible volunteers who've been training with breadth and depth just for the opportunity to help.

Whether deep in the backcountry or on Flattop just outside of Anchorage, you'll hear of rescuers coming to the aid of those in need depending on the situation. That includes state and military assets as well. Not only are SAR volunteers covered by state worker's compensation during a mission or training exercise in case they are injured while "on duty," but the state and military are our colleagues in SAR; they are indispensible. Alaska is an immense and wild state. SAR would be nearly impossible in some places without the air support of AST's Helo 2 or the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons of the Alaska Air National Guard.

That October some years ago, my hasty team searched until daylight and did not find our subject. As we hunkered down to rehydrate before returning to the trailhead, the morning teams were coming in with dogs and helicopters to continue the search. It was a dog team that found him, a helicopter that got him to safety and medical attention and an exhausted yet satisfied group of volunteers that had worked together for a successful mission to get a neighbor safely home.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

HASTY TEAM
The term "hasty" is used to stress the urgency and immediacy of an initial search. It indicates that the search is being conducted in a thoughtful, skilled and professional manner. The purpose of the hasty search is to cover the most obvious places a subject might be (e.g., specific routes or locations) in the least time possible. About 97 percent of all searches fall into the hasty search category, and they are over within 24 hours. And about 85 percent of hasty searches are over within the first 12 hours. Generally, the remaining 12 percent go into another operational period, and are called extended searches and might become area searches.

AREA SEARCHES
Searches where segments (areas) are searched, rather than routes and locations.

RESOURCES
The people and equipment used to help locate the lost subject. The people come in various categories: paid or unpaid, trained or untrained. (Alaska's volunteer SAR community is well-trained and unpaid.)

INCIDENT MANAGEMENT
Encompasses the overhead team that manages small or large search and rescue incidents. Includes an incident commander as well as planning, operations, logistics and various other roles. The Incident Command System is the national standard for managing all-hazard incidents. This includes the management of searches for lost persons.

From Initial Response Incident Commander: Wilderness SAR by Arizona Search and Rescue Coordinators Association, Ltd.

Joanne Haines has been a ground search volunteer for the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group since 2004. She is currently the secretary on the AMRG Board of Directors and a newly trained agency representative taking calls directly from the Troopers when AMRG resources are needed. A freelance editor and writer by day, and a SAR volunteer by … well … day or night. She can be reached at joannehaines00@gmail.com.

A version of this story was first published in the June 2016 Adventure Issue of 61˚North magazine. Contact the editor, Jamie Gonzales, at jgonzales@alaskadispatch.com