SAR Tech

Major Search

2011-09-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

Been on this since the weekend. It's damn hard to find anything in the forests and mountains of BC. We do 20 min shift in the spotter window to keep concentration high. PT test coming up, so I'm doing pushups during my breaks. DND article

Bugaboos

2011-08-16T08:27:00.001-07:00

Just a few photos of a recent climbing trip with Giles to the Bugaboos and Leavenworth. I took a small fall in Leavenworth and twisted my ankle. Its healing up ok, but keeping me off my bike and the rocks. Summer has finally arrived, so that's killing me!! Ah well, I guess the statistics finally caught up with me.

Click on the album link to see all the photos.

From Bugaboos

SAR Techs in Jamaica!!

2011-08-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

Canada lends search and rescue aid to Jamaica - Canada - CBC News

BASE

2011-08-08T09:55:00.000-07:00

Did a couple BASE jumps off a bridge near Comox. Fuuunnnn!

Waddington

2011-08-08T09:54:00.001-07:00

In July four of us from 442 went to the Mt Waddington Range, which is the highest peak in BC. We had several versions of the trip planned, including an ascent of Waddington, but the plan morphed and changed right until we stepped of the ramp. One of the objectives had been to parachute right to the glacier below Mt Waddington. This had been done in 2007. Unfortunately, we had so much snow this year that all of the crevasses were still covered. This may sound like a good thing, but with the snow rapidly melting, they were opening up before our eyes. Not a great place to land a parachute. So, we decided to jump to the river bed at the bottom of the glacier and then get ferried up but Cormorant to our camp.

The jump went off without a hitch (ie. our bundle drop of our gear didn't land in the river. Thanks Manny!!) As the weather came in we got dropped of on Sunny Knob, across the glacier from Waddington and below the ridge of Serra 2. The spot was secure, but limited us to the immediate area, because we were surrounded on three sides by huge crevasse fields.

We spent the next five days doing some exploring the ridge and surrounding area via some rock routes and mixed climbing. Fortunately the weather was good, which made the time spent in camp enjoyable. We played some cards, cooked up some gourmet freeze dried meals, and got some sun.

I definitely want to go back on my own to try out some of the fantastic rock routes and maybe even try for the summit.

Click on the album link below to see the full album.

From Waddington

Privatized Fixed Wing SAR

2011-08-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

Ottawa Citizen article

On Aug 16 there will be a debate on the future of the fixed wing SAR project to replace the Buffalo. One of the options is to privatize that capability. No longer"Para"Rescue ???

Invading the US

2011-06-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

We were called out to home an ELT that was being picked up near Victoria. Apparently, the signals often propagate over long distances. The aircraft wasn't in Victoria, but on one of the San Juan islands that are part of Washington State.

Once we landed at the private airfield, we hopped out with the handheld homer and tracked the signal to a locked hangar. One of the locals came over and called the owner for us. While we waited, he showed us a helmet from a Halloween costume.

The joke was that the civil defense wouldn't have to fight because the Canadians wouldn't make it past the dock side pub.

Baffin Island Crevase Rescue

2011-05-15T08:23:00.000-07:00

Awesome rescue in one of Canada's most remote areas. Nice work fellas!!
Text and photos thanks to Darcy Keating.

On April 15 at 1400 hrs local time, 413 Sqn received a call from JRCC Halifax with a possible tasking to assist 2 stranded hiker’s who, while hiking in Auyuittuq National Park on Baffin Island fell into a crevasse. The last known position (LKP) for them was 2435 km north of Greenwood. Rescue 308, a CC-130 Hercules from 413 Sqn Greenwood NS and Rescue 912 a CH-149 Cormorant from 103 Sqn Gander NL were tasked to assist. Due to the shear distance and transit time for Gander's Cormorant to fly to Iqaluit, Greenwood's Hercules transported a second Cormorant crew who would then take over the Cormorant tasking from 103 Sqn once they arrived.

At 2300 hrs AST Rescue 308 arrived in Iqaluit with Greenwood’s Cormorant crew who were dropped off at the airport to await Rescue 912’s arrival. Rescue 308 then departed Iqaluit and proceeded to the LKP to try and locate the stranded hikers. Rescue 308 with five SAR Techs on board prepared their equipment to parachute to the Glacier. Aided by NVG’s, they searched the area at night for approx 2 hours in -40 degree temperatures dispatching flares trying to locate the hikers. The search area was extremely mountainous and was described by one of the SAR Techs with 15 years of SAR experience as some of the most challenging terrain he has ever flown in. Low on fuel and unable to locate the hikers, they were forced to return to Iqaluit to refuel.

At approximately 0300 AST, Rescue 912 with Gander’s Cormorant crew arrived in Iqaluit after about 14 hours of transit and handed the aircraft to the awaiting Greenwood crew. Rescue 912 now being flown by a Greenwood crew with five SAR Techs proceeded to try and locate and extract the Hikers. At approximately 0600 AST, Rescue 912 arrived on scene, landing on the glacier near the site of the crevasse where the five SAR Techs proceeded to assess the situation. After about twenty minutes of searching the area on foot, they located a tent with one person standing on the Glacier. The area had crevasses visible all around the LKP. The weather was clear and the outside temperature was - 30 degrees Celsius with winds strong enough that all five SAR Techs received frostbite to any exposed skin immediately.

The first hiker, who was visible from the air, was a 41-year-old female who was extremely cold and presented with frostbite to her hands. She was brought on board the helicopter and treated for mild hypothermia and frostbite. Her hiking partner who fell in the crevasse approximately 21 hours earlier was conscious but injured.

After assessing the situation the SAR Tech’s decided to use a Rope Rescue System to extract the patient. MCpl Stephen Bates was assigned the duty as attendant and was lowered into the Crevasse. The entrance of the crevasse was approximately 2 meters by 3 meters wide and the patient was not visible from the top. MCpl Bates was lowered into the crevasse where a 42-year-old male patient was found on a small ledge approximately 25 meters into the Crevasse. The patient presented with injuries to his right side, including possible fractures to his hand, ribs, knee, ankle, and had frostbite and was hypothermic. Once the patient was assessed, treated and secured to the rope rescue system, the remaining 4 SAR Techs on top preceded to pull MCpl Bates and the Patient up. Once on top of the glacier, the patient was secured in a Stokes Litter and carried to Rescue 912. Both patients where treated for their injuries while enroute to Iqaluit. They were handed over to an ambulance crew who then transported them to the hospital 17 hours after receiving the initial call from JRCC.

The Cormorant Crew (Rescue 912) was crewed by Aircraft Commander Captain Jacques Poirier, First Officer Captain Graeme Cooke, Flight Engineer Sergeant Absalom Pierce, Search and Rescue Technician Team Leaders Sergeant Darcy Keating and Sergeant Sean MacEachern and Team Members Master Corporal Steve Bates, Master Corporal Geoff Rowan and Master Corporal Mike Neilson. The Hercules crew (Rescue 308) included pilots Captain Samuel Vezina (AC) and Capt Eric St-George (FO), Navigator Captain Colette Kenny, Flight Engineer Sergeant Kevin Beaudry, Loadmaster Sergeant Derek Putnam and Search and Rescue Technician Team Leader Sergeant Stephane Clavette and Team Member Master Corporal Enrico Deschenes.

Injury of a Friend

2011-05-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

From a DND press release: "A Canadian soldier whose family lives near Brockville is slowly recovering from major injuries he obtained in a training accident. Mark Salesse, 40, will spend two or three months or more in rehabilitation after suffering multiple injuries in a fall while training in the United States. Salesse sustained critical but not life-threatening injuries including a shattered pelvis, hairline fracture in his sacrum, broken ribs, disconnected rib ends in and around the sternum, a pun

Publish Post

ctured rib cage and lacerations about his right eye and on the right side of his body."

I was in Ouray climbing just up the canyon when Mark fell. Christian, Giles, and I administered first aid and were part of the rescue team. Despite his injuries, Mark is a lucky guy. I've spoken to him in hospital, and he's determined to make a full recovery. We're behind you Mark!

Here's a long article about the incident.

http://www.emcstlawrence.ca/20110414/news/Soldier+with+Brockville+connection+recovers+from+fall

Mad Skillz

2011-04-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Christian showing off his mad B-Boy skillz...on top of the Squamish Chief after hoisting down there.

Direct Entry Program Finished

2011-03-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

I'm on a course with a diver who works in the recruiting centre in Comox. She said that the DE program is closed. I haven't corroborated this with anyone in the trade, but it makes sense in that that the program was intended as a five year trial. The fifth intake of DE candidates just did selection in Feb. When the program was initiated, the trade was low on numbers. In the last five years, we've reversed that and are now above our numbers.

If you were planning on going DE, get in touch with the recruiting centre to check the status.

“It was like an apartment building on its side”

2011-03-08T10:51:00.000-08:00

Here's an article about a challenging rescue done by my course-mate, Kelly.

Link to Air Force Article

Climbing in the Dark

2011-03-02T21:49:00.001-08:00

Giles and I were keen to climb some ice after a day of rescue training, so we hit the ice park for a few laps. I had the last lead around dusk. My error in judging how fast the light was fading was compounded by not having my headlamp. I found out that I can lead WI3 in darkness. Not something I'm too eager to repeat.

Giles topping out. Light!

Then we made peanut butter cookies.

Ouray Ice Park

2011-03-02T21:45:00.001-08:00

http://ourayicepark.com/

We arrived in Ouray, Colorado late Friday night, so we've had some time to ice climb before starting the Rigging For Rescue Ice course. Ouray is an ice climbing hot spot :-p There's a man made ice park just on the outskirts of town, some went there to do some laps and knock off the rust. Super fun climbing, but like any easily accessible place with lots of moderate terrain, there were lots of people. Some of whom, needed some lessons in not monopolizing a climb for hours. Fortunately, with over 150 routes, you can just move along and find amines one. Giles and I tried out some mixed climbing. Different feeling the tools and crampons on rock, but super fun. Course starts tomorrow with some coaching, then companion rescue. After that, it's more complex rescue skills.

