Sierra Crest Search

On Weds Dec 29 BAMRU responded for a missing 25 y.o. female snowboarder at Alpine Meadows who was last seen going out of bounds Tuesday afternoon at the top of the Summit lift. Shortly after she went missing a significant storm set in.

We split the BAMRU team into two groups (one on backcountry skis and the other on snowshoes). Field teams experienced very strong winds and low visibility. The scene included significant avalanche risk - very heavy snowfall with massive wind loading onto a relatively unstable layer.

A ground team from Tahoe Nordic SAR located the subject in a tree well deceased.

Various information on this incident available throughout the media: KTVU | LA Times | CNN

BAMRU thanks Planet Granite

BAMRU is grateful to have gotten a generous offer of support from Planet Granite (PG), a local business with climbing gyms across the Bay Area.

PG has long been the favorite climbing gym of many BAMRU members, and some have actually been employees of PG over the years.  PG's generous discounts for BAMRU members are already helping to build and maintain the climbing skills and fitness of our team.

On Dec. 9th Eric Leong presented a Certificate of Appreciation from BAMRU Unit Leader Tom Grossman to Renee De Angelis, co-owner of Planet Granite.

Learn more about Planet Granite at http://planetgranite.com.

Cold Night in Loma Mar

Yesterday evening BAMRU was called for a search near Loma Mar, CA in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The incident involved six overdue female hikers in their mid-20’s. Conditions were described by as “cold, raining and muddy condition.”

The women were able to call 911 with a basic cell phone and were patched into the command post. The subject calling said they were lost and cold. The mobile phone connection was lost and their cell phone battery was running low.

BAMRU participated in a hasty search of a fire road climbing up 1,000 feet to a ridge top. Near the top we saw small lights waving at us, and we found the subjects. All were shivering, a little confused and needed warmth, but did not seem to have severe hypothermia.

We arrived back at the CP after 2AM and the team was released quickly.

Search resources deployed during the operations included four dogs from CARDA, Several San Mateo Sheriff Deputies, local fire, SMC SAR, SMC Mounted SAR, SMC Communications Unit and BAMRU filled ground resources.

Midnight Mountain Search

BAMRU was called out about 2145 for a missing hiker who had left her campsite at approximately 1500 hours in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Evidently she was up on the Butano Fire Road, took a trail to get back and lost the trail in some steep terrain. She was found just as the cavalry from SMCSAR, BAMRU, and Comms was arriving and setting up for a long, cold and possibly rainy night.

This was a quick and positive outcome and everyone was released shortly after arriving at the park and all equipment was put away for the night around 0200.

Medical Training

On Saturday, October 23rd, fifteen BAMRU members attended a Medical Training near Mt. Diablo.

Following morning coffee, we split into teams and packed our jump bags for the day, which gave us an opportunity to (re)familiarise ourselves with the medical equipment we would be using. We then rotated through four 45-minute skill stations, covering splinting, vacuum splint, traction splint, and vital signs. We then regrouped for lunch and a quiz.

In the afternoon, we put our skills to the test. We relocated to the wilderness, about 10 minutes hike from the road. At this point, a majority of BAMRU members attending the training sustained serious injuries. Issues included a chain saw wound, a long fall, an asthma attack, a mountain biking accident, and chest pain. BAMRU members were on hand to provide quick, effective assessments and treatments.

Following the afternoon scenarios, washed the mud off our shoes, and enjoyed a BBQ dinner.

Butte County Search

A BAMRU team has returned from a search for a missing man in Butte County. The man's truck was found in a remote area. BAMRU teams conducted a number of search assignments, navigating manzanita and steep hillsides. The subject was not found.

More news: KRCR TV | Chico News | Facebook

New Twist on Litter Handling

This weekend BAMRU practiced litter handling techniques in Cave Gulch in Santa Cruz county. Instructors from the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC) introduced BAMRU to various litter movement techniques, including The California Shuffle, The Lap Pass, The Turtle, The Snake, and The Caterpillar.

All of the techniques included generous helpings of dirt, mud, cold and wet.

Everyone was impressed with how hard it is to haul a patient out through a narrow passageway.

After the exercise the team met for hot tea and a debriefing session. Everyone then headed towards their own homes; colder, muddier, and definitely wiser.

Many thanks to our NCRC trainers.

