Why you shouldn’t use Smart Phones for Backcountry Navigation
Smart phones are problematic for backcountry navigation; they are fagile, have terrible battery life, and are less accurate than a wilderness GPS unit.
Author: Michael Coyle
Beacons and Transceivers, what’s the difference
Beacon on
On May 4th I attended the Canadian Avalanche Association’s annual spring conference and continuing professional development seminar. This year’s topic was Avalanche Search and Rescue in Canada. There were some very informative presentations, but one piece of information stood out …
SAR Members climbing Mount Logan
Two members of my SAR Team are climbing Mount Logan via the King’s Trench route this year. They are part of a team of four. I’m mentioning this on my blog because I’m one of their SPOT contacts, so any …
Helicopter Rescue Drill and Recertification
I’ve written about the rescue technique known as HETS several times. Basically it’s a technique that’s perfect for inserting and extracting rescuers and equipment from BC’s forested slopes. Where a helicopter pilot can’t hover or land, they can long line. …
On Rescuing Animals
Helping pets is a part of the rescue tradition, as we all know from the story of the firefighters climbing a tree to retrieve a cat. Although this image is a bit of a joke, it illustrates two things: the …
Treewell camera footage
I don’t usually “reblog” things, but this is something interesting and related to the posts I’ve written about NARSID, or Treewell incidents. A man on Mount Shasta Ski Park in California had a helmet camera running when he fell into …
SAR Manager (in name only)
After an intense 4 day course (two of those days were 13 hours long), I’ve managed to pass the SAR Manager’s evaluation and exam. People came from all over BC: from as far north as Stewart, BC where the SAR …
SAR and natural disasters
In light of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, some might be wondering what the role of a local SAR team would be in such a disaster. Basically the answer is that we’re not that kind of SAR team. …
Snowmobiles and Avalanches
It’s not often that one single piece of information can save your life. Most of the time, especially in the backcountry, it takes years of training and experience to evaluate conditions, your ability and the technique necessary to take on …
SARDay 2010–2011 Wrap Up
I started tracking the time I spend doing SAR-related tasks a year ago today. I was prompted to do so partially because I was watching a friend of mine post every day that he went skiing or mountain biking. The …