Typical climbs

Busy place

Christian rescuing me.

Ouray

Rigging For Rescue Ice

2011-03-02T21:29:00.000-08:00

Rigging for Rescue is a course that all SAR Techs attend as part of our post basic course training program. The same company also runs a course that focuses on technical rescue on waterfall ice. Three of use from Comox are in Ouray, CO for the ice rescue course.

Here's the course description.

"Waterfall Ice is one of the most unique mediums you will ever have to face as a
rescue respondent. It can be brittle, plastic-like, soupy, and bullet hard - all on the
same day. Moving safely and efficiently over this type of terrain is a combination of
experience, skill and most importantly good judgement.

Rigging for Rescue's home base of Ouray, Colorado is one of the world's premier ice
climbing destinations. Ouray is home to the Ouray Ice Park which hosts over 150 ice
climbs in a narrow gorge just minutes walking distance from town proper.
Additionally, the surrounding San Juan Mountains are choked with frozen waterfalls
throughout the winter months.

The Waterfall Ice Climbing and Rescue Workshop is a specialized training seminar
focusing on the techniques and subtleties of ice climbing and waterfall ice rescue
practices. Topics will include anchor placements and evaluation, climbing techniques,
bottom-up rescue, pickoffs, companion rescue, terrain evaluation, multi-pitch
techniques and transitions, the use of deflection lines to deviate around hazardous
terrain, team movement on ice and much more."

SAR Tech Direct Entry Video

2011-01-24T20:24:00.000-08:00

Just found this video on the SAR Tech Direct Entry Program. This was shot during my pre-selection, which was the first intake for DE.

The DE program continues to this day. Initially, I had heard that it was a trial program to make up for a manning shortfall. While we are now at/above our strenght as a trade, I haven't heard any rumours of it being cancelled.

I receive quite a few e-mails asking about the future of the program, and wether it's best to try for it or join the CF and transfer. We in the Sqns are far from the policy decisions that control recruiting, so I'll never have any insider information. My advise is that you can try for DE, but the only route that will always stay open is to join the Reg Force and transfer over. Either way is a long process and neither is easy.

SAR Techs on Combat Camera

2011-01-24T20:18:00.000-08:00

Combat Camera is a DND public affairs organization. Here's a great video on SAR Techs that they did.

Christmas Biking

2011-01-24T20:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a video of some biking I did with my Brother on Christmas Day. Love the We(s)t Coast!

Cormorant Team Member

2011-01-24T20:07:00.000-08:00

I just completed my Check-ride to upgrade as a Team Member on the Cormorant. Hopefully now I can get another mission on the helicopter. I'll also be heading right into working on becoming a Restricted Team Leader on both airframes. In our progression, we are Team Members for two years, then you start acting as a TL, which culminates in a designation of Restricted Team Leader somewhere near the end of your third year. After some more supervised practice and our final course, full TL status comes in the fourth year.

442 Cormorant Plucks Hiker from Vancouver Mountains

2010-12-23T17:40:00.000-08:00

Looks like the dry spell is over. CBC Article.

How NOT to Exit An Aircraft

2010-12-19T21:04:00.000-08:00

424 Squadron SAR Tech demonstrating the incorrect technique for a static line exit from a Herc. I can only guess that he must have tripped coming off the ramp. Ouch.

Because Fire Fighters Need Heroes Too

2010-12-16T16:11:00.000-08:00

SAR Techs Rescue Stranded Motorists

2010-12-15T00:14:00.001-08:00

My coursemate, Les MacLean was involved in the evacuation of motorists stranded on a highway in Ontario during a sever winter storm.

CTV reporting.

Finally on the Cormorant

2010-12-03T08:42:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting trained up on the Cormorant. I did one day of famil way back in June (and got my first mission) but since then the guys who just graduated have been training on it. There's only a limited number of hours that can be allotted to training, so it's prioritized for the SAR Techs who need to qualify on their first airframe. Since I was qualified on the Buff, I go to the back of the line. Now it's time for lots of hoists, double ups, water work, and lots of other fun stuff.

Parks Canada Rescue Climbers

2010-12-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

This is a great point of view video of Parks Canada Rescue Specialists rescuing a climber who fell near Banff. They long line in, package the patient, then get long-lined out to the waiting ambulance. Very well done.

Article From SAR School Instructor

2010-11-03T18:21:00.000-07:00

This is an article from an internal DND publication that highlights differrent jobs in the military and how they support the CF.

Sgt Sean Calis loves every aspect of his job as a Search and Rescue Technician (SAR Tech) for the Defence Team. After being in the infantry for 11 years, he became an operational SAR Tech in 1998, and recently joined the Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue as an instructor.

SAR Techs are elite rescue specialists who provide on-scene medical aid and extraction from some of the harshest and most remote areas of Canada. They manage entire missions by locating accident scenes and delivering advanced medical care and evacuating the injured by any means possible i.e. parachuting, hoisting from helicopters, climbing mountains, scuba diving, etc.

“I enjoy every aspect of being a SAR Tech,” says Sgt Calis. “Our whole job is great. There are not too many people who get to do what we do – parachuting, diving and saving lives.”

Throughout the 11 months of the Basic SAR Tech course, Sgt Calis, along with 14 other instructors, participate in all the students’ training phases: ground, medical, winter operations, arctic operations, dive, sea operations, parachuting operations, mountain operations, and operational/consolidation.

Sgt Calis teaches classes for each phase of training. Whether it is educating the students on winter, arctic, land and sea survival, parachuting in different environments, or executing mountain operations, he makes sure to instruct them on how to be well-rounded members of the CF.

“I want to teach them to be the best that they can be; the most professional operator that they can be, and one day they will save lives,” says Sgt Calis.

In addition to the training provided by the CF, students are trained by professional civilians. For example, they attend the Paramedic Academy of British Columbia and receive their dive training at the Fleet Diving Unit, Pacific, the Canadian military’s centre of excellence for diving.

Sgt Calis and his co-workers evaluate the students’ after each phase, provide feedback and additional training as required to ensure they have the necessary skill sets to be successful SAR Techs.

The Basic SAR Tech course is very intense and demanding; for this reason the selection process is very exclusive. Each year, 30 candidates are chosen to participate at the Preliminary Assessment Phase held at CFB Edmonton for the first 4 days and they are sent to CFSSAR Detachment Jarvis Lake, AB, for the remaining two weeks. During this phase, they are tested on their physical and mental abilities in a broad range of environments (medical, survival, orienteering, leadership, etc.) Only 12-to-14 candidates are chosen to become SAR Techs on average every year.

According to Sgt Calis, SAR is seeking candidates who can think outside the box and who are self-reliant.

“SAR Techs often work in small teams during a crisis and they must be able to take action rapidly. For example, one might have to work on his or her own at a plane crash while waiting for his partners,” he says.

Once the students have successfully completed their training, they are sent to their new unit where they will train and get used to various types of equipment and airframe needed for their job. This probationary phase is used to evaluate the individual’s ability to use all their learned skills, and it will be the deciding factor on whether they are awarding an operational status.

As soon as the students become operational SAR Techs, they immediately ready to participate in real life operations that may require their parachuting, mountaineering, hiking, swimming, and scuba diving skills, most often during adverse conditions. In fact, the very first day Sgt Calis was accepted as an operational SAR Tech, he was called in to a parachute operation to rescue five people who crashed a Beaver plane in Northern Quebec. Using the skills he developed during his training, Sgt Calis and his partner were able to save three of the casualties.

“The best part of our job is when you bring someone home,” says Sgt Calis, who has never stopped saving Canadians since that day.

In his job as a SAR Tech instructor, Sgt Calis is contributing to the Readiness pillar of the Canada First Defence Strategy (CFDS). He participates in ensuring SAR Techs excel in their career, and that they will have the skills necessary to survive in any condition or environment by providing them with the best training possible.

SAR Techs are easily deployable to any scene imaginable. “SAR Techs are always ready to go,” says Sgt Calis. “They might be gone within 30 minutes.”

SAR is now accepting individuals with civilian qualifications right off the streets, but only if they have a medical background. The recruitment of professional medical civilians contributes to the Personnel pillar of the CFDS by supporting future missions and reinforcing the willingness of members to stay in the CF. According to Sgt Calis, it also provides personnel with purpose and opportunities for achievement. Working as a SAR Tech satisfies the lifestyle needs of some members and makes them feel valued.

Direct Entry SAR Tech

2010-10-31T17:14:00.000-07:00

Here's an article about my good friend Mike. He's one of the first direct entry SAR Techs. Prior to joining, he was a fire fighter in Port Coquitlam and a member of the local G-SAR team.

Former Coquitlam SAR member in SAR Tech training - Coquitlam Search and Rescue

Diving Royston Wrecks

2010-10-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

We did a quick day dive to some beached wrecks that are across the bay from Comox. They were sunk in the 30' as a break water to protect logging booms. Here's a bit more of the history.

"In the first half of the 20th century the Comox Valley had a booming logging industry. The logs where pulled by train to the entrance of the Comox Harbour, dumped there and towed over the Strait of Georgia to the big sawmills in New Westminster on the mainland. The site in Royston is very exposed to southerly winds increasing the tidal swells which made the dump tricky and dangerous specially in winter. First the logging company tried to install a breakwater with boomsticks. In the late 1930s they sunk the first old ship hulks, beginning with the "Laurel Whalen", to break the ocean's force. In the next 25 years the number of ships increased to 14 of many different kinds, including old whaling boats, schooners, navy frigates, freighters and tugs. The most historic might be the "Melanope", a 79-metre 3-masted sailing ship built in 1876. "

There's quite a bit of sea life around the bottoms of the boats. Fish, star-fish, anemone, etc. After the dive, we pulled up the more modern break water and fired up the BBQ for some lunch.

