Comox Valley Search & Rescue
PO Box 3511 V9N 5N5 Courtenay, BC, Canada

Our fleet signage is getting an upgrade with our new logo. Thanks to Richard and ABC Printing & Signs for the great work!

TRIP PLAN Tuesday Look closely, can you see the degree of those slopes? Slope angle, or incline, is one of the most significant terrain characteristics... that determines whether an avalanche can occur. Slab avalanches most commonly occur on slopes between 25 and 45, and since slab avalanches are the most deadly, these are the slopes we’re most concerned about. The problem is these are also the slopes most backcountry recreationists tend to seek. For slopes less than 25, the stress on the snowpack tends to be greater into the slope than down-slope, which helps to hold the snow in place. For slopes steeper than 45, the down-slope component of stress due to gravity is so great that the snow has a hard time bonding and cohesive slabs usually don’t form. Quotes Avalanche Canada Get informed before you go outdoors. SPECIAL EVENTS, register & mark your calendars; Jan. 6: Snow Safety Education /Backcountry with us. https://fb.me/e/1lvkMg1JU Dec. 17: Riding Out of Bounds ... What you need to know with Avalanche Canada. https://register.gotowebinar.com/regist/8012084468249703696

The team wrapped up the year with their second call for the day to assist a pair of hikers stranded on the cliffs above Comox Lake. Members of the rope team belayed the hikers down 3 pitches to the trails below.

SLEDDER SUNDAY ABILITIES; ‘exceeding them’ is the 3rd cause of search & rescue incidents during winter in BC. TRAINING; ... - Obtain the knowledge & skills you need before heading out. Avalanche Skills Training(AST), navigation, route finding - Know & stay within your limits. Decision making; make them with GROUP DYNAMICS in mind. What training do you have? Who taught you to ride? How do you keep fit () for sledding? Dave Norona ( Dave!)

A CHEK News article on our 71st task of the year - wishing a speedy recovery for the snowboarder. . We would like to wish everyone a Safe and Healthy 2021! https://www.cheknews.ca/snowboarder-rescued-after-night-on/

Caution backcountry users in the Coast Mountains There were at least four large avalanches that occurred yesterday in the mountains close to Whistler and Pem...berton. They ran on a weak layer that formed in mid-December, now buried 60-100 cm below the snow surface. Three of these avalanches were human-triggered and involved people. The layer is likely to remain a problem for several days and could potentially become more reactive in response to storms forecast for Wednesday. Stick to lower angled slopes and avoid riding on steep slopes or in large, open bowls. Get the forecast www.avalanche.ca : Anton Horvath : from the MIN- http://bit.ly/3mVJlMn : Shane Szocs

"Since April 2020, crews have been deployed for almost 1,600 search and rescue missions. This means in 2020, ground search and rescue (GSAR) crews have responde...d to more than 300 additional callouts compared to the same period in 2019 and 2018, which had 1,265 and 1,236 deployments, respectively." https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2020PSSG0064-002012

Comox had over 20 members preparing to head into the field this morning when this amazing news broke. Was inspiring to see the number of volunteer SAR members from across the Island, along with local community members, all come together for this search. Tamara and Cody were well prepared and had supplies to keep them safe for several nights in the bush, which played a huge role in the successful outcome.

