Interested individuals may submit an application, but no intake is planned until May of 2023. At that time we will consider submitted applications for a Ground Search and Rescue course to begin in September 2023.

Ground Search and Rescue (GSAR) training happens on Wednesdays beginning in September, running through to the early Spring, including one weekend every month, on average.

GSAR training is developed and coordinated by the Emergency Management Division of the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC). The training is standardized province-wide. This means that the training a volunteer receives in one community can be transferred to another. The basis for all SAR training is the GSAR course. This course is a minimum of 75 hours, but most communities (including Prince George) have expanded the course to about 100 hours. This ensures that the extensive material is adequately covered, that the students have the necessary practical experience, and that regionally significant issues such as avalanche rescue are included. 

The GSAR course provides an overview of all aspects of GSAR and in-depth coverage of the basic skills required, such as map and compass. In addition to the topics in the GSAR manual, volunteers with PGSAR are expected to complete an eight-hour first aid course and participate in a six-hour mock search and an overnight Snow cave exercise. Once a volunteer is certified in GSAR, he or she may take further training and become certified in a variety of different specialties like rope, swiftwater/ice rescue, tracking, or avalanche. Many of these specialties also have increased levels of training, proficiency and leadership.