After lunch, we went back out in the boat to provide a platform for winching from the helo. The boat is 30' long and has a fully enclosed cabin. At first, they tried to winch down with the boat underway, but because the boat is shorter than the helo, the pilot can't see it when the winch is over top. The pilots have to maintain some reference, so it's actually harder to winch to a small boat. We cut the engine to try a different strategy, but it was worse. The downwash from the rotors pushed the boat all over the place. Finally, the lowered a ST into the water and dragged him close to the boat until he could safely swim over. He had a line with him and guided in the following ST. After a quick medical exercise, they were winched off.

I did a google search of the Royston Wrecks and found some really nice photos.

Cormorant Trophy

2010-10-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

The Cormorant Trophy is awarded annually at SAREX. Read on to see the type of rescue that every SAR Tech aspires to.

Press Release from the Augusta Westland Website.

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica Company, is pleased to announce that the crew of “Rescue 912” from Canadian Forces Squadron 103 in Gander, Newfoundland has been selected as the winner of the 2010 Cormorant Trophy for Helicopter Rescue. The winning search and rescue crew comprising Major Steve Reid of Centreville, Nova Scotia; Captain Priscilla Jobin of Ste-Foy, Quebec; Sergeants Brad Lawrence of Gander, Newfoundland, and Morgan Biderman of Penticton, B.C.; and Sergeant Kent Gulliford of Kamloops, B.C. The award was presented Friday night at the annual SAREX competition in Whitehorse, Yukon by Jeremy Tracy, AgustaWestland Head of Region – Canada and Chief Test Pilot. The Cormorant Trophy for Helicopter Rescue recognizes the Canadian civilian, government or military crew that has performed the most demanding helicopter rescue of the year. “This rescue stood as this year’s top example of the selfless dedication of the professionals who risk their lives daily for the safety of Canadians and others across Canada and offshore,” said Mr. Tracy. “All of this year’s nominees exemplified the bravery and capabilities of the search and rescue community, particularly those invariably flying into the most treacherous weather conditions imaginable, the most inhospitable terrain or seas, dangling from the end of a line hanging from a helicopter or some other physically demanding task that virtually no other Canadian would imagine.”

On October 24, 2009, a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter from 103 SAR Squadron (Rescue 912) responded to a Mayday call from the shrimp vessel Seafaring Legend. The distress call indicated that the vessel had taken an unexpected wave at its stern and was rapidly taking on water. The four-person crew was forced to abandon ship into the open ocean approximately 90 nautical miles (167 km.) north of Fogo Island, Newfoundland. Three of the four people on board were able to don immersion suits and, with great difficulty, eventually climbed into two separate life rafts. The fourth person was unable to don his survival suit before the vessel went down, and tragically, did not survive. Rescue 912 arrived on scene after flying 130 nautical miles (240 km.) from Gander to the incident location. Upon arrival, the crew of Rescue 912 were faced with never-before-seen circumstances. Every available tool and experience would be required to recover the three survivors from the two life rafts given the tremendous sea state and gale force winds. As confirmed by the Captain of a nearby Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel, the waves were averaging six metres, while the displays in the cockpit indicated that the wind speed was sustained at 35 knots with gusts up to 50 knots (93 km/h). A hoist sequence to a life raft can be very difficult under benign circumstances as the target is neither stationary, nor is it visible from the cockpit making an accurate hover virtually impossible. On this day, the life rafts were subject to immense swells and significant drift such that the rafts would fall into the troughs and then accelerate both down the front and the backside of each approaching or passing wave. This was an in incredibly difficult scenario which falls well outside the limits the search and rescue community would consider safe for training. Faced with these conditions, Flight Engineer Sergeant Brad Lawrence experienced great difficulty managing the cable such that the SAR Techs, Sergeants Morgan Biderman and Kent Gulliford, would remain just above the undulating surface as he provided directional voice commands to Major Steve Davis and Captain Priscilla Jobin at the controls of the AW101 helicopter. Not surprisingly, there were a few instances when the SAR Techs were dunked well under water and then catapulted back into the air as the wave passed by. A concentrated team effort between the cockpit crew, the Flight Engineer in the rescue door (providing voice direction, hover trim control manipulation and hoist cable management) and the SAR Techs on the hook (using hand signals and then swimming with all they were worth while still attached to the cable) resulted in all three survivors being hoisted to safety. They also recovered the body of the fourth crew member.

The other rescues nominated this year were:
1) On October 13, 2009, a helicopter from Canadian Forces 442 Squadron in Comox, B.C., dispatched for a medical evacuation of member of a kayaking group who stranded during bad weather near Bella Coola, B.C. One of the kayakers tried to hike back and was injured when he fell three metres. The mission required the crew to operate in high winds, with deploying almost 50 metres down a hoist cable into a tiny clearing through trees reaching 24 metres into the air on the side of a steep slope with winds gusting into them at 40 km/h .
2) On January 22, 2010, a helicopter was dispatched from 413 Squadron in Greenwood, Nova Scotia to rescue a man stranded on an ice floe near Resolute Bay, Nunavut. The mission involved a 1,800 nautical mile (3,330 km.) transit to the extreme North of Canada in the most challenging environmental conditions one can imagine. Through weather delays, emergency repairs and more, the man was successfully hoisted off the ice and taken to safety.
3) On April 15, 2010, a helicopter owned by VIH Helicopters, under contract to the Canadian Forces during the military’s 17-day annual sovereignty exercise in the Arctic called Operation Nunavulit, was pressed into emergency service to rescue an Australian adventurer who had fallen through the thin ice during a solo trek to raise money for charity. The civilian crew and two Canadian Forces search and rescue technicians flew 250 nautical miles (460 km.) further north, successfully located the adventurer from his emergency beacon and flew him to safety.
The Cormorant Trophy is named after the AW101 (former EH101) “Cormorant” medium-heavy lift helicopter used as the Canadian Forces’ primary search and rescue helicopter. Over 190 AW101 helicopters have been built or sold to civil and military customers around the world in a wide variety of configurations. The worldwide fleet had achieved in excess of 200,000 flight hours in Canada, UK, Italy, Denmark, Portugal, and Japan providing exceptional performance and an extremely high degree of safety.
For past winners of the Cormorant Trophy, please visit www.agustawestland.ca.

The SAR team that helped three men return safely to shore once their vessel sank. L to R: SAR Tech Sgt Kent Gulliford, Aircraft Commander, Maj Steve Reid, First Officer Capt Priscilla Jobin, Flight Engineer Sgt Brad Lawrence, and SAR Tech Team Lead, Sgt Morgan Biderman.

Finally Some Good Diving

2010-10-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

After two years of boring fresh water diving on the prairies, I've been looking forward to some good coastal diving. The last two days lived up to my expectations. We loaded up the trucks and took two short ferry rides to Hornby Island, where we met the 50' support boat that took us to the dives. There's good diving around Hornby, but we decided to take the extra time to steam S to Nanaimo to dive on two wrecks. The first on was a 60' tug sunk just outside the Nanaimo harbour. Visibility was great and there was lots of life growing on the vessel. Despite some rolling seas, we made our way to the HMCS Saskatchewan. It's a Canadian WWII destroyer that was sunk as an artificial reef. Here's what the BC Artificial reef society has to say about it. " Saskatchewan, the fourth destroyer project and the fifth ship sunk as an artificial reef by the ARSBC, was the subject of a International contest to "push the button" and sink the ship. The renowned Cousteau Society sponsored the contest as a fund-raiser to replace its former ship Calypso which sank unexpectedly two years earlier in Singapore harbour."

Obviously it was quite an event. Here's a pic of the sinking.

The ship sits in 130' of water, with most of the deck at around 100' and the mast topping out at 45'. With that depth as our second dive, it was pretty short, but we swam along the majority of the 366' vessel and poked our heads into the interior.

Here's a really good video of the ship. It's 10 min long, but definitely worth a skim at least.

442 Host National SAREX

2010-10-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

442 Sqn hosted national SAREX this year. The event took place in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. As with the two SAREX I attended in the last years, it was a competition involving all aspects of SAR Tech skills. The 442 Team of George Olynyk, Manuel Seguin, and John Gute took top spot. Nice work fellas. Course 41 rules!! (John and Manny are from my course.) There's some good video of the event out there. I'll see if I can post it.

Cruise Ship Hoist

2010-09-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

In Jul, I had got my intro to the Cormorant. "Here's the safety gear, you remember how to hook up for the hoist, right?" Ok, not quite that brief, but pretty close. Later that afternoon I got to go on my first mission. Fly out past Tofino to hoist down to a cruise ship and get a patient who had suffered a heart attack. We took the ship's Dr with us, so there wasn't much medical to do, but it was a great intro to helo ops. Unfortunately, it's been all Buffalo since then.

These pictures were taken from film that was shot from the Buffalo. Any time that the Cormorant goes off shore, the buffalo is over-head to provide a back-up. They'd be able to dump life rafts and send out a distress call in case of a crash.

The whole front end of the shif was filled with people on the ceuise watching the operation. At the rear, there were lots of crew, including a fire brigade in full gear. Most of them where Thai or something.

I don't think this is even a very big cruise ship. It didn't have a helo pad, not that something the size of a Cormorant could land on them.

The Team Lead doubled up the Dr. I got some on the job training in using the guideline to steady the stoke's litter as it was hoisted up. The patient had a portable ventilator. Pretty handy piece of kit that they have on the ship.

Setting up for the hoist. The Flight Engineer who works the winch also has a control to adjust the position of the helicopter.

Para Perspectives

2010-09-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

Some footage from a couple of jumps I did back in Winnipeg.

Jump Camp

2010-09-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

Right after leave, I attended the SAR School summer jump camp. They rented a Skyvan for a week so that new staff and other SAR Techs could upgrade their para skills. I took the Coach 1 course back in Feb, but hadn't had the opportunity to learn to fly the CSAR 7i, which is the smaller instructor rig. Its comes in sizes of 170-210 sqft as compared to the CSAR 7 at 300 sqft. It's just way less parachute to move fly in freefall and under canopy. It's geared to instructors so that they can be moremobile than students and enable faster pack jobs. As expected, the 170 was so much more better to move around in and way more responsive to fly. One has to be careful though, as it's sort of like going from a big pick-up to a sporty car. Don't over-do the hard turns, especially close to the ground.

