North Shore Rescue
Encyclopedia
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
around Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It consists of a team of approximately 40 volunteers who perform approximately 90 search and rescue operations each year, mostly in the rugged, steep, and thickly forested North Shore Mountains
North Shore Mountains
The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city....
. North Shore Rescue assists hikers, skiers, snowshoers, mountain bikers, and others who are reported to be lost or in distress. It also provides education on mountain safety, and some services in urban search and rescue.
History
North Shore Rescue formed in September 1965, originally with the intention of preparing to assist in the event of an urban nuclear attack by the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. After the threats of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
subsided, the group transitioned to wilderness search and rescue tasks. The team has since been involved in more than 1000 mountain search and rescue operations. Injuries or deaths were involved in approximately 25% of calls. As extreme sports and other wilderness activities have become more popular in the region, the need for rescues has risen dramatically, with call volume tripling between 1995 and 2005.
Operations
North Shore Rescue volunteers respond at the discretion of police, often after family members or friends call 9-1-19-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
to report that someone has failed to return from an outing in the mountains. Because the North Shore Mountains are very close to Vancouver, the dangers of their terrain and weather are often underestimated. Underpreparation and recklessness are factors in many incidents.
In addition to searching on foot, the team sometimes uses a Helicopter Flight Rescue System
Helicopter Flight Rescue System
The Helicopter Flight Rescue System , also known as Human External Transport , is a helicopter insertion and extraction tool which as under the Canadian Aviation Regulations is authorized for use in Forest Fire Fighting, Law Enforcement and Search and Rescue...
, in which a volunteer is lowered from a helicopter via a rope to evacuate a stranded and/or injured person.
The team has an annual budget of approximately $250,000, which covers team equipment, fuel, and medical supplies. Its budget is covered in part by government funding, however the organization also relies on fundraising and private donations. All operations are provided free of charge to the lost or injured persons involved. The group's position is based in the belief that charging for rescues could encourage people to delay in calling for assistance, and even occasionally lead to subjects hiding from rescuers in order to avoid being charged.
The group concentrates its efforts in the 480 km2 area of the North Shore Mountains
North Shore Mountains
The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city....
near Vancouver. However, its skills and equipment are occasionally called into play by other agencies looking for missing persons. Sgt. Ron Fairweather of the Vancouver Police Department
Vancouver Police Department
The Vancouver Police Department is the police force for the City of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several police departments within the Metro Vancouver Area and is the second largest police force in the province after RCMP "E" Division.VPD was the first Canadian police force...
has said, "They're an awesome unit, the equipment they have is phenomenal. We don't have the extent of equipment they have access to. And their expertise is second to none."
Volunteers
The all-volunteer team is made up of highly skilled hikers, mountaineers and backcountry skiers, some of whom dedicate more than 500 hours per year and often conduct rescues at night, in bad weather, and on short notice. The team trains together every fourth weekend and every Tuesday night. Volunteers also attend special courses, devote time to education and fundraising, and pay for their own personal equipment and clothing. Recruiting and retaining skilled volunteers is an ongoing challenge, and in 2007, the Vancouver CourierVancouver Courier
The Vancouver Courier is a Canadian semiweekly local newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia by Postmedia Network Inc. Currently, it is Canada's largest distributed community newspaper, with a weekly distribtuion of 265,000...
reported that the team's most experienced leaders were nearing retirement age.
Some volunteers have served for decades, and as of 2007 the team included three father-son pairs.
In 2005, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of North Shore Rescue, a group including team members set out to climb Mount Logan
Mount Logan
Mount Logan is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest peak in North America, after Mount McKinley . The mountain was named after Sir William Edmond Logan, a Canadian geologist and founder of the Geological Survey of Canada . Mount Logan is located within Kluane National Park and...
. The expedition nearly became a tragedy after a severe storm hit, trapping three team members on an exposed ridge. All were rescued, although one team member suffered severe frostbite.
In 2008, team members Tim Jones and Gord Ferguson received a Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
commendation for their role in saving the life of a snowshoer in a three-day-long rescue operation on Mount Seymour
Mount Seymour
Mount Seymour is a mountain located in Mount Seymour Provincial Park in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia. It is a part of the North Shore Mountains, rising to the north from the shores of Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm to a summit of above the Indian River and Deep Cove neighbourhoods...
.