When the call came in that someone was in trouble in the North Shore backcountry, North Shore Rescue's team leader Tim Jones moved mountains to see that person was brought out safely.
Now, two weeks after Jones' sudden death on Mount Seymour, a campaign is underway to see a mountain peak named after him.
In the days following Jones' death Jan. 19, someone in the outdoor community pitched the idea of renaming the second peak of Mount Seymour - known colloquially now only as the "second pump" - Tim Jones Peak - an idea which is now rapidly spreading online.
"I think Tim would like it. Tim spent a lot of time up there. He walked his dog up there. The team cabin is up there. We've done lots of rescues on the second pump and that's where he passed away," said John Blown, a North Shore Rescue teammate and friend of Jones.
The official process for renaming a geographic feature after a person mandates that they have been dead at least two years, but the name already appears to be sticking among North Shore adventurers.
A Facebook page called "Name the second peak of Mt Seymour Tim Jones Peak" has more than 2,200 members and websites frequented by backcountry hikers are already changing the name of the peak on their online maps.
Blown expects supporters of the plan will see it through in 2016.
Meanwhile, friends and strangers alike have been lining up to donate to Jones' last major fundraising project - a legacy fund that would gather interest and fund North Shore Rescue's operations and training.
"He had spent a lot of time building the team's infrastructure. We have search and rescue stations. We have equipment and vehicles and a rescue base that are geared towards both keeping our members safe when we're rescuing people and efficiently and quickly rescuing people," said search manager Doug Pope. "Over the last year, Tim's focus came to keeping this legacy he had built operational."
By Friday, the fund set up on the online donation website Fundrazr had received more than $105,000, much of it in smaller donations from members of the community, which was heartening to see, Pope said.
The Justice Institute of B.C. has also set up a fund that will accept donations for a student bursary. But the North Shore Rescue team itself would prefer to see donations directed to their own legacy fund.
"It's the team's desire and Tim's family's desire as well as Tim's main focus - this North Shore Rescue legacy fund. That's our priority. If people would like to donate, we would ask that they donate to this North Shore Legacy fund," Pope said.
The fund can be found by visiting fundrazr.com and searching "In memory of Tim Jones."