Three other guys from my course were in town for the camp, so we had a great time hanging out. It was super hot out, so we went swimming in thr river almsot every day. Couldnt ask for a better week of "work" coming off vacation.

Course 41 - Five Way Free-fall.

Les applied a spa treatment of clay.

Course 41 in the salmon ladders on the Puntledge River

Course 41 bridge jumping

Glutons For Punishment

2010-09-01T21:18:00.000-07:00

Giles and I had another crack at Mt Colonel Foster. We pushed our high point to about the half way mark, but increased the suffering by a disproportinate amount.

The misery started early on this one. As we walked in the 13 km to the bivi, an un-forecasted rain system moved. We debated turning around, but as neither of us really had anything better to do, we decided to push on and see what would happen with the supposedly nice weather on Monday.

Monday dawned with blue skies, so we put on our soaking wet boots and clothes to go up and see what we could do. There was some residual wetness, but the rock was surprisingly dry, so we made decent progress to the 1/3 mark and using new info from a topo I found on-line, we took the correct line and continued upwards.

Unfortunately, the combo of waiting to see the morning weather and not climbing quite fast enough caused us to hit our turn around time, so we had to bail. No problem, we've done this before. At least this time it's not raining. Wrong on both counts.

The rope got stuck twice during the rappel resulting in serious delay to ascend back up and free it. Then it started raining...again. And it got dark. A poor decision to try for a rap direct to the glacier cost more time and heaped on the misery with prusiking in the rain. By this point, both Giles and I were having momentary doubts about the pleasures of alpine climbing.

Back to the tent at 1AM. 18 hrs of pure fun. We brewed some hot chocolate and dehydrated meals, then fell into our tent to rest for the 13 km hike back out the next morning.

So what have I learned. Colonel Foster should only be attempted with long days and solid weather. Guess I'm a slow learner.

More Photos

Summer Vacation

2010-08-26T18:29:00.000-07:00

I've been on vacation since late Jul. Lots of good times with friends and enjoying being back in BC.

Here's some links to photo albums.

Biking

Alpine climbing with Scott, my friend from the Royal Westminster Regt.

Mt Habrich, behind Squamish.

Checking out the apline climbing on Vancouver Island

Unsuccesful attempt on Mount Col Foster, one of the biggest and best alpine lines on the island.

30km round trip run up Mt Albert Edward.

Quebec Plane Crash

2010-08-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, two SAR Techs from Trenton jumped in to a plane crash in Quebec. Extraction was by Griffon helo from Baggotville.

Here's the perspective of one of the survivors, a fifteen year old boy.

Toronto Sun Story

Mt Waddington

2010-07-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

Last week we flew past Mt Waddington, the highest peak in BC. One of the other SAR Tech told me about an exercise they did a few years ago in conjunction with the US PJs. They parachuted onto the foot of the glacier, did some crevasse training, then stayed the night. The next day, they were extracted by helo, and topped of the exercise with a 13k free fall from the US Pave Hawk. Pretty impressive since that's the height of the mountain. Landing was at 7k on the glacier. Spice parachuting at that altitude.

One of the unique capabilities of the Buffalo is it's ability to fly in tight mountain terrain. The pilots love one technique called a valley shoot. They set the flaps, drop the gear, then fly slowly down a valley so that we can search it thoroughly. We flew over one of the sub peaks of Waddington and then did a valley shoot right down the glacier. Very cool.

Upgraded

2010-07-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

I finished the conversion to the Buffalo last week. Now on to the cormorant. Really looking forward to working on the helo. Hoisting, rappels, boats, and checking out remote parts of the province.

My first day after the upgrade was on pager. Manuel introduced me to opportunities afforded by living close to the mountains. We got up early and made a quick ascent of Mt Arrowsmith, the highest peak in southern Vancouver Island. It was a nice scramble then a run down. Manuel wanted to locate some rappel anchors near the top and mark them so that they could be more easily spotted from the Cormorant. This allows us to winch down and conduct basic mountain training.

Tourism BC

2010-07-15T21:44:00.001-07:00

The last two weeks have been an amazing tour of some of the most beautiful terrain in SW and central BC. I've seen a steady parade of fijords, glaciers, mountains, ocean, and lakes. One of the perks of the job is dinning at some of the best remote lodges around the province. The Buffalo can land at very short austere airstrips, so we've jumped in to a few beautiful places and been followed down by the plane. Last week was Echo Valley Resort and today was ?? Lodge. Both were lovely log building ranches, but EVR was in the upper class bracket while TL was homey and rustic. Lunch was great at both places! At EVR, the owner has a standing challenge that if a SAR Tech can land on one of the horses, the whole crew eats for free. We gave it a valiant effort, but they could hear the parachutes flapping and bolted. TL is on a well stocked fishing lake. We hung out for a while after lunch and fished from the dock. Well, the other guys fished and I went swimming then basked in the sun. There was no luck with the rods, so the old regulars took pitty on the guys and gave them some of theirs (which put them back under the limit and allowed them to catch more later:-)

I will start to carry my camera, but it probably won't do justice to the views.

Bella Coola Free Fall

2010-07-10T21:45:00.001-07:00

On Thur, I did one of my most scenic jumps to date. We flew up the coast to Bella Coola. Both sides of the valley are actually huge rock faces. Many thousands of feet of slab, big faces, and then leading into mountain tops. We were dispatched from the Buffalo at 10k ft and rapidly fell below the tops of the peaks. By about 7k we were into the narrower part of the valley, and the I did slow circles to absorbe the scenery and really feel the sensation of falling past past the rock faces. Very cool. Hope i get to do it again this summer.

Winnipeg in the Rear View Mirror

2010-06-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

That's the MB border sign in my mirror. It marks the end of my seventh year in Winnipeg. Sort of ironic, since I never wanted to go there in the first place. That being said, I had some really great times with 2VP, 435 Sqn, and the friends I made there. I'll miss them most of all. The last two weeks were great for saying goodbye. All of my furniture and possessions were moved, so all I had to do was hang and have some last good times. When I look back on the last two years, I think Winnipeg was probably the best place for me. Small group of guys and bigger budget allowed for a lot of opportunities and the ability to put my ideas into action. I only have to scroll back through this blog to see how many good trips and training opportunities I had. Missions...not so much, at least I got one good one. Hopefully the ocean and helicopters will pick up the pace.

Now it's on to Comox. I start conversion training on the Buffalo on 5 Jul.

I drove out of Winnipeg

Mantario Canoe Trip

2010-06-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

In my last week of work at 435 Sqn, Scot, Johnny, and I went on a canoeing trip to practice our "survival skills." As part of our ongoing training, we have to do 72 hr field exercises. They don't have to be aimed at survival skills, but must be in a field environment. Last Nov I went hunting with some of the other guys for a similar type of exercise. With both Johnny and I posted out this summer, we wanted to do a fun trip to finish off our time in MB. We decided on canoeing a lake/portage route in the Mantario (MB/ON border) area.

I've been wanting to canoe the Mantario trail for a while. Scott and Johnny have run the trail in a day and snowshoed it in the winter. I skied part of it while I was in Wpg before, but wasn't able to go on either trip, so the time was right for canoeing it.

We've had almost record setting rains in MB in the last month, but the weather was just starting to warm up. We were a little bit worried that it would be rainy, buggy, or both. Fortunately, it was neither. The portages were very muddy, but we wore wetsuit boots and shorts, so it was actually pretty fun to slog through the mud. The bugs were bearable on the portages, and amazingly absent where we camped. The best part was that the sun was shining on the first two days. We had a great sunset paddle on a glassy lake and did some cliff jumping on the second day. Very relaxing and just what I wanted in a canoe trip.

Click the link to go to the full album.

From album Mantario Canoe

Moustache Time

2010-06-22T20:37:00.001-07:00

I was promoted to Sgt today. Nice parting gift from 435 Sqn. Now I can grow my NCO moustache ;-)

Last Jump in the Herc was memorable

2010-06-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

Had a minor incident parachuting today. My left leg loop came open on a static line jump. The leg loops are closed with a quick eject snap fastener. This allows for easier donning and getting out of the harness in an emergency such as a water landing. We inspect these before every jump and they are double checked by another SAR Tech. The latch sometimes gets stuck on the padding, which has led to this problem before. We went through the normal inspection, but I didn't specifically check the back of the fastener for the padding interference. It was either that, or the opening lever was dislodged when I sat down waiting for the jump.

As soon as the canopy opened, the leg loop blew and I was hanging at an angle in the harness. I was held in by both arms and the other leg, so there was zero danger of falling out of the parachute. The only issue was that I was the turn induced by being off kilter in the harness. Once I unstowed the break lines I was able to correct that then check that I could still steer and flare for landing. I got to the ground without further incident.

Just happy that we had good altitude and I had no equipment. So, that was my last jump with 435 Sqn. Good learning experience. Check, double check, and check again.

Code 3

2010-05-29T00:12:00.003-07:00

Mike Neilson and I came over to Vancouver to do our OR shifts. He's one ofnthe original direct entry guys. Before SAR, he was a fire fighter in Port Coquitlam, one of the suburbs on Vamcouver. On Thur night we paid a visit to his old hall.

We were treated to the traditional fire fighter supper. Dinner in a fire hall is a big deal. They take turns preparing the meals, and have a sit-down supper every night. Some of them become gourmet chefs over the years.

Just as we were finishing dinner, the alarm went off for a call. Mike asked if we could ride along. I'd never been in a fire truck, so it was a novel experience. Lights, sirens, and speeding through the streets. As per normal though, it was a medical call that was a total let down. That's pretty much the story or emergency services.

Mike and I were planning on climbing the Chief in Squamish tomorrow, but it's raining now and the same is forcasted for tomorrow. Maybe a hike to the top.

