North Shore Rescue
If You Get Lost Today, Will Anyone Know?
by Allen Billy

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The North Shore Rescue Team has existed since 1965 and has performed thousands of search and rescue operations on the North Shore Mountains and other locations throughout British Columbia and Washington State. Team activities have assisted at least 4,500 lost or injured individuals in mountain and wilderness settings. While these operations have been featured in numerous media reports throughout Canada and other countries, there is an additional element to these operations to which few people have been exposed. This book presents the oral history of the North Shore Rescue team. Team members, their spouses, and subjects provide unique insights, recollections and perspectives on search and rescue operations. Some stories reflect life and death struggles, others are humorous, some generate disturbing thoughts and some are politically incorrect. Nevertheless, these are the memories and stories from people involved with the most experienced, best trained, best equipped volunteer search and rescue team in Canada. This is a book about selfless volunteers performing complex rescue operations, camaraderie under stressful conditions, lives saved, lives lost, as told by people who were involved. These stories will be of interest to those who climb, snowshoe, ski, hike, kayak, explore or engage in any other form of outdoor recreational activity. None of these stories have ever been revealed to the general public. Each operational story contains a lesson associated with personal safety and provides insights into what to do, or not do, when lost or injured in the wilds.

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"Ever wonder how search and rescue volunteers juggle responsibilities for family, work and saving lives? Well, here are insights into their lives, struggles and successes! " —Dave Brewer - Co-Founder of North Shore Rescue, Order of British Columbia, Past President British Columbia Search and Rescue Association, Life Member – North Shore Rescue "I am so pleased that Allen has managed to capture so many of the personal aspects that one experiences in this life saving role. (He has, in my opinion, captured the essence of life ... sometimes living life on the edge.) A great and insightful read!" —Gerry Brewer - Co-Founder of North Shore Rescue, Life Member – North Shore Rescue "These are the stories of the men and women who voluntarily get out of bed on a cold, dark, rainy night and head into the mountains to help someone in trouble. It is a lot of fun, a great challenge and a huge honour to be part of this team." —Allan McMordie - SAR Manager, Life Member - North Shore Rescue

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Allen served as a North Shore Rescue team member for twelve years and participated in over 700 search and rescue operations in mountain, wilderness and urban environments under every sort of environmental condition. He shared a Canada 125 medal presented to the team for volunteer activities. In addition to enjoying hiking, nature studies, geocaching and metal detecting, Allen has rafted the length of the Fraser River and worked on fire suppression crews in central British Columbia. Allen has 30 years’ experience in post-secondary education, primarily in Allied Health and Biology education programs teaching a variety of Human Anatomy and Physiology and basic Biology courses. He served on the governance boards of the Canadian Association of Allied Health Programs and the North Shore Rescue Team Society. He has a doctorate in Zoology, University of Texas at Austin and M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees (Zoology) from the University of British Columbia.

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Contributors

Author

Allen Billy

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