CVSAR Responded to a Record Number of calls in 2020 Throughout 2020 British Columbia's Search and Rescue teams have responded to more than 1600 calls for assistance. While response volumes have been increasing over the past decade, with 2019 posting a record 1300 calls province wide, 2020 has seen a significant increase both in complex rescues and in large-scale multi-day operations. Sunday, evening marked the 69th call for Comox Valley Search and Rescue's team of highly-ski...lled and deeply committed Search and Rescue Specialists. The team was paged at 5:30 Sunday evening to assist Comox Valley RCMP in the search for a missing woman with dementia. CVSAR immediately requested Mutual Aid from both Campbell River Volunteer Search and Rescue Society and Arrowsmith Search And Rescue (Parksville/Qualicum) to assist in the substantive search effort. Along with resources from the RCMP, 38 searchers and two SAR K-9 units scoured wooded areas, trails and searched properties in hopes of locating the woman. The woman was located a significant distance from her residence and was transported to hospital for assessment. This search is typical of the calls received by Search and Rescue personnel across B.C. this year. Like last evening, these calls come most often when it is a dark and stormy night, when most people are at home, warm, safe and dry. Our searchers leave their families, their places of work, their dinners, their birthdays, their anniversaries out of a commitment to help others. They do so now with the added burden of operating under added COVID 19 protocols to ensure the safety of their teammates and those that they serve and ask nothing in return. With this year's record call volume, CVSAR has seen a significant increase in medical, technical and remote rescues as well as an increase in calls to assist those who have ventured out unprepared and ill-equipped for the terrain and activities that they are participating in. Our Team's hope for a New Year's resolution is for adventurers, young and old to enjoy all the natural wonders that our community and Province offers but to do so with the correct training, the physical fitness, the essential equipment and by leaving a detailed trip plan with a loved one in the event that an emergency occurs. For more information on Trip planning and preparedness we encourage everyone to visit BC AdventureSmart and to download the Trip Planning App today (Link in comments below).

In close partnership with the American Avalanche Association the USFS National Avalanche Center, and Avalanche Canada , CalTopo now includes avalanche forecast...ing for the US and Canada. These forecasts are delivered in realtime from forecasting organizations and displayed on the Avalanche Forecast layer in both the app and on the web. We focused a great deal on ensuring accurate and up to date forecast information is shown. For obvious reasons this layer requires internet connectivity. We strongly encourage users to click on the forecast to get further forecast details and discussion. We also recommend that all backcountry travelers spend time educating themselves on winter travel. The American Avalanche Associate and Avalanche Canada both provide excellent educational resources for you to do so!

Pretty awesome code to follow this winter if you ask us. #skikind #CVSAR #BCSARA

Comox Valley, along with other island teams from Campbell River Volunteer Search and Rescue Society, Arrowsmith Search And Rescue, Nanaimo Search and Rescue and Alberni Valley Rescue Squad, are actively assisting lower mainland teams in this active search in Pemberton.

CVSAR held an impromptu drive-in food drop and fundraiser for the Comox Valley Food Bank last night. Thank you to members for your time and generosity. Items and cash will be delivered to the food bank today.

We're overjoyed with all of the excitement to watch Search and Rescue: North Shore - Series. With such high demand, you may be experiencing slower than normal service on our website and apps. Please be patient. Our tech team is on it!

CVSAR would like to extend our gratitude to BrightSource Lighting, for its continued support of the British Columbia Search and Rescue Association. Our team received the donation of yet another 22 light bar, wiring harness and a safety triangle.

CVSAR members on an alpine trip to Big Interior, part of the ongoing development of their Mountain Rescue program

It is quite an arduous task for a dog and dog handler to become validated to perform on a SAR task. Comox Valley SAR is very lucky to have 3 validated SAR dogs for tasks when needed and another in training. Watch the video and learn what it takes to become a search dog in BC. https://vimeo.com/469309220

The team was called out tonight to look for a couple of lost mushroom pickers in the Cook Creek area. The initial members on scene were able to establish whistle contact with the subjects, with a K9 team locating the couple shortly after that. Both were a little tired and cold, but otherwise in good health. Having a whistle on them significantly reduced the time required to locate them.

Last night we were called out to assist a hiker in the Croteau Lake area. Our team quickly mobilized and were able to locate the subject and hike out to waiting UTV's. We encountered a fair amount of water on the trails, dusting of snow in the bush and slippery rock due to dropping temperatures. If you are going to explore in the backcountry on central Vancouver Island be prepared for freezing temperatures at night, wet feet while hiking and have a back up communication dev...ice as cell service can be spotty at best. *Our subject had forgotten their camera at the Croteau Lake outhouse on the window sill, if you find it please return it to the CVSAR hall and we will return it to the owner. #CVSAR #SAR #BCSARA

Our neighbours to the North were recently activated to rescue an injured subject on Warden Peak. Click the link to watch / read about the rescue. Great job CRSAR!

The team was called out tonight to search for a missing 7 year old. Over 30 members responded to the hall within 30 minutes of the page. The missing youth was quickly located in good health just as teams were deploying to the field.