LMA

2010-05-29T00:12:00.001-07:00

Part of our 6A training is to learn how to insert a Laryngyal Mask Airway, or LMA. it's a tube with an inflatable cup-like end that goes down the throat and seals over the larynx. It is designed to shut off the eosophagus and direct air into the larynx and to the lungs. We spend two days in the OR practicing inserting them under the supervision of an anasthesiologist. I've done six so far, and they are pretty easy to use. The OR is an ideal setting, so it will be more of a challenge when you throw in trauma, stress, and a rough setting.

Posted to Comox

2010-05-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

I'm posted back to Comox this summer. Very excited to work on the Cormorant and to be close to my family and the mountains again. Looks like I'll go back to Winnipeg to pack my stuff, say goodbye then turn around to drive to BC. On the ground here by Canada Day.

Recruiting Slowdown

2010-05-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

Due to budget cuts this year, there has been a drastic reduction in recruiting. I'm pretty sure that Direct Entry is still ongoing, nut anyone thinking of joining the reg force then putting in an OT may be delayed. Med Tech is full for his year, and I've heard that even the Infantry isn't currently taking applicants. Check with the recruiting centre for up to date info.

New PT Test

2010-05-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

While we were on course, a project to find a replacement for the pre-selection PT test was just getting under way. We went through a whole bunch of tests to gather data. After some trials and adjustments, the new test is ready. It's designed to be a better predictor of a candidate's ability to get through the rigours of pre-selection. The candidates for Course 44 were tested with a version of this in Feb.

There are four elements scored separately but completed in sequence. Approx 5 min rest between.

1) Treadmill Rucksack. Scored by max time.
- wearing a 25 kg ruck (Arcteryx Bora 80)
- 6 min warmup on treadmill
- 15 min @ 3.5mph and 8% grad
- speed and grad increased (not sure how fast)
- go to fail.

2) Rope climb. Pass/Fail
- 2 x 6m climb.
- no slidding or dropping off the rope.
- max 1 min

3) Equpiment Carry. Fastest time.
- 20m course. Out and back is one rep
- two loads. 115lb barbell. 2x55lb dumbell
- complete the following series four times.
- run the 20 m course with: barbell, unweighted, dumbell, unweighted.
- for safety, there are "no run zones" for 2m at each end.
- times so far have been in the 4-6min range

4) Swim. For time. Max 20 min
- 750m
- wearing fins. Force Fin brand. They are short and not very powerful.

That's all I know so far. Can't answer any questions.

Viral outbreak

2010-05-16T09:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was supposed to be our first ER shift in Nanaimo, but when we arrived in the morning the hospital was closes to non-essential personnel. Apparently there's an outbreak of the Norovirus. Not sure what that is, but it's vey contageous.

The 6A Pt 1 has been realy good so far. We have a good base of understanding from the PCP course, so it's a much more enjoyable pace for learning. Instead of being blasted with new info everyday, we have good discussions in class then run simulations in he afternoon. We've learned a few new skills, but the focus is on decision making as a Team Leader. We have to be much more aware of the overall medical issues and the mission factors that affect treatments.

Tofino

2010-05-08T17:00:00.001-07:00

The whole of Course 41 is in Tofino for a weekend of hanging out and surfing. It's a super good reunion. No readings or homework on the course so we can relax with no stress. Kelly, our resident surfer, orgnaized the whole thing for us. Board rentals, vehicles, and sweet condos right on the beach. The best part is that we bought a cook with us from the base. Since we're all on ration strength at the mess, we requested to bring food with us instead of buying our own. One of the cooks volunteered to come along. Steak is being prepared as I type!

Time to catch a few more waves.

Summer 2010

2010-04-20T04:46:00.000-07:00

The summer is shaping up nicely. Here's how it's looking.

June:
- Finish 6A, have a couple days off in Vancouver. Do some climbing and biking.
- End June, Scott, Johnny, and I are going to paddle the Mantario Trail. Three days with lots of portages. This is for work. We have to practice our bush skills/survival training.

Jul:
- 11-17 Jul: Advanced Mountain Rescue Course in the Bugaboos, BC. Really looking forward to this one.

- After that, I go straight to two weeks of leave in BC. A biking trip with Tomas, chill out at home in Ok Falls, then Mike's wedding in Vancouver.

Aug: The plan right now is to go diving in Churchill, MB. The Belugas are close to shore at this time of year, so we're trying to dive with them. It's been done in the past; hope it works out for us.

And maybe we'll get another rescue at 435 some time. It's been very slow over the winter.

6A Medical

2010-04-20T04:28:00.000-07:00

At the end of the month, Scott and I are off to Comox for five weeks of advanced medical training. We'll be on the 6A Part 1, which is the first part of the series of courses that take us from Team Member to Team Leader.

Here's a brief description of the course: The QL6A Part (1) Course is designed to provide comprehensive training in Advanced Medical Skills. Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) from the JISAR Tech instructors will conduct your medical training while at CFSSAR. In-hospital clinicians will conduct your medical training through emergency room, and operating room rotation. Specific topics for the medical training will include advanced airway management, pharmacology, cardiac and medical emergency intervention and pre-hospital protocol and procedure application as it applies to specific scenarios. of BC Paramedic Academy along with

We'll be in Comox at the SAR school (CFSSAR) for the first two weeks, where we'll do all of the classroom learning and practice simulations of new protocols. After that, we spread out to various ER/OR on Vancouver Island to put our skills into practice.

I'm looking forward to getting immersed in the medical environment. I've had a couple of years to assimilate the stuff we learned on the basic course, so I think this course will be much more about making informed medical decisions rather than following procedures by rote.

It will also be great to get back to BC for a while. The whole course is planning a trip out to Long Beach, on the west coast of the island, for some surfing. I'll also get to see my parents, brother, and friends from Vancouver.

Bouldering

2010-04-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

Johnny and I spent the day in Lac Du Bonnet doing some bouldering in the sun. Not a huge concentration of rock, bit it was fun anyway. I'v managed to hurt the pullery tendon in one of my fingers, so not much hard pulling down.

New Recruiting Video

2010-04-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a brand new recruiting video. Re-posted from Cardinal6100's YouTube channel. Thanks.

CBC Radio Story

2010-03-30T20:51:00.001-07:00

CBC was interested in SAR Techs in general after the rescue in Nov. They came back and did some interviews and filming with me, Randy, and Scott. The radio interviews have aired, but not sure about the TV piece. This blog won't do just audio, so I put the radio interview to pictures.

An Old Recruiting Video

2010-03-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

I think it's from 2004. There are some interesting shots of SAR Tech history.

Para Concentration Camp

2010-03-15T19:09:00.000-07:00

Every year, most SAR Units go down to Eloy, AZ to do a parachuting saturation camp. We do get to jump from our own planes regularly, but a camp at a big drop zone allows us to really practice freefall and canopy skills. We also bring coaches to allow us to advance our parachute qualifications.

Eloy, AZ is home to one of the busiest DZs in the US. Lots of plane and lots of jumpers in the air. It's the same place that I did my basic para training. This year I was going for my B license and Coach 1. B license allows you to work on group freefall skill. While We don't necessarily need to be skilled in FF for work, the qualification is good to get so that he trade has a pool of people who can instruct new SAR Tech. Same with the Coach 1, which allows me to work with beginner skydivers to get them to the novice level.

The practice jumps as a coach were the most interesting part o the training. It was a real challenge to maintain relative position, watch the trainee, dissect their maneuvers, and remember plots to pass on. It will definitely take some practice to get the hang of it. I'll have the opportunity to that, because I have to complete 25 coach contacts in the next year to finish the qual.

We had two rain days, and had to finish off the last couple of required jumps on the morning of our flight back. Almost two weeks in the sun made winter a bad memory. Luckily winter has softened in MB, so it wasn't a killer shock.

Johnny and I did two great runs up a local peak. 6 miles round trip and some good elevation gain. The trail winds through a beautiful cactus forest. The second run was on our rain day. It started out with a light drizzle, but by the time we got to the top, it was howling wind and close to sleeting. We both thoroughly enjoyed the suffering. It's not the easy things that stick in my mind, it's the overcoming challenges, especially with good friends.

From AZ Climb Feb 10

Everglades

2010-03-10T07:55:00.000-08:00

While on Dive Ex in Florida, we had the half a day off after doing some deep dives, so we drove to the Everglades. Not much time to explore, but we did see lots of gators. They're pretty docile in the winter, so not even a bit of gentle prodding could get them to move. On the last day, we went back to experience an Everglades classic: The fan boat. Skimming across the river of grass and shallow water was cool, as were the 360 spins that drenched us. We wanted to do a hike through the swamp, but didn't have time. I'd also like to go back and do a canoe tour. Maybe next southern dive ex.

We got much closer than this. They were lying right by the trail close enough to touch.

Scott hoping for a "cougar" encounter.

Ice Diving

2010-03-04T21:12:00.000-08:00

Florida Diving

2010-02-25T20:13:00.000-08:00

I went to Key Largo for a Dive Ex in Jan, but I delayed posting because I was waiting to get the photos from the underwater camera.

You may be wondering why we go all the way to Key Largo to dive. Well, aside from the obvious, we do most of our training in concentrated blocks. Parachuting in AZ for a week, climbing in the Rockies, and a Dive Ex to Florida. Some of the coastal Squadrons do their Dive Ex in location, but all of our water is frozen solid. I actually wonder why I lug my dive gear on and off the plane every day. There's absolutely no way we could do an operational dive during the winter. Maybe wreckage identification, but that's also unlikely. In addition to the unaccesible winter diving, being in a prairie Sqn has meant some pretty un-inspiring diving in general. Fresh water has far less wildlife to look at, so mostly it's been mud bottoms and some items that other divers have set out. You can only blow bubbles and swim around looking at mud for so long, so diving in Florida is a great opportunity to log a lot of underwater time.

Half of the guys were down there the week before us, and they froze. Apparently it was actualy close to 0c and lots of the fish in the Everglades died and a whole bunch of iguanas. Fortunately for us, it was sunny the whole time. Shirts off on the boat, warm waters, and doing PT in the local park while soaking up the rays.

