Base Operations Leader

During a recent search for a missing skier, I took the base operations role to support our teams going into the field. The initial planning and coordination of objectives and teams was naturally hectic but once we had teams in the field headed into the night for a four hour hike in the radio traffic died down and we had long periods of quite time in the communications van. The two of us in the communications van did our speculation of the mission and what had happened as well as some minor planning in the event the teams located the subject.

Finally the radio came to life with the sound of teams reaching their objective and dropping into the search area. Anticipation and hope draped the Comm van followed by long periods of radio silence. I’ve been in the field when base keeps calling asking this and that telling me where I need to search or what to do next but I have found that to be distracting from the task at hand. In the field, if I need direction or have completed a task I will call in and inform base. So sitting in base not feeling part of the active search I had to remind myself to let the field teams do their job and not bother them with radio traffic unless it was especially important. Of course, I couldn’t think of anything especially important to tell the teams so there I sat.

Then around 3AM the two teams had merged and were beginning to ask about avalanche and weather forecasts (we had done a preliminary avalanche and weather review prior to the teams entering the field, but were looking for an updated forecast). Finally some way to help in the search effort. We jumped on the laptop, evaluated the temperatures, forecasted rain/snow and avalanche forecast and provided it to the teams. The teams decided on a concrete turnaround time based on their current conditions, forecasted warming temperatures and increasing avalanche forecast.

While I wanted the teams to stay in the field so they could achieve their goal both for their success and the success of the mission, I know that people in base cannot make a call based on the conditions teams are experiencing in the field. Also, my responsibility is to do what I can to take care of my team members, listen to what they are telling me about conditions and relate that to the Incident Commander to give him/her a knowledgeable answer about why “I” am pulling my teams out of the field.

While in base I felt an unusual helplessness despite being involved in the mission, but did feel engaged with my teams in the field being able to relate to what they were seeing and doing. It took more than I thought to sit quietly and let the teams do their jobs without interrupting them every few minutes to get an update. I’m not a fan of being in base, but I do value having someone there watching out for our teams and being able to relate field information to the Incident Commander and explain why things are going the way they are. I do plan to be in the field on the next mission. I don’t think I can drink that much coffee again…

Outside Magazine's article, "The Man Who Saw Too Much"

If you haven't seen this article yet, I highly recommend reading it. Here's the link: THE MAN WHO SAW TOO MUCH

Follow up from Blog:

Good Article in the Jan. 2011 edition of Outside Magazine

I thought that looked familiar

I was reading through the January Rock & Ice (R&I) magazine when I came across an article that I thought sound interesting. The article was about emergency communication devices for backcountry travelers. Naturally, my attention was piqued and I started looking at the page with interest. Then I had a feeling that I had seen something like this before and I started thinking ah ha, might be an interesting poll for the BCR site. I had read a detailed article in Lowell Skoog’s Northwest Mountaineering Journal (NWMJ) called, “Climber 9-1-1 – Should  mobile communications be mandatory?” Then the hammer dropped on my cleaver poll idea. The author of Climber 9-1-1, Rad Roberts was also the author of the R&I article. If you are an R&I subscriber, you can get a quick breakdown of the pros/cons of the different devices available. If you want the detailed version click the link above to go to the NWMJ version. There are also some nice action shots of Portland Mountain Rescue in action.

Anyway, the topic of requiring mobile communication devices in the backcountry comes and goes so there may be an article on the BCR site at some point. Last year, Washington State toyed with legislation requiring backcountry travelers going, “above tree line” to carry a mobile communication device, but I believe that legislation died in committee (thank goodness).

Good Article in the Jan. 2011 edition of Outside Magazine

On a recent trip to see family over the holidays I picked up the Jan. 2011 edition of Outside Magazine. I found an article called, “The Man Who Saw Too Much” about an Aspen Mountain Rescue veteran who now suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). My first thought was, Crap, I’ve been scooped since I have an article for BCR sitting on my computer for final edits written along similar lines. Then I realized that bringing PTSD to light in SAR is very important and that any information about this could help someone. Also, the Outside article mainly focuses on the Aspen Veteran and not how to begin working through various missions. Finally, the article for BCR was written by a licensed psychotherapist and think will be a useful tool.

I highly recommend reading the Outside Magazine article and will post the link when it is available on Outside Online. In SAR we see things that can have lasting impact on our psyche and we must work hard to be mindful of how we are impacted.

Prusiks!! Damn Prusiks

Earlier this year I bought a bunch of prusik cord to replace my units prusiks. Before cutting the any of the prusik cord I referred to Lipke’s (1^st edition) rigging flip book for desired lengths which said cut the short to 53 inches. The lengths are also confirmed in, “On Belay.”  So I then spent much of the afternoon cutting rope for 4 different rigging kits. Our rigging kits have a set of 5 prusiks in each kit, so 20 sets in all. After tying 40 individual prusiks, my raw fingers were glad to be done.