An amazing group of volunteers gathered this weekend to attend the Ground Search Team Leader course including a couple CVSAR members. . . . .... #cvsar #bcsara #sar #jibc See more

Glad to have been able to work alongside so many great teams to achieve this positive outcome!

Congrats to all the winners of this year’s Local Hero Awards, and in particular to our Bronwen for being named a finalist in the Emergency Services category. Well deserved recognition for all the hard work, energy and time you put into our team, both in the back office and on the front lines! https://hero.comoxvalleyrecord.com/2020-finalists/

Great turnout to tonight's training on Swiftwater Awareness/Flood Risk. Teams explored sections of an area prone to flooding, looking for risks and hazards while they are still visible.

Comox Valley SAR, assisted by Campbell River Volunteer Search and Rescue Society and Arrowsmith Search And Rescue, was involved in its 4th operation of the long weekend last evening, searching for a missing woman in the Saratoga Beach area. Paged just before midnight, Sunday the team can happily report that the woman was located just after 8:00 am. Happy Thanksgiving and a huge thanks to Oyster River Fire Rescue for supporting the operation by allowing us to site our command at your hall.

Can’t wait to watch this when it comes out!

Thanks to everyone involved in this rescue...

You've seen them on the news. Now follow North Shore Rescue in this eye-opening series as they find and rescue people from the rugged landscape of North Vancouver. Search and Rescue: North Shore - series, premieres November 10: www.knowledge.ca/sarns

A few of our members headed up Mt. Arrowsmith today to work on mountaineering skills, and got to enjoy some of the first Island snowfalls of the season!

Island teams deployed to assist Squamish Search and Rescue in the search for a missing Vancouver man, including K9 teams from Campbell River Volunteer Search and Rescue Society, Nanaimo Search and Rescue and Comox Valley SAR. Command staff from Campbell River SAR and Comox Valley SAR have provided command staff through the 7 days of the search that involved many lower mainland and island teams. Despite extensive efforts by the RCMP, Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue, BC Conservation Service and British Columbia Search and Rescue Association, the active search was suspended late Saturday pending further investigation.

Comox Valley SAR members supported members of Campbell River SAR with the extraction of three injured mountaineers from the side of a glacier below King's Peak. The subjects had suffered a fall while travelling roped up on the glacier on the way back to camp. They spent the night on the side of the glacier with very minimal gear. Using a satellite emergency device, they were able to call for help. The SAR members together with the pilot and hoist technician from Ascent Helicopter had many challenges presented by the terrain and the weather. All three subjects were extracted safely and transported to Campbell River where they were transferred to the care of BC EHS.

Team photo - COVID style

Annual hover exit training today. Thanks to Grizzly Helicopters for the training, and to the Courtenay Fish And Game Club for the use of your facilities (again!).

Lots on the go this past weekend for the team. A number of our members spent 5 days with Peak Emergency Response Training getting their Non-Urban Occupational First Aid Level 3 certification. Friday afternoon we were called to assist BC Ambulance and Cumberland Volunteer Fire Department with a medical extraction of an injured mountain biker. ... Saturday saw the team responding to a couple of lost mushroom pickers in the Cook Creek area. Once they realized they were lost, they did the right thing by staying put and calling for help early. They were quickly located by one of our K9 teams.

Several of our members assisted on this search. Thankful for a happy outcome.

The team was called yesterday evening to assist Courtenay Volunteer Fire Department and the BC Ambulance Service for a swimmer with an injured foot at Nymph Falls. Another great example of interagency teamwork!