I've never been diving on a reef before, so I was pretty stoked. We did two dives per day. Half were on natural reefs, and the others were on wrecks. The amount of life from micro to macro scale was varied and impressive. We didn't see any big animals, but we did get close to lots of colourful fish, a moray eel, and some barracudas.

Scott and I

Looking through part of a wreck

The coolest dive was onto a deep wreck called the USS Spiegle Grove. It was an old landing craft carrier sitting in about 100' of water. The upper levels and wheel house were a bit shallower. It's 510'long, so it took two dives to see the whole thing. Very cool to swim around the massive cranes on the back deck. The pic below (not very hi quality) is a map, just to show the scale and what the ship looks like.

Another neat dive was to statue in 40' of water. The Christ of the Abyss is a bronze statue now alive with a cover of sea life. It was donated to the US in the 60's by the owner of one of the major SCUBA gear manufacturors. See: History / Video

So, first Southern Dive Ex was a great trip. Lots of amazing diving and some warm weather. Looking fwd to more in the future.

SAR Tech walking to the North Pole

2010-02-25T20:01:00.000-08:00

This is a link to an article about Darcy St-Laurent, a Winnipeg SAR Tech, who's about to start a trek to the North Pole. Good Luck Darcy!

Manitoban off to visit Santa's turf - Winnipeg Free Press

Climbing AZ

2010-02-19T07:07:00.000-08:00

Only a couple of weeks after our dive trip to Key Largo, I was off again for more great training. We headed to AZ for para saturation training. But, first some climbing. I got approval for Johnny K and I to fly down five days early to climb near Tucson. I've been there to climb on two previous occasions, and it's a great place to get away from the cold Canadian winter. Our friends, Jim and Jean, who live in Tucson, were nice enough to let us crash at their place for couple of nights.
We arrived just as a stretch of bad weather in the area was ending. Sunshine and 25C. Keep the Florida tan going!

We decided to warm up with a day of sport climbing at Mt Lemmon, an an 8,000' peak outside the city. Apparently there was 8' of snow at he top; an unusual amount. Pretty funny when Vancouver was trucking snow to he Olympic venues. Before hitting the rocks though, we had to make a stop at the local coffee shop so Johnny could feed his addiction. He's a slave to the bean! The sport climbing was a great shake-out, but boy am I weak. Guess that's what happens when you don't climb much for two years. I'm pretty excited to bring it back into my life. Especially some more good road trips in the future!

After Mt Lemmon, we headed E to Cochise Stronghold. It's a great climbing area jut outside the town of Tombstone. Yes, the same one from the "Gunfight at the OK corral." You can see a re-enactment live every day.

Cochise is a beautiful jumble of golden granite covered in lime green lichen. It's set in rolling grassland and scrub that reminds me of the African savanna. There's a tonne of climbing of every variety. We concentrated on the multiple pitch, mixed stuff, which was just right for getting my lead skills back. Challenging, but not so scary that I question what the hell I'm doing. We did mange to have a couple of misadventures one day when I was following the topo for one climb, but reading the description for another. Oops. I thoroughly enjoyed the sun and rock, and it was good for my soul to alternate between the challenge of leading and sitting quietly at the belays contemplating the beauty of the area and life in general.

The other highlight of the trip was camping at Cochise. I love climbing hard all day then retiring to a quiet place for dinner and a well deserved rest. Get up the net day early and repeat. Simple pleasures in life. It's public land, so you can camp anywhere. We just drove up one of the range access roads and pulled into an establish site. Dirtbag climber's paradise.

Four days of being on the rock and away from everything else was amazingly relaxing. Even though the next thing on the agenda was jump camp, I wasn't really ready to go back to reality.

New SAR Tech Flight Suit

2010-01-29T12:38:00.001-08:00

It's been in development for a while, so the styling might be a bit out of date.

Christmas Skating

2010-01-26T20:32:00.001-08:00

Some photos of Christmas at home in the Okanagan. Every few years, the lake freezes over so that we can skate for kilometers. We've had some really great times as a result; holiday skating parties with bonfires and mulled wine, playing hockey on cleared rinks, using blankets and skates to sail at great speeds, and flying over crystal clear ice with the bottom sliding by below our blades. We even put on wetsuits to walk out on the ice when it was getting weak just to experience falling through. Turns out that was good training for parachuting onto pack ice. My Bro has an artists eye for taking photos; I love these photos of skating.

Click to see more.

Ski Vids and Photos

2010-01-26T20:16:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my bro for thew excellent photos. He has a great perspective.

SAR Techs In Haiti

2010-01-22T18:33:00.000-08:00

A few SAR Techs from Trenton are in Haiti. They arrived with the first flights just after the earthquake. They've been doing ground SAR and first aid. Long days and lots of hard work by my course mates, Jeff and O'D.

Here's a picture of Kevin evacing people on the herc.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/canadians-await-evacuation-from-haiti/article1431670/

Oddest Call-Out

2010-01-22T11:41:00.000-08:00

I has the oddest call out this week. I should set the stage first though. It was Sunday evening and I had just walked in the door from a hot yoga session (luckily my pager didn't go off during the practice.) The yoga was a good stretch out to recover from four gruelling workouts over the last two days. So, suffice to say that I was super tired and all I wanted to do was eat some food and chill out. It wasn't to be. The pager went off as I was preping dinner. As I looked at the "5555" launch code, I just hoped that the mission wouldn't require any heavy lifting of squats;-) Fortunately, the operations desk quickly dispelled any concerns. It was to be a transport lift to Trenton, ON for one person so he could catch a flight to Haiti. He was a construction engineer who was urgently needed to test the integrity of an airfield so that Herc flights could get in and land. I guess it was very urgent, and the SAR bird was the only plane available. I tried to sleep, but wasn't very successful. Time to cath up on the flight to Key Largo FL.

Last Turns of 2010?

2010-01-22T11:40:00.001-08:00

I may have already done my last turns of 2010 :-( For a while there, I skies every day of the year. Nine days straight of fresh lines in great snow with awesome friends. NY at VMT with my bro was awesome. Thanks to Jas and Evan for hosting. The followik week in Nelson brought fresh snow and more fun lines. Avalanche danger was a bit higher, but we found fun terrain and good snow nevertheless. As always, Jeff, Michelle, and Johnathan were outstanding hosts, ski partners, and all around fun people.

Pics and video of the trip to follow.

Skiing

2009-12-30T08:08:00.000-08:00

Santa didn't come through this year. I asked him to bring me a good mission for Christmas, but my pager didn't go off at all. Guess I was on the naughty list.

I'm on two weeks of leave now. Flew back to BC on the 28th. The line-ups for security were ridiculous. Luckily my flights made it through. It's been cold here in Ok Falls over the last while, so the Lake just S of us is frozen. My Mum organized a skating party, so I got to see a whole bunch of friends and family. The ice was really smooth, so we were able to skate from one end of the lake to the other.

Now I'm off to the Kootneys for some skiing. New Years at Valhalla Mountain Touring Lodge, then meet up with Scott in Nelson for another week of turns.

Lt Andy Nuttall

2009-12-24T10:44:00.000-08:00

Lt Andy Nuttall was killed on Afghanistan yesterday. I met Andy in 2006 when he was a trainer for Crossfit Vancouver. He came and introduced Crossfit to the soldiers of the Royal Westminster Regt. I got to know him a bit better while working out at Crossfit Vancouver. He was a super solid guy and an amazing athlete. In 2007 he decided to join the PPCLI so that he could go to Afghanistan. He truly believed in the mission and also wanted to test himself in the ultimate arena.

Everyone in the Army knows friends or acquaintances who have been killed in Afghanistan. I wasn't close to Andy, but his death stikes me harder than some others. I guess it's that I knew everyone else who haven't come home solely as soldiers. That's how I met them, and for the most part they joined at a young age and had been in the military since before the fighting started over there. Andy had a choice though. I guess I just think of what he could be doing now if he hadn't made that choice.

My thoughts are with Andy, his family, and his friends from CFV.

Fair winds, Andy

A Fine Line

2009-12-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

We watched this avalanche education film on the Avy course. It's shot in the same style as modern ski movies and meant to reach out to a younger audience. The main movie is ok, but the best part is the four education segments. They're an excellent refresher for the start of the season.

Surfing in Manitoba

2009-12-08T19:16:00.000-08:00

Bringing my paddling gear back to Winnipeg to surf these sweet waves...when they un-freeze.

SAR Techs on TV

2009-12-08T11:23:00.002-08:00

For those aspiring SAR Techs out there, there are several episodes of the program Truth Duty Valour that focus on SAR Techs. The one on SAR selection is a must watch, and the other two will get you pumped. You can order them online here. $60 for three DVDs. You want the following episodes.

Episode 413: SAR Techs

Episode 213: SAR Selection

Episode 207: National SAR competition

You might also consider the episode on Ships Team Diver (402) because that's the dive course we do. And even the ones on Basic Training if you're going Direct Entry.

Great Course!

2009-12-08T07:47:00.000-08:00

I thought that this course was just the regular Avalanche operations Level 1 course but run specifically for SAR organizations. Turns out it's a slightly different course, but focused more on our needs. The regular L 1 is for people who will be working in the avalanche industry gathering technical data. They would be working under a more experienced person recording snow profile and weather data. The Canadian Avalanche Association realized that there's a whole group of professionals who work in avalanche terrain but don't fit into the aforementioned group. The Av SAR L 1 de-emphasizes the full snow profile and weather obs, and instead it focuses on decision making in avy terrain and gathering info to support those decisions. (Link to CAA Course Pg) The course was actually developed for the Army, but it's perfect for SAR Techs. We still learned the same stuff as the L 1, but when it came to hands on time, we spent more time traveling in avy terrain, discussing route selection, and gathering information on the spot. The snow tests we did were expedient and meant to be done on the fly. I backcountry ski on my own time, so it's doubly valuable training. I feel like I'm more aware of the risks and what I can do to mitigate them. Nothing replaces experience though, so I have to get out in the mountains. It will be tough, but I'll force myself ;-)

The cat disappearing after drop off

Digging a snow profile

A hard day in the office

Wind affected ridge. We knocked a big cornice off the edge.

