Avalanche Rescue
During winter, avalanches are one of the main risks in the mountain areas surrounding Prince George. When an avalanche occurs,
Prince George Search and Rescue has an avalanche response team with members who are trained as an “Organized Avalanche Response Team Member”, in addition to having their AST-1 (Avalanche Skills Training) at a minimum. These courses are put on by the Justice Institute of BC and the Canadian Avalanche Association. During training, members work as a team to respond effectively to avalanche events. Members learn to recognize potential avalanche terrain, to analyze snow and weather conditions in order to understand the likelihood of an avalanche and to use rescue tools effectively. Typically avalanche terrain is accessed by snowmobile, and sometimes by ski or snowshoe depending on the situation.
Prince George Search and Rescue also has several Avalanche Operations Level 1 and 2 trained members. These members typically have had a lot of experience responding to avalanches and work with the response team to determine avalanche risk, and help decide whether it is safe for our team to be in the field.
