Voices from the Alaska search and rescue community

DOLLY LEFEVER, Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs
Nurse Practitioner and Consultant

"I have spent a large part of my life existing out of doors—farm kid, backpacker, climber, skier, etc. Even when one plans well, unpredictable things can happen that puts yourself or others in a difficult position and maybe needing rescue. When I began to understand my own vulnerability, I decided to give back by offering to help other people needing assistance. It is deeply satisfying to bring people home to loved ones. [I also love] to own, train and use high-energy dogs for the specific reason of finding missing persons. I must admit I have not laughed so much as I have since owning these two skilled but comical dogs."

DEAN COX, Anchorage Police Department Auxiliary Search Team
Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel

"Volunteering for search and rescue gives me an opportunity to make a difference, to make my community a better, more enjoyable and safer place. As our population ages, many elderly citizens experience a declining mental health and acuity, but remain mobile. Dementia and Alzheimer's is presenting in more and more people, leaving them able to travel on their own, but unaware of nearby dangers. Similarly, autistic children are perfectly capable of travel, but may be unaware of nearby dangers. Recreating citizens sometimes lose track of their location, or run into unexpected situations that leave them vulnerable and in danger.

The volunteer search and rescue organizations have the equipment and training to help find lost loved ones and return them to safety.  We cannot and should not expect government to come to our rescue in every time of need. Such a government would, of necessity, mean no freedom."

COREY AIST, Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs and Alaska Search and Rescue Association President
Elementary School Teacher

"I fell into search and rescue by accident. I had just joined the Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol in the fall of 1994 when the team was asked to help search for a young man who went missing in a snowstorm in Hatcher Pass. It was late November, the new snow was deep and there were over 100 volunteers probing various slopes. There was no eyewitness account of his location and he was not located until early July, the following summer. It was my first exposure to search dogs and I was at the next ASARD meeting that December. I have been a dog handler ever since."

BILL ROMBERG, Alaska Mountain Rescue Group
Fishery Biologist

"I joined AMRG because I felt that I had the basic climbing and avalanche skills to assist others in need in the backcountry and felt obligated to give back after my own backcountry accident in the Chugach in 1997. There is a powerful mixture of camaraderie, trust, teamwork, and compassion toward others that exists between SAR volunteers who are working to find a lost person, evacuate someone who is injured, or bring a deceased person home so family can have closure. Outside of family, my closest relationships are those that have been built though teamwork and the physical, mental, and emotional challenges faced during SAR missions. For me it boils down to working with great people who share a similar passion and dedication to doing whatever we can to help others who may be in need of help."

WAYNE TODD, Alaska Mountain Rescue Group

"As a mountaineer, there are few opportunities to engage with our community. By volunteering with the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group I can put my skills to work and make a positive difference in someone's life. And in return I have the good fortune to work with a team of like-minded individuals, both locally and in the extended SAR community."

GREG BRAGIEL, Alaska Mountain Rescue Group
Dentist

"I volunteer for search and rescue as part of my faith walk with my creator. I wish to know, love and serve him and help other people using the outdoor skills I have learned. I have had outdoor skill instructions from numerous people and spread the knowledge by instructing public outreach classes."

ALLYSON YOUNGBLOOD, Alaska Mountain Rescue Group
UPS Pilot

"When I joined mountain rescue in 2001, it was with the idea that I could repay people who have helped friends of mine. Brought their bodies home. These people who died in the mountains of Alaska were friends of mine, but complete strangers to the people bringing them home. I was so thankful for them, but I didn't know who they were. I had some climbing experience and some SAR education in college, so I found AMRG and joined their group. I never thought it through that the people in the rescue community would become good friends of mine and that I was developing long-term relationships with the people on this team. AMRG has become a big part of my life and who I am. It is a unique family of sorts that trains together and deploys on missions together. We rely heavily upon each other on a regular basis. Out in the field in the middle of the night on a tough mission, or training in a vertical world, hanging on rope systems, these experiences create a lasting bond. I trust these people with my life."

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