If you would like to volunteer to run a training session, or if you
have a training session request contact any Board Member or Don
Johnson
Sign-up required to attend this training
See following notes:
To reserve use of squad ATV, contact
Don Johnson at 928-474-5335. Jacket, gloves, boots, helmet, and eye
protection required to operate Squad ATV
Active: Members wishing to remain on active status must attend at
least three official Squad functions per quarter of the calendar
year, as well as two training exercises per six months of the
calendar year.
Reserve: Members who wish to remain on reserve status must attend at
least one official Squad function per quarter of the calendar year
as well as one training exercise per six months of the calendar
year.
Laws that are still on the books
A horse is not allowed to eat a fire hydrant in Marshalltown, Iowa.
All horse in Fountain Inn, South Carolina, are required to wear
pants in public.
All horse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, must be equipped with horns
and headlights.
Other SAR News
From Deb's Search and
Rescue Stories
A
Severe Out-Of-Bounds Injury
He was an experienced backcountry snowboarder. In fact, he was a
snowboard instructor. And he did have one of the required free
permits for entering the wilderness from the Snowbowl ski area. But,
still, accidents happen of course, and this was a bad one. The 28
year-old snowboarder apparently lost control on some ice and slammed
into a tree, breaking his femur with knee involvement, an obviously
very painful and potentially life-threatening injury should shock
become a factor.
The victim was fortunate, though, that he was accompanied by three
friends, one of whom stayed with him while two went for help. And
luckily, Ski Patrol personnel were still on the mountain. They
quickly came to the aid of the injured snowboarder and packaged him
in a sked. While Search and Rescue was en route to the scene, we
were in contact with these first responders, who kept us apprised of
the victim's condition and their progress down the mountain.
In the meantime, a large group of us SAR volunteers deployed the
snowcat and three snowmobiles. In the snowcat were a driver, a
co-pilot/navigator, and five others, including myself and two
Guardian medics, one of whom is also a SAR volunteer. The plan was
to get us as far in as possible in the 'cat and then for some of us
to continue on foot (on snowshoes, of course) to rendezvous with Ski
Patrol and the victim.
Eventually, the snowcat began to get bogged down in very deep snow,
so the five us in the back got out and snowshoed to lighten the
load. We caught up to the snowcat when it could go no further and
then three of us continued up-slope, as the sun set and the glow of
the full moon permeated the fog. Despite the task at hand, I
couldn't help but notice what a beautiful evening it was on the
mountain, a far cry from conditions during our last rescue during
the blizzard.
Soon, our whistle blasts were answered by Ski Patrol, and we veered
left towards the sound. Then my teammate spotted our moving target,
making fast downhill progress with the aid of a rope attached to the
sked. We'd heard they'd had to make several technical lowers along
the way.
Time had been of the essence from the beginning, but now rescuers
were even more concerned about the patient's condition. The three of
us SAR folks could see from above that Ski Patrol wasn't about to
stop for us to catch up but instead were heading towards the lights
of the snowmobiles, which had stopped well short of the snowcat due
to a mechanical issue. So we radioed the 'cat and told them to go
back the way they'd come to meet Ski Patrol and the victim further
down. We then snowshoed as quickly as we could to rendezvous with
the whole group and got there soon after Ski Patrol and the snowcat
connected.
The victim was alert but in agony. There's just no painless, gentle
way to bring someone down a mountain. Not with that kind of injury.
Add to that the fact that his leg was too deformed to put on a
traction splint, and you're talking one extremely miserable patient.
And it was too cold to administer IV fluids or painkillers, so he
had to wait till he was loaded into the back of the warmer snowcat.
I later heard, though, that nothing touched the pain, and every
slight bump or lurch of the snowcat made him scream--which was
constant, I'm afraid.
My teammates and I on snowshoes walked out as the snowcat delivered
the patient to a waiting ambulance.
All in all, the mission went very well and quite fast (though I'm
sure it seemed like an eternity to the victim), thanks in large part
to the coordinated effort between Ski Patrol and SAR.
Business Cards for Active Members
All active members
are permitted to have business cards with your SAR info on them. If
you do not have them yet, or if you have used up the ones you had,
contact Mike Taylor to place your order. They are nice to have when
you are doing any Squad activities, and the best part is they are
free. A common use for them is to hand out to family members of the
search/rescue subject.
Email
miket@trsar.org or call 978-8009.
Website
Tonto Rim SAR Members can now have your very own
email address through our site. Just contact our Webmaster at
jack@jackswebs.com to arrange for it, no cost to you or us.