Sunset in the Monashee Range

Another Mission for 435 Sqn

2009-11-27T12:26:00.000-08:00

I got a call yesterday morning from Carl asking me to let his dog out of the house. He was on the sat phone from N Ont and wouldn't be able to get back that day. After regretfully declining to assist due to my own geographic separation from Winnipeg, I got a brief synopsis from him. A boy in a remote part of N Ont had cut his arm very deeply the previous night. A tourniquet had been applied, but there was no chance of immediate medical assistance ... except SAR Techs! Sounds like the jump was pretty interesting. Carl said they went out at 1200', which means the ceiling was low and the weather was probably bad. He said something about crashing through the trees. Not sure if that was intentional or accidental. Either way, not the most pleasant landing. Looks like the 435 Sqn dry spell is broken.

That's all I know for now. I'll update when I get the full story.

Avalanche Operations Level 1

2009-11-27T12:09:00.000-08:00

I unpacked from the field ex and packed my skis to fly to BC for the Avalanche Operations Level 1 course put on by the Canadian Avalanche Association. On the basic SAR course we all get the Recreational Avalanche Course. Avy Op 1 is a professional level course that teaches the skills required to become part of the avalanche forecasting system. I received a huge binder and very technical book a week ago, and have been wading through that in preparation for the course. We'll be learning about snow morphology, digging profile pits, and many other technical skills for avalanche forecasting. We'll be staying at Monashee Cat Skiing Lodge in the mountains E of Vernon BC. I'm hoping to get in a few turns, but the course schedule is pretty full. Should be a fun anyway. ANy time in the mountains is good time.

Field Ex

2009-11-27T11:55:00.000-08:00

Four of us went on a three day field ex in the lakes and forest region NE of Winnipeg. As part of our ongoing training, SAR Techs can organize local exercises to practice any aspect of our skill set. This type of fall/winter ex is a good time to refresh survival/outdoor skills and make sure all our kit works. We loaded up the quads and headed out to the Canadian Shield on the E edge of the province. Geoff has a very small trailer parked on a friends property which we used for a base camp. It may have also been the site of some poker and beer. Geoff is an avid hunter, so we also took the opportunity to learn deer hunting skills from him. The half tame city deer give a false impression of the challenge of getting one in the bush. Joe managed to get one on the last day, and Geoff coached him through gutting it. Never seen this done before, so that was a learning experience. Maybe next year I'll actually take a rifle :-)

The Sun Shines in Vancouver

2009-11-27T11:48:00.001-08:00

I was able to take a few days off before and after the avy course, so I'm visiting friends in Vancouver, then my parents in the Okanagan. Hung out with my Bro in Squamish last night. He told me all about his amazing climbing trip to Zion. Since moving to Squamish this summer, he's become a climbing machine, and even on-sighted 12c trad high up on a multi pitch in Zion. Sweet!! On top of being a wicked climber, he's also a very talented designer for the high end outdoor clothing/gear company, Arc'Teryx. He's an awesome dude and I'm very thankful to have him as my brother.

The sun has broken through the torrential rains that have been drenching the West Coast. The snow capped North Shore Peaks looked beautiful in the morning light as I rode the Sea bus from N Van to downtown. I'm going to go for a run and enjoy the sun and beautiful views.

Mission Photos

2009-11-16T20:18:00.001-08:00

My one regret for this mission was forgetting the camera in the plane. Would have been really nice to get some pictures on the ice. Or better yet, a helmet cam for the jump. Luckily, some of the guys from up north e-mailed photos to us, plus some I took in the plane.

This one was actually taken by a civilian plane on Sunday before the Herc from Greenwood was on scene. You can see the thinly frozen/liquid parts between the solid ice. The polar bear is just out of the shot to the right.

This one also taken by the civi plane. I marked the LZ and where Jupie sat.

This is the boat that took us to shore. IT was quite bumpy as we were pretty much ramming through/over ice.

Happy to get to shore. Really loved the 800 fill down jacket.

Stretcher set up in the Herc for medivac.

Transferring Jupie to the paramedics in Churchill.

Enjoying a a beer to end off the mission.

I guess this is kind of a big deal?

2009-11-12T21:16:00.000-08:00

So we didn't get home until late on Monday night, but Randy was woken up early on Tues to be summoned to Toronto as the personal guest of the Chief of Defence Staff at a Ball/Dinner to benefit military families. He said it was a surreal experience to be whisked right there and then be sharing a table with the CDS, Governor General, and Prime Minister (?) It was a black tie event, but he was in his orange flight suit; grease stains and all:-) Then he did a radio interview with CBC radio and a 6 min spot with The National.

And it wasn't over with that. We all came in this morning for more team oriented interviews with CBC, CTV, APTN, and the two Winnipeg Papers.

Here's the ones for CTV. National and Local The clip of me barely suppressing a huge grin while talking about the jump is pretty funny.

Finally Got a Rescue...and it was a great one.

2009-11-10T19:13:00.000-08:00

I'll post more later, still tired, and need to sleep. Here's the CBC news story and the article the ran on the front page of the Globe and Mail.

CBC Initial Story: (watch the video)

Globe and Mail

Follow up on CBC: The guys who took us by boat to shore actually ended up stuck in the ice over night and required assistance from more locals to drag their boat to shore over broken ice.

Almost got a rescue during training

2009-11-01T12:15:00.000-08:00

Johnnie and I came close to a real rescue while climbing. As we rapped off one of the climbs, we shared a belay with two other parties, Two inexperienced young guys being passed by a faster party. As the fast guys prepared to lead off, I overheard the leader comment that the pitch above looked tragically easy. I figured he must be a good climber with a big ego and mouth, and didn't give it anymore though as I left the crowded belay. When Johnnie joined me at the next rap station he said the guy had taken a 30' fall and yanked out two pieces of protection. The belayer caught him only inches above the ledge where he was belaying on. He would have landed on his back or hit the belayer, both pretty bad options. Having just practiced our rope rescue techniques, Johnnie and I discussed how we would have affected a rescue to the ground. The rigging part is pretty straight forward, but involving spinal management with no resources is a bit of a dilemma. Also, the US doesn't have a good Samaritan law, so would-be rescuers get involved at their own risk. It was an interesting thought experiment as we finished the descent.

Climbs in Red Rocks

2009-11-01T12:09:00.000-08:00

Johnny K and I had a couple of great days climbing. Due to the cold wind, climbing in the sun was a must. And we wanted something moderate, multi-pitch, and high quality. Unfortunately, that's what everyone wants. Our target was the Solar Slabs via Johnnie Vegas. We got a fairly early, but were still in line behind several parties. We decided to jump onto another climb, which urned out to be a good choice. Some airy face climbing followed by a nice bit of lie-backing got us to the base of Solar Slab and within view of the traffic jam on the route. We decided to bail and come back earlier the next day. The rap off turned into another traffic jam. At the last anchor there were two teams of 3, one of 2 just below, and us waiting above. So much for getting away from the crowds :-) We salvaged the day by doing some more routes in the Calico hills.

Next day, we got up before dawn, but it still wasn't early enough. Two parties of 2 were on JV and a party of three on the easy gully that also gets you to the base of SS. We resigned ourselves to the wait and a long day. The plan started to go sideways when the first leader up JV forgot his belay device and didn't know a munter hitch. We lent them a spare, but the second party had to lead up and give it to him. After 45 min of watching this debacle, my patience was worn out. I could foresee not even making to the top of SS. By this time, another party of 2 had set off up the gully. Johnnie and I decided to hit the gully so we could beat the people on JV. We simul-climbed/soloed it and caught the team ahead of us. Seeing that the first team on SS was moving slowly, we jumped on an alternate route to the first two pitches. After running out that route, we arrived at a ledge in time to cut to the front of the line. Sweet! The rest was a cruise to the top and a great view. As we rapped down I was super glad we had sprinted around everyone. The team we were waiting behind at the base of JV had become so frustrated with waiting around at every belay that they rapped of just behind us.

We finished of a great day with my fave treat. DQ Blizzard, strawberry cheesequake.

Solar Slab is on the right of the canyon

Cutting to the front of the traffic jam

Finishing off a great climb and a great week of "work"

Red Rocks

2009-10-24T06:08:00.000-07:00

The down side of 435 Sqn is very few missions. The up side is an ample training budget. The let down of yesterday's aborted rescue will be countered by next week's climbing trip to Red Rocks, NV. I'm looking forward to some warm temps and amazing desert sandstone. I've been there several times and it is one of my favorite climbing areas in the US; the multi pitch climbing is outstanding.

So Close

2009-10-24T05:58:00.000-07:00

I was dressed and ready to jump to a plane crash again yesterday, but once again we were scooped by ground assets. Can't someone crash a plane away from an airport/civilization.

We had just done a training jump into a confined area in Kenora (full equipment, bush suit, etc.) when the plane radioed us that an actual call was coming in. ELT near Thunderbay. We jumped back on the plane and learned that it was a confirmed crash. It was a short transit, so we had to assemble our gear and pack quickly. We got on scene and spotted the plane immediately. It was in a rural wooded area. Unfortunately for us, there were already paramedics on the scene. They were able to drive the ambulance to within 500m. Scooped again.

So, 435 Sqns dry streak continues. Getting close to two years now. I guess that's the name of the game in the rescue profession. Let's hope that 2010 is like 2007. Lots of great missions.

Course 41 Video

2009-10-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

I was hoping this would be a bigger video size, but it appears to have shrunk in uploading. I have also uploaded it to YouTube, but due to copyright of the music, the audio was turned off. So you can watch it small with sound, or big with no sound. Search "SAR Tech Course 41" to find it on YouTube.

Thanks to Scott Hoadley for putting the video together.