BAMRU on Alcatraz

On Thursday October 7th, BAMRU volunteered with the NPS to conduct routine maintenance on Alcatraz Island. After meeting at 0830 and taking the first ferry out to the island, BAMRU began work setting up simple main/belay rope systems over the east side of the prison cliff-side, to eradicate the non-native eucalyptus trees growing over the edge. At around noon, we broke for lunch courtesy of the NPS.

After lunch, Owen, a NPS Ranger kindly let us atop the lighthouse to see the blue angels' practice run. BAMRU returned to conduct an evening eradication session before calling it a day.

It was another great day on Alcatraz. Super thanks to the NPS, and specifically Mike Coffey for being such a great host.

Yosemite Training

Last week BAMRU conducted advanced technical rescue training above Yosemite Valley.

The team built rescue systems in environments with considerable vertical exposure. The training covered rigging methods and techniques, rescue forces, and safety protocols.

Some BAMRU members are also active with YOSAR (Yosemite Search and Rescue), and we greatly benefit from their local knowledge and experience.

BAMRU Service Award

The city of Hillsborough paid a special recognition to BAMRU and the other SAR teams involved in the search for a missing woman on August 27. The award was given at the Hillsborough City Council meeting last week. Representing BAMRU were Tom Grossman, Ethan Frantz, Chris Seffens, James Cutsinger, Kurt Gross, Emily Ghio, Jenna Wiley, and MacRae Linton.

After giving a brief summary of the events of August 27, Hillsborough Police directly congratulated the SAR unit leaders, including Gary Vielbaum (Sheriff's Communications), Pete Nuding (Sheriff's Air Squadron), Gary Bloom (SMCO SAR), Tom Grossman (BAMRU), Lt. Ed Barberini (San Mateo County Sheriff's Office), and Sgt. Joe Sheridan (San Mateo County Sheriff's Office).

The community was very thankful for SAR's involvement in the search and relieved that the missing woman was found with no serious injuries.

CIS

During our operations, it is unusual for BAMRU members to be exposed to victims with severe trauma, or to terrible accident scenes. But from time to time it does happen, and we know from experience that the emotions and intense energy of a difficult event can linger.

In the past, BAMRU has brought in mental health facilitators for proactive stress management training. On a few occasions, we have conducted 'Critical Incident Stress Debriefings' (CISD) after a difficult operation.

Beyond that, we strive to keep an open dialog within our team, to acknowledge that critical incident stress does happen, for our new trainees as well as experienced responders. We encourage our members to share experiences and recovery strategies.

BAMRU is grateful to the San Mateo Sheriff's Office for their CISD support and mental health services for first responders. And we give profound thanks to BAMRU's volunteer members for the sometimes difficult community service they provide.

More about CIS:
http://www.criticalincidentstress.com/what_is_cism_
http://www.icisf.org/cis.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_incident_stress_management

BAMRU at SAREX

SAREX is the annual conference for the Search and Rescue community in Northern California. (learn more at http://www.sarex.org) Last weekend's SAREX conference in San Francisco had over 600 attendees. BAMRU was able to supply eight instructors and taught five sessions at the conference, with topics including technical rescue, medical care, rescue gear, mapping and web infrastructure.

BAMRU at the San Bruno Fire

This past weekend, a large number of BAMRU members were active at the location of the San Bruno fire. Our main task was to search the neighborhood and surrounding wildlands. BAMRU put in long hours, and the scene was terrible. We send our deep condolences to the victims of this tragedy.

More at: NY Times, Mercury News, BBC, NBC News

A Victim's Perspective

Here is an interesting video posted by a climber in the Tetons who took a fall and was rescued by local climbing rangers.

Rescue on Valhalla Traverse from getungrounded on Vimeo.

A Search Comes to an End

Seven years ago, BAMRU participated in an intensive search for Fred Claussen in northern Yosemite. Unfortunately, Fred was never found, and his whereabouts have remained unknown.

In July, the mystery came to an end. His remains were discovered near Whorl Mountain.

Rest in Peace, Fred.

More at: SuperTopo, Fox News

Missing Woman Found Alive

After a long night of searching, BAMRU located and recovered an 84 year old woman in Hillsborough last weekend.

At nearly 1am on Saturday, a BAMRU ground team found the missing woman in a dry creek bed. The BAMRU truck and another search team arrived quickly on scene and provided medical support and supplies. The medical team packaged the patient into a litter and attached it to the low-angle mainline, which had a redirect and 3:1 haul system. Attendants guided the litter and themselves up a relatively steep, unstable grade to a level pathway.

