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Search and Rescue

The Hidden Costs of Search and Rescue: Why Getting Rescued Always Ends up Costing More

Why do search and rescue operations end up being so expensive? Since 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, outdoor recreation has spiked among Americans. As more and more people have gotten out into the wilderness, the number of emergencies have risen as well. Alongside increasing extreme weather events, this has caused a perfect storm of conditions putting pressure on Search and […]

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Elliot LeBlanc | July 10, 2025
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Initial Search for Missing Southern California Hiker Ends Without Success

Monica Reza, 60-year-old hiker remains missing. Photo Credit: Crescenta Valley Weekly

Monica Reza was last seen on June 22, hiking near Mount Waterman in the Angeles National Forest, which is just outside of Los Angeles, California. Over the past week, several search efforts have been conducted in the area to locate Reza, but all have been unsuccessful. Montrose Search and Rescue and several other search teams including Altadena Mountain Rescue, Antelope […]

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Luke Guilford | July 3, 2025
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Ski Resorts Slash Rescue Response Times with AirFlare, a Mobile Search Tool That Helped Locate Nearly 2,500 Guests This Season

breckenridge

A growing number of ski areas across North America are turning to AirFlare, a mobile-based location platform that helps resort staff quickly pinpoint the whereabouts of guests on the mountain. During the 2024–25 winter season, ski resorts initiated nearly 2,500 searches using AirFlare’s tools — a 27% increase from the previous year, the company announced. Related: [PHOTOS] Skier Injured in […]

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Martin Kuprianowicz | April 16, 2025
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Injured Czech Mountaineers Rescued After 2 Nights on Austria’s Tallest Mountain

  Two Czech mountaineers were rescued on Tuesday morning, February 6, by a Dragonfly (c9) police helicopter of the Kärnten police in Austria, after having spent two nights in a bivouc on the Grossglockner, Austria’s tallest mountain at 3,798 meters (12,460 feet). The pair had sustained injuries from a rock slide during a hike on Sunday, February 4. The two […]

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Julia Schneemann | February 7, 2024
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Fun Fact: Harrison Ford is a Teton County, WY, Volunteer Search and Rescue Helicopter Pilot and Has Saved Lives (In Real Life)

Harrison Ford is both a hero on the screen and off the screen.  The 80-year-old movie star and 800-acre Teton County ranch owner is a volunteer search and rescue helicopter pilot who’s saved stranded hikers on more than one occasion. With a helicopter, though — not the Millenium Falcon.  Related: Why the Rich are Flying to Jackson Hole, WY, to […]

Martin Kuprianowicz | May 4, 2023
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Skier Rescued 6 Hours After Being Buried to His Neck by Avalanche in Switzerland

Skier rescued in Switzerland

Deep in the Liddes region of Switzerland, a skier was buried up to his neck in compact snow with only one arm free. Night had fallen and hypothermia was setting in for the young man trapped helplessly in the mountains. Air Glaciers set out to find the missing person via helicopter, where after six hours of being buried, the man […]

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Luke Guilford | March 6, 2023
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2 Skiers Rescued After Becoming Lost and Exiting Sugar Bowl Resort, CA, Boundaries

Sugar Bowl Resort

Sugar Bowl Resort is located in California, Northwest of Lake Tahoe. On Sunday, February 5th, a couple in their early 50s became lost and accidentally left the ski area’s boundary. Harsh weather conditions decreased visibility, causing the two skiers to become disoriented as they made their way toward Crow’s Nest from the Disney Express lift. The couple continued skiing down […]

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Luke Guilford | February 17, 2023
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Learn How to Properly Signal a Rescue Helicopter

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Emergency rescuers have urged people to familiarize themselves with effective ways to signal a helicopter before exploring the backcountry. Last week a hiker got lost in Colorado and did not know how to properly signal to the emergency helicopters that he needed help. The man had been part of a hunting party and had been reported missing by his brother on the […]

Julia Schneemann | September 19, 2022
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Drones to the Rescue? How Drones are Changing the Landscape of High Mountain Rescue Efforts

drone assisted mountain rescue

Imagine for a moment that you were this unfortunate snowboarder trapped on the side of a cliff for two hours, frightened, cold, and not understanding what’s going to happen next?  Related: Snowboarder trapped on cliff-face at Whistler Blackcomb Now imagine how it might feel to be in that same position (yes as frightening as it was!) but also able to […]

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Ryan Kime | April 26, 2022
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Woman Attempting to Ski “Main Chute” Seriously Injured, Life-Flighted Out of Alta Ski Area, UT