Pt 2

Pt 3

Key Largo Diving

2009-10-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

We're going to Key Largo for diving in Jan. I'm stoked to actually do some good diving. Wrecks, reefs, and fish as opposed to muddy lake bottoms.

Check out some of the dive sites. http://www.horizondivers.com/Sites.html

Diving Clear Lake

2009-10-13T19:47:00.001-07:00

We did three days of diving at Clear Lake MB last week. Standard fresh water diving; not very much to see. The water was warm, but the air was starting to get cold (and rainy.)

It's hard to be motivated for diving when there's nothing to see but mud. Nobody ends up doing very long dives. At least there was a dive site with a bunch of objects to look at. I took the underwater camera for some photos.

Next dive trip is being planned for somewhere warmer. Actually being able to look at sea life drastically increases motivation and dive times (or so I've heard.) Maybe off the coast of San Diego. There's a marine preserve there and lots of wrecks. 442 from Comox are going down there in Dec, so we'll get the full report.

Msg For Fraser

2009-10-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

This is a message for Fraser left a comment asking about becoming a SAR Tech on one of my post of a few weeks ago.

There's no reply button, or link to contact you. Just a first name doesn't allow me to find you in Facebook. You can e-mail me at robin2vp@hotmail.com if you want more info on becoming a SAR Tech

Truth Duty Valour TV show

2009-10-10T14:47:00.000-07:00

The TLC network in Canada runs a program on the Canadian Military. So far there have been three shows on SAR Techs. The first one was about SAR selection and it aired in 2006? I watched in several times before going on selection. It really shows the endurance, suffering, and drive to succeed that are all part of SAR selection. The second show was about SAREX. The third, and most recent (2008) showed what SAR Techs do in general. They shot a bunch of the footage for this show while we were on course. It was a pretty good show and I think it's available on-line. Here's a clip of the intro.

Herc Jump Perspective

2009-10-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

I changed the banner picture on the blog from a Cormorant to a SAR Tech doing a static line jump from the back of a herc. More of a 435 Sqn feel and a better depiction of what I actually do right now. I love this picture because it captures the dynamic action of launching one's self from the interior of a moving plane. Seeing the Loadmaster watching from the ramp is a nice piece of perspective as well. This picture was captured by doing a free fall exit and pivoting back towards the ramp as you leave. If I'm the first jumper, I quite often do this, as the view is just like the picture. The downward acceleration takes a few seconds to build up, so you get time to observe the plane and following jumpers. It's even better out the side door, as the wing and engine fill your perspective immediately and it feels quite close.

Gander

2009-09-23T04:45:00.000-07:00

Hello from the Rock! I've ticked off the last province remaining on my Canada list. We arrived at 0200 in the morning, where I was promptly tackled by my course mates and showered in beer. Yesterday we did the air search event and jumped five times for accuracy (winds were high and caused inconsistency with all.) No results until the end of the ex. Today is the rescue event where we drop pump and life raft to a boat then parachute down to extract survivors. Tomorrow will be the medical scenario.

We did most of our jumps from the Griffon helo and one from a US Blackhawk. Jumping out of a helo is really cool because the speed is way lower. You actually get the sense of falling and accelerating. It's fun to just tip off the skid backwards and feel the fall.

Gander is a nice enough little town. It's not one of those postcard newfie villages. It has always been based on the military and the huge runway, so it has a sort of northern/utilitarian feel to the older buildings. Something like 9K pers in the area, so it's pretty small. I definitely wouldn't be coming here for the urban life! My friend Nick said the best restaurant is Subway. That being said, they all really love it here because they're super busy at work doing rescues, and the social life with people on the base is very active.

Mum and Dad Visit Winnipeg

2009-09-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

Mum and Dad visited us in the first week of Sep. We did all of the tourist things that I've purposely been storing up for such a visit. Lots of fun, and learned a few things about my neighbourhood and city.

I thought of my grandfather, who was supposed to visit at the same time so he could attend the 435 Sqn veterans reunion. It would have been really nice to attend the events and do a demo jump for him.

SAREX Gander Newfoundland

2009-09-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

Going to SAREX again! The guys fresh fresh from course had to take a lot of summer leave due to the Olympics, so they won't be qualified Team Members before SAREX. The team needs a least one. I was on leave and heard this at a back-yard BBQ, so I threw in my name, not really thinking that I'd get to go. Schedule worked out for me, and I'm stoked for several reasons.

SAREX is a lot of fun. I get to see some of my friends from course, meet new SAR Techs, and compete in the events. This year is focused on marine skills. The rescue event has us fly over a lake in the Herc, locate sinking vessel, drop a pump and life boats, then parachute down into the water to extract survivors and swim them to shore.

Newfoundland is the last province I haven't been to, and Gander is one of the postings I would like to get after Winnipeg. It's great that I get to go there and check it out. I'm sure the guys from Gander will give us the grand tour. It's a small town, so it won't take long.

This is an image of a Gander resident digging out after a snow storm. They're a hardy bunch.

Mah Dah Hey Trail

2009-09-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

The last week of Aug I went down to the Badlands of North Dakota. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is located in the South West corner and is about 8 hrs from Winnipeg. The badlands have been carved down from the surrounding prairie level by the Little Missouri River. It's a very beautiful area that feels a like a mix of prairie, desert, and scrubby forest.

Having been to the park on two previous occasions in my travels to and from the Utah/Colorado/Arizona, I was pretty excited to explore it a bit more in depth. The main attraction for me is the Mah Dah Hey trail. It's a very well established hiking/biking trail that joins the N and S units of the park over a distance of 100 miles. I'd been wanting to ride it since my first posting to Winnipeg; it is very highly rated due to the scenery and the smooth single track that twists through the rolling hills. It didn't disappoint!

The trail is broken into five sections of about 20 miles each with excellent camp sites at the end of each leg. One can drop do the whole thing self supported or hire a local outfitter to drop supplies at each camp. As I was solo, my aim was to do loops or out and back rides on a couple of the sections over three days.

My plan on day one was to drop my bike at the first camp, drive back, then run out the 12 miles and bike back on a different 18 mile trail. I was stoked to cover so much terrain both on foot and bike. Well, about 5 miles into the run, I realized that I had left the keys to my bike lock back in the car. I was mad at myself and disappointed, but relieved that I hadn't gotten all the way to my bike before remembering about the keys. Plan B turned into a longer run around a loop back to the car. Unfortunately Plan B didn't have the benefit of retrieving the water stashed with my bike. With the temp climbing over 30C I was a managed to ration my water until about 45 min from the end. 33 km and 5 hrs later I arrived back at the car and raced back to town for gatorade and some ice cream.

Day two was to be a sort of figure eight bike loop that took me between two camps total of about 45 miles. The riding was amazing. The trail is beaten smooth by cattle and horses and the elevation changes are never more than a few hundred feet. Because the flats were really cruisy and fast, the descents fun and zoomy, and the descents pretty mellow, the miles go by pretty quickly. Even so, I was felling the 25 miles and hot sun by the time I got to the turn around point. I was also regretting leaving behind my padded bike shorts. Luckily, the return loop had 8 miles of gravel road which was much appreciated in the last quarter of the ride. 50 miles (80 km) and 10 hrs later I got back to the car for a supper of soup from a can warmed directly on the stove. I was definitely tired, but pretty stoked to have enjoyed so much of the trail. I'd never ridden that far before so it was a personal best and I was thankful for the summer if riding my bike to work.

I was too saddle sore to ride on day three, so I hiked out 8 miles and set up camp on a beautiful grassy promontory that had a 270 deg view of two valleys and the river. Broke out the book and sleeping pad to enjoy the summer sun for the afternoon.

I'm super impressed with the Mah Dah Hey trail and will definitely return to hike and ride more of it, hopefully end to end next time.

Click on the pics if you want to see them in a larger size.

these are petrified trees.

You can see the trail just cutting to the R of the mound

Even though there isn't much precipitation, it has formed the land.

Parts of the trail are through the upper level prairie.

Mmm, breakfast.

Slow Summer

2009-09-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

We'll summer is over, and the 435 Sqn no rescue streak remains un-broken. There was a jump to a plane crash, but the the whole cockpit was buried in the ground. Lots of call outs, but most of them are to search for the homing beacons on planes that have gone off accidentally.

On the flip side, it's been one of the most relaxing summers I've ever had. I had a great vacation in Jul, then another one in Sep with my parents here. Between that it was a "regular schedule" holding standby and pager. Our working schedule is actually part of the relaxing. In an average week, I'll hold two or three days of standby, where I go to work and fly for training and were on 30min to move status. On the other days, I'll get pager duty from 1630-0630. So, for example, if I get pager on the weekend with no call-outs, then my rest days mon/tue, then two standby, and another pager duty on fri, that means I only had to actually report to work twice in seven days. Sometimes, I feel like I'm semi-retired. My friend Johnny has had baristas at his regular coffee shops ask if he works at all. Pretty sweet gig.

Saint Elias Range Search

2009-09-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

Haven't put anything up here for a while, but I have some pics from the last few months.

At the end of June we were called up to the Yukon Alaska border to join an ongoing search. A small plane disappeared while flying from Anchorage to Whitehorse. Experienced pilot with the right gear. The map below shows the location of our search area. Mostly just E of Mt Logan, Canada's highest peak (my bro, Tony has climbed it.) The whole area is high mountains, massive glaciers, and dense bush. In short, probably the worst place to crash. No homing signal either, which isn't a good sign.

There were already planes from Comox on site, but they can't fly pressurized, so we brought our Herc to search the high terrain. For someone who loves the mountains, it was a real treat to fly around such a beautiful area. It was hard to keep focused on the visual search when every pass of the plane showed of spectacular mountain terrain.

Unfortunately, after 10 days of searching the lost plane was never found. Probably never will be. There are glacial lakes and crevasses that could swallow small buildings whole, so it's not surprising that no sign was found.

Logan Glacier

Mt Logan. It's a huge peak.

Swift Water Rescue Video

2009-06-02T10:09:00.000-07:00