First Braking Devices to Receive UIAA Certification

The Black Diamond ATC, ATC-Guide, ATC-XP,  and ATC-Sport, as well as the Petzl GriGri2 are the first devices to receive UIAA certification. Read the article on the UIAA's site for details.

Petzl Warning of Chinese Counterfeit Equipment

Petzl has recently discovered counterfeit Chinese versions of a number of its products. Please read their statement regarding this discovery.

 

PVS Class in March

SB Mountain SAR is hosting a PVS class for 3 weeks in March, finishing with a test on March 27. TRBC is around the corner in April, so if you are looking to take TRBC, this is your opportunity to take care of the PVS requirement.

The PVS class runs Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning March 8th, from 1800-2200hrs. Read the flyer for details.

Contact John Metzger at his sbsar.org email address for more info.

All-County Mission Map

I decided to map all of the missions for the Cave Team last year, and found it to be pretty neat. I thought that it would be interesting to make a map of all the missions for the entire county. This is where I need your help. Recently, I sent an email to all of the team commanders explaining the details, but I figured that I would post something here too.

After your team gets a call, please take a moment to go to reports.sbsar.org/missions and click on the "Submit Report" link in the upper right corner. There, you will find a simple form that asks for the name of the mission, short description, your team, and your name. The key is to place the event on the map. You can scroll around on the map, input an address, or input a set of coordinates (acceptable units are decimal degrees, but there is a UTM-Lat/Lon converter). Once your form is submitted it goes into the hopper for review (anything mission-related needs to be reviewed prior to posting).

If you can't remember this URL, there is also a link to the mission reports page at the top of the page at sbsar.org.

In addition to the form, you can also just email the report to missions@sbsar.org. Please be sure to include a description and, most importantly, a location. You could do this from the field if you have cell coverage and an appropriate phone/plan.

Drop me a line at my sbsar.org email address if you have any questions and/or comments. The only way that this works is for you to do it. Please don't assume that somebody else will. It will take you about 3 minutes to do it, so it doesn't take long. The map below is the live map of the reports to date.

View Larger Map

Director's Dialogue December 2010

I would like to start off by wishing all of you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2010 was a great year for SAR and all of us on the Board of Directors of the IESARC are very excited about the upcoming events and changes coming in 2011. This past month was a very eventful month. The Yu search in Baldy was conducted very well and attended by a number of our SAR personnel. The results were not what we wanted, but successful in its own way.

Click to read more ...

The Search for Michelle Yu

Michelle Yu was in the midst of preparing for a climb of Aconcagua in Argentina. As such, she was a weekly hiker of Mt. Baldy, and had recently completed a number of 14,000 ft peaks. She set out on Saturday, December 4 for a training hike, and was spotted near the Sierra Hut and near the summit by fellow hikers. She did not return on Saturday night, and was reported missing by a housemate on the afternoon, of Sunday, December 5.

View Yu Search in a larger map

West Valley SAR was called, and with the weather worstening, the call for additional alpine resources was made. The first night, 4 teams were fielded composed of members of West Valley SAR and the Cave Team. There was no information as to the route of Ms. Yu, but her car was found on the Falls Rd. Teams were deployed into Goode Canyon, San Antonio Canyon, The Sierra Hut Trail, and the Devil's Backbone. Travel was very slow as the winds were high and rain severe. At the higher elevations there was snow falling, and ice everywhere. Eventually safe travel was no longer possible, so the teams in Goode Canyon and the Devil's Backbone were recalled. The team in San Antonio Canyon had arrived at the Hut and were beginning to warm up with plans to continue in the morning. The rock fall hazard in the canyon was tremendous with all of the flowing water. There were reports of very large boulders making their way down the canyon.

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Two Missions on Baldy

West Valley SAR received a call Friday night for some overdue hikers in the Baldy area whose family said that they were going to "walk the creek". The missing 21 and 13 year old were to return at dark, and when they failed to show, their family notified authorities. Sheriff's Aviation was also on scene and was successful in locating the missing hikers in Stead Canyon. Throughout the night, a ground team attempted to locate the hikers, but due to the brush, and lack of response to their shouts and whistles, the searchers were not able to establish contact. At first light, Sheriff's Aviation launched a rescue ship which was successful in hoisting the two hikers and their dogs. After a chilly night, and a short helicopter ride, the two hikers were released to their family.

View Two Baldy Missions on 11/27/2010 in a larger map

Just as the air crew was gathering their gear, Baldy Fire caught a call for an unconscious hiker on the hut trail. The report said that by-standers were administering CPR, and that the patient was not responsive. Members of Baldy Fire, San Bernardino County Fire, and AMR made their way up the trail, while members of the Cave Rescue Team and San Bernardino Mountain Rescue Team quickly joined them after gathering a litter, litter wheel, backboard, and oxygen bottle. 
Rescuers continued CPR and employed an AED, but the collapsed hiker never regained a heartbeat. Sheriff's Aviation returned to the Baldy area after fueling, and lowered a medic and litter. One member of San Bernardino Mountain Rescue Team and one Baldy Fire crew member walked the deceased hiker's girlfriend down the trail, while the remaining SAR members and fire crew packaged the hiker, and assisted in the hoist.

SB Mountain SAR Passes Rope Rescue Evaluation

Congratulations to the SB Mountain SAR Team for successfully passing their rope rescue evaluation. The team successfully raised an injured hiker approximately 200 feet up an embankment in Cucamonga Canyon under the close watch of the Rope Rescue Oversight Committee (RROC).

Lushevskiy Search 2010

Updated on Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 0:25 by Jeff Lehman

Evgeniy "Eugene" Lushevskiy is an immigrant from Uzbekistan who came to the United States in 1998.

Eugene, 19 years old at the time, was last seen on Sunday October 31, 2004 when he left to go hiking somewhere in the foothills or mountains north of Claremont. A storm front with an unseasonably early snowfall came in that night. He was reported missing to Claremont PD on Tuesday November 2, 2004.   
On Friday November 5, 2004 evidence was discovered that Eugene was dropped off in Mt. Baldy, at the Sierra Hut Trailhead, on the night of October 31st to begin a hike to the summit of Mt. Baldy. The Chino Hills Sheriff’s Station initiated a Search and Rescue mission based upon this information. West Valley Search and Rescue (WVSAR) began a hasty search of the mountain trails that night. The search quickly expanded to a county-wide and then state-wide call for alpine-qualified searchers.

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Director's Dialogue November 2010

What a month October was!  Call-outs everywhere!  Congratulations to all of our SAR Units and to our personnel for a job well done.  Victor Valley…two rescues in one night, the Joshua Tree Miracle, the find by West Valley and the Dog team and then the assistance in helping one of our own.  Thank you to Barstow, San G, the Morongo Units, Valley of the Falls, Cave Team, Central, West Valley Posse, East Valley Posse, Rim, Bear Valley, Wrightwood and Apple Valley for supplying manpower and conducting their own indiviudual missions during this busy month.

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