As summer fades to fall and the weather starts to cool down, Scott Campbell will soon be carrying his skis, poles, and ice climbing equipment in his car. At all times.
He already has personal safety gear (everything he needs to survive for a minimum of two days in the bush), and a change of clothes in there. He also carries a small backpack with extra clothes for a potential patient. Campbell is a member of the North Shore Rescue team and is always ready to respond when he gets the call.
In general, if an emergency call comes in, all active members are requested to attend, and there may be a special call-out to HETS members to meet at a specific location to prepare their rigging as ground crews move in, in case a longline rescue is needed. Campbell explains that technically a longline refers to slinging gear, but once a human is attached to the rigging it becomes a HETS operation (Helicopter External Transport).
A lot of NSR’s searches are solved quickly by air reconnaissance, he notes. Helicopters are an important part of the team’s search and rescue operations.
Campbell has been a member of NSR since 2013, but has been involved with searches as a ski patrol member for longer than that. It was through his ski patrol work that he connected with North Shore Rescue and was eventually able to join the team.
An outdoorsy type, Campbell always enjoyed working with NSR over the years when their paths crossed as he was on ski patrols, and still loves the team aspect of it. His current role as an active member includes taking care of radio communications, such as reprogramming frequencies when required.
Campbell explains that there are a few different roles on the team, including active members, resource members (someone with a particular skill, such as a mechanic to fix the trucks), and other resource members that are part of agencies, such as B.C. Parks. Regular active members are on call 24/7 unless they are out of town and away from the Lower Mainland.
He explains how the process works when a person gets lost or injured on one of the North Shore trails, and it all starts with a call.
The initial call goes to 9-1-1 and can be from the subject (the person who is lost), from the subject’s family or friends, or from another agency, such as B.C. Parks who have noticed a car still in the parking lot or ski rental equipment not returned long after a ski hill or park closes down for the night.
That call is then routed to the appropriate channel: either North Vancouver RCMP or the West Vancouver police depending on the subject’s location.
The police then inform one of North Shore Rescue’s SAR managers who jumps into action. It’s the SAR manager’s role to quickly and efficiently communicate with all team members and co-ordinate the search.
Just like Campbell, all active members already carry the gear they need to respond and rarely have to go to the “Embassy” (North Shore Rescue’s home base) to gear-up unless specialized equipment is required. The team also has extra gear at each of their SAR stations and at their caches, where they also hold extra tents, food and water in case they can’t get out and have to spend a night or two in the bush.
Weather determines what they bring on calls, and when it gets colder, they generally need to bring more, including warm water and maybe even hot tea.
The location of the subject also determines what they bring. For example, Campbell says he may not change into his bush gear if the subject is at the bottom of Grouse, but will have to change if he’s heading into Hanes Valley.
Campbell says he doesn’t get nervous when he receives a call-out text. “It’s exciting because you know you can do something good,” he notes.
During long searches, NSR members work in teams of three to four and help keep each other motivated. They always search in groups in case one of their members gets injured. Sometimes the searches are short, and sometimes they can last for days.
Campbell says in an ideal world they would have an operational period of eight hours, just like any other job, in which members would work an eight-hour shift then go home because the next shift would start. That’s not how it works, though, when someone is lost or injured.
“It’s hard to say I’ve done my eight hours I’m going home,” says Campbell, adding the decision to leave a search would likely come down to whether or not a team member is capable of continuing safely or needs a break.
And once a search is complete, the work isn’t done. All equipment has to be dried out, restocked and checked for damage; vehicles have to be cleaned and refueled; SAR stations have to be cleaned (which may even include cleaning up coffee cups and taking out the garbage) and restocked; and SAR managers have to complete lots of paperwork.
So a call that ends in three hours can very easily stretch into a six-hour endeavour when clean-up and maintenance is factored in. And all of this is volunteer time.
Camaraderie among team members helps them stay motivated during long searches, notes Campbell, adding they help each other stay positive and prepared.
It’s rewarding to find a lost subject or to rescue someone who is injured, and even in a worst case scenario, Campbell says at least they can bring a body back to a grieving family.
“At least you’re giving closure to somebody, hopefully,” he says.
And they always remember the ones they haven’t yet found, he adds.
“It’s always in the back of our minds even if we haven’t been successful at saving someone we’re always trying to remember the ones we haven’t found yet so just keep looking.”
Contact Rosalind Duane at [email protected].