Once the litter reached the path, the litter attendants hand-carried the litter around a switchback and up some stairs to the driveway of the nearby house and then loaded the patient into a waiting ambulance. Sheriff's officers and volunteers cleaned up the scene and returned to command post around 1:45am.

More at CBS News.

Technical Rescue Training

BAMRU completed a basic technical training last weekend. The two days of training included practice operating high-angle rescue with high-angle redirect, team communications and commands, anchor systems, and the high angle rescue tripod.

Special thanks to Ethan Frantz and the instructors for an awesome weekend. Also, thank you to the National Park Service for their participation and assistance, and to Marin SAR for bringing SAR2 and the rescue tripod.

BAMRU on National Public Radio

KQED, a local affiliate of National Public Radio, broadcast a nice profile about BAMRU. The audio was recorded during a recent training on Donner Summit.



Click here to see the profile on the KQED website.

Retreat from Mt. Conness

Last weekend during BAMRU's Alpine Training, we sent teams on three different routes (North Ridge, Glacier, and West Ridge) to the summit of Mt. Conness.

A sudden and dangerous thunderstorm interrupted all teams as they were high on the mountain. Strong electric charge was noted by some members' hair standing on end.

Everyone retreated rapidly. One team had to descend off the back side of the mountain, requiring a long hike-out that ended at midnight.

We had 22 people on the mountain. All returned safely.

Assistance and Donation

Last weekend climbers approached a BAMRU team near the summit of Mt. Conness, during the sudden onset of a dangerous thunderstorm.

BAMRU assisted the climbers in a rapid descent, using multiple rappels and a rope-assisted stream crossing, on steep rock under pouring rain and hail. Following that, we executed a 10-mile night-time hike out to the nearest trail head, crossing deep streams and ridges along the way.

Today we are grateful to have received a donation from the climbers. Thanks Christine and Yiwen!!

BAMRU is a volunteer organization that depends on donations. This is the second donation BAMRU has received from persons that we have assisted this year. For more information on donating to BAMRU, please visit http://bamru.org/donate.html.

BAMRU in Ireland

BAMRU's Shannon Lucas has returned from a trip to Ireland where she had the opportunity to meet and train with the Sligo Mountain Rescue Team. (find them online at http://sligoleitrimmrt.ie) It was a fun and educational visit, and we are grateful for their warm hospitality.

Treatment and Evacuation on Mt. Diablo

Last week a BAMRU member was the first responder for a hiker who was found unconscious on Mt. Diablo. The hiker was treated and regained consciousness, but was not ambulatory. Helicopter extraction was arranged, and a 'one-skid' ridge top landing zone was selected. The hiker was safely evacuated.



Another video here...

Search in Marin County

Yesterday a team of BAMRU members and trainees participated in a search for a missing person in Marin County. Our team spent nearly 8 hours searching coastal hills and beach areas jointly with NPS and local officials. The missing subject was not found.

Western States UltraMarathon

Last Saturday (June 26) through Sunday morning, BAMRU (& friends) provided medical support for the WS-100 trans-Sierra Ultra endurance run. Stationed at mile 85 was Lucas, Martha, Cal, Jenny (Marin SAR), & Eva (Bellingham Fire). At the finish line was Tom, Kira, Callum, Bill, & Colin.



Throughout the night we evaluated 345 runners and treated severe dehydration, muscle/skeletal issues, blisters, hypothermia, extreme exhaustion, GI issues, hyponatremia, and a case of renal failure. The night progressively got busy and the team did an amazing job handling whatever was thrown our way. The team-work and attitude was amazing, even after 26hrs of no sleep. Huge thanks to all who helped! We did our best to help athletes realize their dream of a 100 mile ultra.

Rock Skills Training at Donner Summit

BAMRU converged upon Donner Summit this past Saturday morning for its annual rock climbing skills training. Throughout the weekend, several stations were run at any given time to teach personal climbing skills, such as ascending and descending with prusiks and mechanical ascenders, ascending and descending past knots, escaping belays, ascending a loaded line to a leader (with angled line and redirects), ascending a line in free space, munter-hitch rappels, and other climbing self-rescue skills. BAMRU's newly initiated trainee class as well as other BAMRU members moved between stations in a self-directed fashion ensuring everyone devoted the time they needed to master each skill. Saturday night was spent at a member's house in Truckee, discussing proper decision-making techniques and reviewing reports from Accidents in North American Mountaineering.