A couple of weeks ago, during a highline training several members commented that the short prusiks were too short, barely long enough to reach in front of the Prusik Minding Pulley (PMP). With the forces of a highline, we needed to be sure we had complete prusik coverage. So, not to be stopped by too short prusiks, my team members untied some of the long prusiks to make them fit.

Long story short, I have found Lipke’s (2^nd edition) rigging flip book which calls for prusik lengths for the short prusik to be 55 inches. So, now I’m cutting more prusik cord and now get to retie all 20 sets of prusiks. I guess the saying measure twice and cut once refers to rope as well as carpentry. Also helps to have the latest edition of manual. ARGH!

127 Hours Movie Review

Last week I had planned to hike with one of the sheriff’s deputies in the SAR unit, but that fell through because of a conflict that came up for the deputy. This worked out well for me because I was feeling pretty crappy with a cold. While I probably should have stayed in bed at home, I decided to venture to the movie theater to see the movie 127 Hours, about Aron Ralston getting trapped by a boulder in Blue John Canyon in Canyon lands.

I had not read Ralston’s book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place but I was familiar with the story and had seen the trailers. I was a bit skeptical about the movie initially, but a friend saw the movie and told me that it was done along the lines of, “Touching the Void” which was in-line with the book.

The movie moves along in character development reasonably quickly and has some beautiful cinematography of the canyon lands. I eventually found myself waiting for the big event. Like the iceberg in Titanic, you know it’s coming and it is what happens afterward when the interesting part of the story begins. Once the boulder falls and Aron is trapped, the movie (director, Danny Boyle and actor, James Franco) do a great job of conveying the shock, disbelief, fear and ultimately realization of situation.

One thing I did not realize but mentioned in the movie, was that Aron was a volunteer with Search and Rescue. They touch on this quite briefly, but it spoke volumes to me that he had a feeling that while being part of SAR he felt he could handle any situation by himself. To me, this was a great message for SAR folks, “It can happen to you.”

There was a scene where Aron wraps webbing around his neck and covers his head which I took as an initial plan to hang himself, but I later read an article in Outside Magazine where he used the webbing as a neck warmer and the rope around his arms like a blanket.

The movie continues through the various emotional roller coaster feelings he experiences to his ultimate realization of the solution to the problem and ultimate self-rescue (at least until he found someone).

One thing about the movie I found a bit uncomfortable was that there are several very quiet parts and I became aware of my popcorn munching. My apologies to the two ladies who sat in front of me at the theater. It was probably a bit distracting to be munching popcorn while the main character is cutting off his arm.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie and got a chance to think about what I would do in a similar situation realizing I’d have no idea. But I do plan to always leave a note on the kitchen counter to where I was going. Theater or DVD, this was a good movie with great cinematography and a good story.

Hikes in the Rain

On Tuesday three of us from Seattle Mountain Rescue decided to go for a hike. Nothing exciting or technical, just a walk up a local mountain that we’ve probably been up hundreds of times over the years (Doug had walked up the day before). The hike gains about 3,500 ft in about 3 miles and the trail is reasonable. The weather on Tuesday was a bit strange with a warm front moving in and cold air below. We left the car with the temperatures in the low to mid-30s and rain. As we continued up the trail, we ran into slushy snow and the temperatures felt warmer. We got to the top and headed down after about a minute.

These hikes are usually fun because we get some exercise and are able to talk about various subjects typically relating to our Mtn. Rescue unit ranging from the holiday party preparations to where we should do the next highline training. At some point during our hike I noticed that the conversation level had completely dropped off which is not usual (especially for me).  I realized that everyone was probably entrenched in the misery of the cold wet rain and even the most controversial topic was of little interest to anyone.

As we were about ½ way down, we ran into another guy from our unit heading up. He was completely drenched and looked like he had just come out of a pool. The conversation picked up again, perhaps because we were all glad we were headed down (at least I was). No amount of Goretex or other rain shell could have kept us dry and the temperatures made it bone chilling. As we sat in the car watching the battle of the fogged windows vs. the defroster, Bree said, “wouldn’t it be awesome to have a mission right now.” Both Doug and I looked at each other with apprehension hoping that Bree’s comment didn’t trigger the pager gods.

This hike, with exception for the company, was miserable. Cold, drenching, non-stop rain, doesn’t sound fun, but I look at it as building the fortitude to be prepared for missions when they come. If anything, the long hot shower afterward was reward enough.