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.