The weekend provided an excellent foundation for several upcoming BAMRU trainings, including the Alpine Skills Training (July 23-25) and Basic Technical Rescue (August 21-22).

Statewide Search Activity

After a quiet spring, BAMRU finds itself in the midst of a spike in search activity.

Today, nine BAMRU members returned from a search for a missing man in Butte County. (more information on the missing person at http://goo.gl/xNMa)

Over the weekend, BAMRU was also on standby for a search in San Mateo County.

Additionally, there were SAR teams looking for lost persons in Monterey County (http://goo.gl/KWtq) and Riverside County (http://goo.gl/BEmr).

The spike in search activity occurred while 18 of our members were engaged in a training exercise on Donner Summit. Thanks to BAMRU members and operations coordinators for their contributions during a busy period.

National Award for Chang

BAMRU proudly congratulates John Chang on his award for Outstanding Contribution to the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA). John received the award Friday at the 2010 MRA Spring Conference in Juneau, Alaska. He was presented the award by the President of the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR), Dan Hourihan. John's list of accomplishments and contributions are truly outstanding. Humble as he is, John has earned this recognition for all he has done for BAMRU and the MRA.

Congratulations John!

Cantu Search Update

Last year BAMRU was involved in a search for a missing child, Sandra Cantu. Her deceased body was sadly found a few weeks after our search period had ended.

Melissa Huckaby pleaded guilty to the murder, and today was sentenced to life in prison.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/state&id=7496581
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20007640-504083.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Cantu_homicide

BAMRU Adds Twelve Trainees

BAMRU is happy to announce the addition of twelve new trainees to our team!

Each spring, BAMRU engages in an in-depth recruiting and selection process. We've gotten to know each of our new trainees, and have seen them in action in the field. This cohort of trainees brings an incredible depth of experience, enthusiasm and skills, and we are very excited to welcome them into our family.

Congrats to our new trainees!!!

Back row: John Mandish, Eric Leong, MacRae Linton, Kevin Pereia, Patrick Callery, Kurt Gross (our Trainee Mentor)
Front row: Jenna Wiley, Abi Rankin, Emily Ghio, Will Gilmore
Not Pictured: Tyler Phelan, Blake Gleason, Woody Hoburg

Navigation / Tracking Training

Last weekend BAMRU conducted Navigation and Tracking exercises on the beautiful Milagra Ridge and Huddart Park in San Mateo County. We had 16 people from BAMRU and were joined by a park ranger from the GGNRA. During the training we covered navigation using GPS and compass coordinates, and conducted tracking exercises over various types of ground.

Climbing Injury

A quick story about a climbing injury yesterday from a BAMRU member...

So yesterday I go climbing with a guy. We've been at the crag maybe 20 minutes, he starts leading a sport route. Clips the first bolt no problem. Second bolt is significantly higher, almost seems too high and super sketch. He flails for a good 2-3 minutes trying to get to next bolt but finally throws a cam in a crack just below waist level. He pulls up rope to clip the cam and, you guessed it, he misses and woosh!

He falls a solid 20 feet, flips, landing head (helmeted) & neck first on a ledge 15 feet above me. Unconscious for a good 10-15 seconds.

Finally sits up and blood starts pouring out of his helmet down the rock like a waterfall. I escape belay and scramble up to the guy who is woozy but A&O x 4, throw a sam splint collar on and hold pressure on his scalp lac. Bystanders run down trail to road to drive about 15 minutes to get cell reception to call 911.

Mtn Rescue arrives soon thereafter and rigs a high angle to a steep angle and subject goes to hospital.

Subject seen at hospital later that evening and discharged. No skull or c-spine fracture or intracranial bleed, just a solid lac where his helmet impacted and the adjuster strap dug into his skin.

Bottom line folks, not that you ever doubted it, please, please wear your helmets, even for a quick jaunt to a sport crag, stuff happens. If this guy were unhelmetted, I'm scared to think of how this scenario would've turned out. Fortunately, all he has is a smallish laceration and was back out drinking beer later last night.

Wilderness Medicine at Stanford

Yesterday BAMRU presented to the Stanford Wilderness Medicine Class with an overview of various aspects of mountain search and rescue. The first part of the class included lecture with hands on class room sessions. The second session covers practical stations focusing on patient packaging and carry outs. Hats off to BAMRU's eight instructors for training and building relationships with our Wilderness Medicine community.

