Stranded in Whatcom County’s outdoors? A team of volunteers is on call to assist
There’s no shortage of outdoor recreation opportunities in Whatcom County, from the casual to the extreme, and when those experiences turn dangerous, dozens of local volunteers are just a call away to help get you back to safety free of charge.
“We are who they call when you need EMTs in the furthest corners of the county,” Bellingham Mountain Rescue President Thomas Meade told The Bellingham Herald. “Eventually, we can get anywhere in the county.”
Bellingham Mountain Rescue Council (BMRC) is the largest of five branches of Whatcom County Search and Rescue, along with the 4x4 mobile unit, Summit to Sound Ground Search and Specialized Teams, Whatcom Emergency Communications Group, and Whatcom County Dive Rescue. BMRC is the largest branch, with about half the organization’s 100 members.
Search and rescue is a nonprofit, volunteer organization dispatched through the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office to retrieve and rescue people caught in some of the hardest-to-reach places, including the backcountry of Mt. Baker Ski Area and the Twin Sisters mountains.
BMRC was created in 1955 and is among the oldest mountain rescue organizations in the country. It was formed after back-to-back rescue operations were conducted on Mount Shuksan, just east of Mount Baker. It was created alongside Seattle Mountain Rescue, established in 1948, and Everett Mountain Rescue, established in 1954. The national search and rescue organization, Mountain Rescue Association, was founded in 1959.
BMRC responds to about 40 to 60 calls a year, with about five to 15 people responding per rescue, according to Meade. Rescuers are all volunteers and rescue missions are conducted completely free of charge for those being rescued.
Since 911 calls go through the sheriff’s office first, there is usually a delay of about 30 minutes from the time someone calls 911 for a rescue to the time BMRC learns about it, Meade said.
Search and rescue members are volunteers who respond either from home or work. While Whatcom Search and Rescue does have a building located just outside Bellingham, volunteers do not stay there like a fire or police station. Team members either respond to the building in personal vehicles and ride up together to the trailhead, or they respond directly to a meeting point.
The delay hasn’t been much of a problem. It can take hours for even the most trained rescuers to reach some parts of the mountains, so 30 minutes hasn’t made much of a difference, according to Meade. When someone is stuck in a treacherous part of a mountain, it is more important that rescuers can get there, rather than get there quickly, he said.
“Obviously we are trying to provide an efficient service, but we are not a seven-minute response team like the fire department would be. In the grand scheme of things, it takes time. We make the drive and then hike or climb or whatever to get out there” Meade said. “That is one thing we try to emphasize to people, is how long it takes us to respond.”
“Some people feel pretty bad about having to call and use the resource, but we try to push the message that it is free to call, and we are happy to assist anyone without any shame or punishment,” Meade said. “I mean we are all volunteers, and we are happy to be doing the job.”
Although they are dispatched by the WCSO, none of Whatcom County Search and Rescue is part of Whatcom County government. Funding is provided through private donations, and the operating budget for BMRC is about $10,000 a year. As a result, the organization is always looking for additional donations, which can be made through the Bellingham Mountain Rescue website.
The Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) is one of the largest authorities on search and rescue in the country, and the Washington chapter is among the most active, according to Meade. The MRA tests Bellingham Mountain Rescue every two years on either rock rescue, search rescue or snow rescue. The tests evaluate the BMRC helps rescue organizations improve overall.
“Our rescue subjects don’t get a choice who shows up, but holding ourselves to high standards builds community trust and sells ourselves to the agencies we work with. Relative to fire departments and law enforcement agencies, search and rescue is relatively unregulated, and there can be big discrepancies between teams. Being a mountain rescue team is a symbol of pride and skill,” Meade said.
Meade said one of the best ways to rescue people is to prevent them from needing help in the first place. BMRC engages the community whenever possible to educate people about how they can prepare and plan ahead for outings to prevent being in emergency situations.
BMRC will be attending the backcountry meetup April 22 at the Kulshan Brewing Sunnyland location.
“It’s a good way to network with the community and make them aware of what we do,” Meade said. “A big portion of the population doesn’t know they can call 911 (when they are in the mountains or stuck on a trail).”
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