Rich Dexter of Morongo Basin SAR Quoted in PE Article

Read the details in the article. He is taking ice cream orders as we speak. 

When the Rescuer Becomes the Victim

[Ed. note - This is an adaptation of a blog post by former SBSAR member, Liz Blakeley, who is currently serving as a park ranger in Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway, AK].

It all started as a very nice Tuesday in town. I went on walking tours at the park to learn a little bit more about the history and had a really quiet, but productive day. That afternoon, one of my coworkers was hiking out from our ranger station and sometimes rangers from town come out and give us a ride across the river in a raft to cut the last 1.6 miles off of the trail. We decided we'd go get her from the trail, and then work on our boat handling skills on the way out (we just completed a swift water course last week).

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Cave Team to Host NCRC Level I Seminar

The Cave and Technial Rescue Team is hosting a National Cave Rescue Commission Level I cave rescue seminar in a modular format [July 16-17, July 28-31, August 13-14, 2011]. The cost is $350 for the 8 day class, and this covers meals on 6 of the 8 days, camping, and course materials. Details, and a registration form can be found at caverescue.net. This is NOT a fundraiser for the Cave Team; all money goes to the NCRC, food, and course materials.

Petzl Recalls GRIGRI 2

Petzl has discovered that exerting excessive force on the fully extended handle of the GRIGRI 2 can cause internal damage, such that the GRIGRI 2 handle may become stuck in the open position.

When the handle is stuck in this position the assisted braking function is disabled. A damaged GRIGRI 2 in this configuration will function similarly to a manual belay device (e.g. tube style device).

Read Petzl's announcement for more details.

RimSAR, Dive Team Save the Day at the 2011 SoCal Tough Mudder Event

Sgt. Bryan Lane (Dive Team and RimSAR coordinator), Lynn Rivera (National Ski Patrol) and Donna Newlin (Snow Valley Mt. Resort Risk Manager)Over Memorial Day Weekend,  the Snow Valley Mountain Resort was host to the 2011 SoCal Tough Mudder, an endurance event billed as “a cross between Ironman and Burning Man”.    Entrants run/walk/crawl over a 10-mile course completing a series of pretty insane obstacles, including lake swims, ice baths and even running through a maze of charged electrical wires (not for the faint of heart, zapped Mudders were being knocked to their knees).   As a Snow Valley employee,  I was asked to coordinate the rescue team for this event.  Anticipating that we might need assistance extricating injured Mudders from inaccessible sections of the course,  I asked members of the Rim of the World Search & Rescue Team, as well as the Dive Team, to “stand-by” in case we needed them.  The folks from RimSAR and the Dive Team did a lot of things this past weekend but the one thing they did not do, especially on Sunday,  was “stand-by”.

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SB Mountain SAR Fundraiser

The San Bernardino Mountain SAR Team is hosting a "Night at the Improv" fundraiser on September 7. Read the flyer for details.

Petzl Requests ABSORBICA Energy Absorber Self-Inspection

REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE SELF-INSPECTION for all ABSORBICA energy absorbers

Concerns all ABSORBICA energy absorbers manufactured before May 17th
2011 up to serial number 11137****.  The relevant product references
are: L57, L58, L58 MGO, L59, L59 MGO, L59 69, L70120 YG, L70150 IM,
L70150 YM, L70150 I, L70150 Y, L70150 YM.

Link to the Petzl press release

Trip Reports and Mountain Conditions

We have started a new section on the website called "Trip Reports and Mountain Conditions".  The idea is that folks who do stuff in our mountains can give reports that list current snow conditions, weather, avy stuff, etc. as a way to give us data over a longer period for our mountains.  Of course, it is also fun to post trip reports as well and see what everyone is up to.  All I ask is if you do a post from our local mountains, give us any good details with snow, weather, and avy that you find.  The posts show up as an RSS feed on the main sbsar.org page as well and you can do email alerts and subscribe by activity.  Give it a shot, and give us feedback, thanks.

If you want to do a post, go to reports.sbsar.org/trips
Fill out the form.  Be sure to put the location or route in the title as well as the date of the trip.  That will make the search much easier.  You can use the Baldy Bowl post as a sort of demonstration.  You can also upload photos and even do a location on a map.  All the posts have to be verified and approved before they go live. 

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Director's Dialogue May 2011

CHALLENGE COIN: The SAR Council and Volunteer Forces, as supporters of the California State Search and Rescue Memorial, are now selling the “Challenge Coin” to help raise funds for this project.  The Challenge Coin’s are $15.00 each and if you would like to purchase one please send a check made out to: IESARC.  Send it to: IESARC, c/o SBDO Co. Sheriff’s Department Volunteer Forces Unit, 655 East Third St., San Bernardino, Ca. 92415.  Please give us your address and the coin(s) will be sent to you.

 

INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM (IMT): The SAR Council is pleased to announce that Volunteer Forces and the Board of Chiefs has accepted and approved the Council’s proposal to establish a countywide Incident Management Team (IMT). This Team will be staffed and trained to assist Station Commanders during emergency and/or search operations.  The primary purpose and mission of the IMT will be to provide experienced and trained personnel for Incident Command Structure (ICS) positions during these events.  The IMT will be comprised of trained SAR volunteer members only, who have met the requirements and qualifications as outlined by VF.  The supervision and management of this team itself will be that of Volunteer Forces/Emergency Operations.  The Coordinator for this team will be Sgt. Jeff Joling of Volunteer Forces.

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CAMP Photon Carabiners & Quickdraws Recalled

Read the USCPSC announcement here.