Accident and Donation

During a training this week, BAMRU gave assistance to a biker who had crashed nearby.

The biker wrote to say thanks:

I had a bike wipeout on Kings Mountain Road this afternoon, and was fortunate that a BAMRU training exercise was taking place right at that spot. The team took charge of the situation and took great care of me! Thanks, and keep up the good work!

The biker also made a contribution to BAMRU using our PayPal donation link! Thanks!!!

Philips AED Donation

Philips Medical Systems has generously donated a Philips HeartStart FR2+ automated external defibrillator (AED) (http://www.medical.philips.com/main/products/resuscitation/products/FR2plus/index.wpd) to BAMRU via their HeartStart Giving Program.

By doing so, Philips Medical Systems has proven its commitment to saving lives. "Early defibrillation and quality CPR have been proven to save lives. The FR2+ AED, with its clean, uncluttered design is optimized for fast, efficient operation and rapid delivery of life-saving therapy. Commands are clear, streamlined, confident, and concise: ideal for responders who are trained, drilled, and ready to save a life now." BAMRU is grateful to Philips Medical Systems for their generous donation and their commitment to saving lives.

Mock Search

On Saturday, March 20, 2010, BAMRU conducted a SAR Intro and Mock Search training. 10 BAMRU members and 22 guests met at 500 Allerton Street in Redwood City at 0800 hours. Participants caravanned to Sam McDonald County Park on Pescadero Road in Loma Mar, in San Mateo County Sheriff's vans and the BAMRU truck.

After introductions and an overview of SAR operations, the guests were split into five search teams for the mock search. Teams practiced basic search operations, and conducted a simple technical rescue.

BAMRU is Recruiting!

BAMRU is looking to add people with strong mountaineering, snow and ice skills to our ranks. We are part of the San Mateo County Sheriff's office and participate in SAR missions in county and around the state. We are Mountain Rescue Association certified team which means we can travel and operate in all terrains in all weather.

This coming Monday we will be having an open house at 7pm for people interested in finding out more about our team. This will be followed by our normal 7:30 to 9:30 team meeting which guests are welcome to stay for.

The location is:
500 Allerton, Redwood City, CA
The meeting room is on the third floor ("200-level")

This is a great time for people to join as we are have several trainings coming up to enroll new recruits. On March 20th we will have an Intro SAR training which is the perfect entry point for all new candidates.

MRA Recertification at Malibu

These past couple weeks, BAMRU has focused on the annual Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) Recertification, this year held on March 6th at Malibu Creek State Park in Malibu, Ca. The Malibu Recert concerned the areas of tracking, ELT's, medical, grid search technique, and incident command execution.  On all accounts, the event was a huge success; BAMRU attended the event on the heels of the mutual aid response to locate a missing snowshoe'er in the Castle Peak area near Truckee, Ca.



In the week preceding the recert, BAMRU held its refresher courses at the Monte Bello and Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserves, in San Mateo County. The extremely foggy weather provided real world conditions to practice locating ELT's. Here are some pictures from the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve:



BAMRU sends special thanks to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Communications Unit. Six of their top-notch personnel, along with their state-of-the-art communications van, joined us at the MRA recert and the training. BAMRU is grateful for their participation and support.

Luckiest Man in Tahoe

Yesterday BAMRU was called to search for a missing snowshoe'er on Donner Summit. He went missing in a Sierra storm with 60mph winds and 18 inches of new snow. He slept outside 2 nights in temperatures that fell to the teens.

Our searchers waded through deep snow that made travel slow and difficult. Visibility was low. Snow and wind absorbed sounds and covered tracks. The terrain was full of cliffs, thick forests, ravines, avalanche risk. Finding someone in these conditions is quite a challenge.

Yesterday the sky cleared for a brief period, and helicopters were able to join the search. The lost showshoe'er was spotted from the air, just before the helos were forced away by thick fog.

The outcome of a search is never certain. Sometimes the margin is small, and depends on uncontrollable factors of weather, or little details in the missing person's preparedness.

We're so glad that this missing snowshoer was found alive.

More Info: Sacramento Bee | Mercury News | CBS News | Auburn Journal | Ski Channel

BAMRU Welcomes New Member to Team!

At last night's meeting, BAMRU welcomed Kurt Gross to the team as a new trainee member! Kurt has an extensive wilderness and mountaineering background, and 5 years experience with the National Park Service (NPS) as a backcountry ranger in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park.