Salt Lake County Sherrif’s Search and Rescue, Alta Ski Patrol, and Unified Fire responded to a call for an injured skier in Main Chute at Alta Ski Area last Saturday, June 12.  Main Chute is one of the Baldy Chutes: some of Alta’s steepest, most advanced hike-to terrain accessed via the summit of Mount Baldy on the boundary of Alta […]

Avatar photo SnowBrains | June 14, 2021
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New App Allows RCMP to Track Missing and Injured People in the British Columbia Backcountry

[arve url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJyytCbx17w"]
Dominic Gawel | March 12, 2021
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Missing Colorado Hiker’s Dog Emerges After 8 Days While Search is Suspended For Man

Missing Pair In Colorado

A missing Colorado hiker’s dog has returned home after eight days of being lost on the Hessie Trailhead in Boulder County. Josh Hall and his dog “Happy” set out on February 3 just as a major winter storm system hit the area. Search crews initiated their search that night when the two never returned. The first sign of the pair was […]

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Nick Retterer | February 17, 2021
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Colorado Search and Rescue Team “Crippled” After $10,000 Theft of Their Equipment

rampart

A Colorado Search and Rescue Team has started a GoFundMe to raise funds to replace the $10,300 worth of equipment they had stolen before Christmas. Related: The SnowBrains Podcast | Episode #12 | Randall Osterhuber – Winter Survival Instructor, Search & Rescue Badass, Snow Scientist, Avalanche Forecaster, Mountain Guide The Rampart Search and Rescue had equipment and belongings stolen after […]

Avatar photo SnowBrains | January 28, 2021
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Excessive Amounts of Human Waste found at the Popular Ice Lakes, Colorado

The Ice Lakes reside just outside the famous Silverton, Colorado. They offer some of the most stunning and picture-perfect views in the state with a relatively short hike. After the abnormally busy summer, as expected, the area was left with an excessive amount of human waste and impacts. Related: Popular Paradise Falls, CA Closed After Visitors Left Truckloads of Trash […]

Dominic Gawel | December 8, 2020
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Search and Rescue During a Global Pandemic

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The reservation system has been set in stone at many major resorts across the United States. Both on the popular Epic Pass as well as the Ikon Pass, this is the reality. The latter pass only requires reservations at a handful of mountains such as Aspen Highlands, Crystal Mountain, and Big Sky. Due to the limited capacity, backcountry skiers and […]

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Mitchell Milbauer | November 25, 2020
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Man and His Two Children Rescue Hiker Stranded for 14 days in Santa Fe National Forest, NM

A man and his two children rescued an injured hiker who was stranded in a New Mexico forest for 14 days, according to local authorities. John Utsey was on a hike with his kids in the Santa Fe National Forest Saturday when they encountered the unidentified hiker, officials with the Santa Fe Fire Department said in a statement. The unidentified […]

Avatar photo SnowBrains | August 20, 2020
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Search For Missing 18 Year Old in Colorado State Park Continues

After nearly a week, the search continues for an 18-year-old teen who disappeared at a beach in Chatfield State Park in Littleton, Colorado on July 31. Water recovery efforts for SMFR & @WestMetroFire are shutting down for day 5 in the search for the missing person in the reservoir. @Denver_Fire plans to send it’s dive team out to Chatfield on […]

Clay Malott | August 5, 2020
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Injured Hiker Rescued from Wyoming Backcountry After 400 Foot Fall

At approximately 5:15 p.m. on Friday, May 29, Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received an emergency call reporting an injured hiker near Amphitheater Lake in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Buckrail reports that Teton County Search and Rescue dispatched a helicopter to rescue the injured hiker who had fallen and slid roughly 400 feet when out hiking near the lake […]

Avatar photo SnowBrains | June 1, 2020
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Unpacked Podcast: AIARE Instructor Randall Osterhuber Explores the Science Behind Avalanches and How to Avoid Them

During the 2019/2020 ski season, roughly 23 avalanche fatalities were reported. This is just two shy of last season, despite the early closing of all US ski resorts and authorities discouraging risky backcountry travel. In this episode of the Unpacked Podcast, host Justin Zawilinski talks with Randall Osterhuber, a member of Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue, AIARE instructor, and seasoned […]

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Avatar photo SnowBrains | May 29, 2020
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Bodies of Missing Trekkers Found in Nepal 3-Months Later

Recent spring thaw in Earth’s tallest mountain range has solved a 3-month long mystery, revealing tragedy. RELATED: India Air Pollution Dropped So Much That The Himalaya Are Visible For the First Time in 30-Years! Last week, the bodies of two missing trekkers were located after a South Korean duo went missing in January 2020 along with at least four other […]

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Avatar photo SnowBrains | April 30, 2020
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