Comox Valley Search & Rescue is Rebranding. As the team looks forward to celebrating its 50th year of operation in 2024, after forty-six years of continuous service to the Comox Valley, and to the Province of British Columbia, the Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue Society is rebranding as Comox Valley Search and Rescue and is proudly adopting a new logo. This past winter, CVGSAR members took the time to reflect upon the long history of the team and established a five ye...ar strategic plan to help carry it forward successfully into the future. Out of this process came recognition that the deep roots of selfless service to the community that were fundamental to the creation of the team back in 1974 remains the core of our fabric, but that team has undergone significant changes over the past four plus decades. Search and Rescue Teams across British Columbia grew from the long established tradition of civilians stepping forward to provide assistance; first in times of war and then to support civil emergencies post war. The Civil Defense movement was indeed the genesis for the creation of the initial Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue Society and it’s strong relationship with the Provincial Emergency Program, now Emergency Management British Columbia. In its infancy, Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue society, responded to few calls for assistance per year. As skill sets advanced and equipment and training improved, so did the demand for service. With each callout the team’s reputation grew both locally and provincially. Today the dedicated men and women of Comox Valley Search and Rescue respond to upward of 60 emergent events per year both at home and throughout our Province. Comox Valley Search and Rescue is a team focused upon excellence, possessing highly skilled, highly trained, deeply committed team members utilizing sophisticated technology and researched-based data driven decision making to support our risk management, planning and operations. Our skill sets are deep, providing Provincially recognized instructors and leaders in rope rescue, K-9 operations, tracking, avalanche response, incident command, lost person behavior and search management. Comox Valley Search and Rescue’s now retired logo upheld the traditional British Columbia Civil Defense logo colors and design, the yellow circle, surrounding the blue triangle. Our new logo tries to reflect the traditions of the old, while projecting today’s current realities. Our new bold, modern logo reflects this new reality depicting the environments we operate in: on the land, on inland waters, in the air. Reflected in the logo is the tradition of triangle as well as the colors that have been part of our hallmark since the beginning. The term ground has been retired to better communicate our broader scope of operational environments.

Our friends in Campbell River are hosting an info night for prospective new members.

Our team wishes you all a safe long weekend, and reminds you to be BC AdventureSmart!

The team was called today for a medical evacation at Kwai Lake. The BC RCMP's Air-8 flew in a medical team to assess and transfer the subject to BC Ambulance. Great inter-agency teamwork!

Excellent news from the BC Government today on a sustainable funding model for SAR teams across the province.

BC AdventureSmart is running a survey to assess their provincial program. Please take a few minutes to provide your input. There's even a chance to win prizes for doing so!

50% in BC SAR incidents during the first two weeks of July. We encourage everyone to play safely, BE AdventureSmart and to take a ‘considerate approach’ whe...n recreating. These considerations help your local SAR volunteers by not straining the volunteer rescue resources. It’s all about decision making. Always consider; skills & abilities energy & mood daylight remaining staying within your limits knowledge of trail system supporting adventure friends conservative decision making These two SAR groups are much busier than usual right now. Help them help you; follow the considerations listed above, plan your outing thoroughly, file a trip plan on our App and be prepared for your chosen activities. See requests from Squamish SAR Manager BJ Chute and North Shore Rescue SAR Member John Blown with SAR group pictures. https://www.adventuresmart.ca/land/survive-tips.htm

The extensive search for Laurence Philippsen was reactivated this past weekend to follow up on further information received regarding his possible route of travel between his start point and his intended camp on night one of his planned three day hike. Forty-five friends and hiking colleagues from the Island mountain community conducted a well organized search of a predetermined ridge and drainage area on Saturday. Forty-two searchers from Campbell River Search and Rescue , C...omox Valley Search and Rescue and Nanaimo Search and Rescue including five K9 teams, both RCMP and SAR were inserted by helicopter and conducted extensive grid searches through difficult wooded and technical terrain beginning early Sunday morning. The Google Earth imagery shows the cumulative GPS tracks of ground and air search operations by all searchers over the five operational search periods. Despite the new information and the combined thousands of person-hours of search effort over five long operational periods, no clues were produced to lead us to Laurence's whereabouts amidst this rugged and remote area of Vancouver Island. Searchers were deeply touched by Laurence's family who were on scene to provide food and express their gratitude as searchers exited the search area. The active search for Laurence has been suspended but remains an open missing person's investigation with the RCMP. Well-prepared hikers who plan to hike in this area of Strathcona Park are encouraged to continue to keep vigilant for any sign of Laurence and to report any clues to the Royal Canadain Mounted Police. Campbell River Volunteer Search and Rescue Society Nanaimo Search and Rescue

A great reminder!

The search for Laurence was suspended last evening following four days of investigation and exhaustive search efforts by search teams from across the province, his hiking companions and the RCMP. The decision to suspend a search is always the most deeply considered and difficult decision to make as family and search teams are left searching for answers with respect to Laurence’s disappearance. All involved in the search for Laurence wish to extend their heart-felt condolences to his family at this difficult time.