BAMRU welcomes Kurt back to the bay area, excited about his commitment to continued service to the community.

--BAMRU is currently in its recruitment period. For more information please visit our website at www.bamru.org. There is an upcoming open house and general meeting open to guests at 7:00 p.m. on March 15, 2010.

Rogue Wave at Mavericks

BAMRU supports San Mateo county during the annual Mavericks surf contest.  Typical duties include routine medical assistance and crowd control.

But yesterday, the routine was broken by a rogue wave that swept thru the viewing area.



A BAMRU member was hit by the wave, swept 30'-40', and suffered bruises, abrasions, a lost shoe and cellphone.  Among the crowd, there were broken bones, numerous cuts and abrasions.

Evacuation of Injured Ice Climber

On February 6, 2009, during a non-BAMRU related event at Eagle Creek in Tahoe, CA, BAMRU members Jeremy Rahe and Ryan Walton witnessed an ice climber fall 35 feet. The lead ice climber was pulled to the ground by his follower, who took a fall mid-way through the pitch.

A medical response and evacuation was organized. The evacuation team met local emergency response authorities near the entrance of the trail head--approximately 1.5 miles away. The response included the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office and El Dorado County Search and Rescue (SAR). El Dorado SAR was conveniently conducting a winter training nearby and able to arrive quickly.

After treatment at the local hospital, the climber called to thank the BAMRU members for the assistance. It was reported that the lead climber sustained a broken rib and a small laceration to his face. The minimal injuries may have been due to the recent snowfall in the Tahoe area, cushioning the climbers' fall.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Office and El Dorado SAR are commended for their timely and professional response.

Avalanche Control

Funny clip that shows avalanche control operations using a rocket launcher and helicopter.

Iridium Communications Supports BAMRU

In 2009, Iridium Communications (http://iridium.com/) generously donated an Iridium 9505A (http://iridium.com/products/product.php?linx=0001) satellite phone and service to BAMRU. Because of this donation BAMRU was able to maintian vital communication on multiple high-profile searches in areas of California where all other outside forms of communication failed. Iridium Communications recently announced that it would be continuing donated phone service to BAMRU through 2010. BAMRU is very grateful to Iridium for the continued support of search and rescue.

Technical Rescue Training on Alcatraz

Last weekend, Ethan Frantz of BAMRU coordinated a technical rescue rigging training on Alcatraz with the NPS and CoCo SAR. For the training two rescue systems were set up atop the Alcatraz cellhouse. The training was led by BAMRU's Dan Herman and Ben Yaffe, with additional instruction from BAMRU members John Chang and Colin Little.

The training provided a great learning experience for all who attended.

Thank you to the NPS for the great venue, and to CoCo SAR for their support. It was another exceptional day assisting the NPS on Alcatraz.

Missing Hiker In Henry Coe

Today BAMRU was called to a search in Henry Coe State Park near Gilroy. The missing hiker was on a 26 mile loop trail yesterday with a group, when they became separated.  The Mercury News published an article on the incident.

At the search, one BAMRU team received an assignment to be helicoptered in to a ridge-top, then to hike a steep ravine. The other team was to take a 4x4 road deep into the park then focus efforts on covering hiking trails.

The hiker was located as we were deploying into the field - dehydrated and a bit shaken, but alive and well.

BAMRU Search in Point Reyes

Yesterday BAMRU was engaged in a search for a missing woman in Point Reyes. Searchers encountered rain and high winds as they searched beach, dunes and cliff areas.

Here is a news report about the search in progress. (news report: Contra Costa Times)

This is the second time BAMRU has been called out for a search in the Point Reyes area in the past month.

Winter Skills Training in King's Canyon

On January 22-24, BAMRU had its annual personal winter skills training, this year a joint training with Fresno SAR. The training took place at the Azalea Campground in King's Canyon National Park.

The training was a huge success. The previous week's storm dumped several feet of fresh snow for us to conduct the training. The weekend was well organized by our own Cliff Agocs, with many BAMRU members and trainees teaching skills related to: back country snow travel and navigation, snow and avalanche assessment, avalanche and beacon transceiver rescue, and self arrest techniques using an ice axe.

Many thanks to Fresno SAR.

Deceased Hiker Recovered

Earlier this month, BAMRU participated in the recovery of the remains of a deceased hiker in the Santa Cruz mountains.

The San Mateo Daily Journal has a report on the incident.