Category Archives: Blog Entry

Regular blog posts

Foot Identified

The foot in a hiking boot that was found in Sasamat Lake has been identified, as I suspected, as belonging to a person that my SAR team searched for just about 25 years ago. Several months back I posted the … Continue reading

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Hazard, Risk and Consequences

A few weeks back I did an interview with Karl Woll, writer of the blog Outdoor Vancouver. In it, Karl asked me a question about “the scariest moment I ever had,” which I answered with an example of a task where … Continue reading

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Google Public Alerts

Google just announced it’s new Public Alerts service recently. This isn’t like the other Google Alerts service which lets you enter a few search terms and have Google email you when new results are found (although this tool is also useful for … Continue reading

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Map of SAR Incidents in BC 2011

My good friend Rick Laing, SAR Manager and member of Ridge Meadows SAR and GIS guru sent me a link to a map he published. It has the locations of all of the SAR teams in BC, and includes all of … Continue reading

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Beacons vs Transceivers again

It seems that people are still have trouble telling the difference between a “SPOT Beacon” and an “Avalanche Transceiver” I wrote about this last year, based on some comments I heard while attending the CAA’s Annual conference and AGM. The CAA posted … Continue reading

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SAR Teams in BC

It always seems to me that SAR teams outside of the Lower Mainland of BC don’t get enough attention. The reasons for this escape me, since some of the most rugged terrain and most incredible rescues happen out there. I … Continue reading

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Sledder Situational Awareness again

It seems someone else is paying attention to the sledder situational awareness problem, and has come up with a handy tool to help people develop skills and make better decisions. Posted on the SledLink page, the “STOP” tool advises sledders … Continue reading

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CAA AvSAR Course

As I mentioned via twitter, last month I attended the Avalanche Association’s ”Avalanche Search and Rescue (AvSAR) seminar in Whistler, BC. I thought I’d write a bit about the course for any SAR personnel who might be considering sending someone to take it. … Continue reading

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Situational Awareness: Sledder vs Skier

In my last post on this subject I wrote about how skiers have an advantage over sledders in that they have more opportunity to observe conditions as they travel through terrain. Today, some observations on the flip side of the … Continue reading

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Older Map of Pitt Lake

We came across this map of Pitt Lake in the SAR Archives the other day. Interesting for the place names that aren’t on more modern maps. Funny how the mountains look like cones.

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