By STEVEN JUPITER
GOSHEN—As winter approaches, many Vermonters dig out their skis and snowshoes in the hope that Mother Nature will grace us with an abundant snow season. Winter recreation is an integral part of Vermont culture. And while the slopes of Killington, Stowe, Okemo, and other popular resorts may get the lion’s share of attention, there’s a whole community of backcountry skiers and hikers who utilize a network of trails up in the mountains and other remote areas, well out of the spotlight.
But when those folks run into trouble and call for help, it’s the local rescue squads that have to figure out how to reach them and, more importantly, get them down to safety and medical care.
It’s not easy.
Last Saturday morning, members of the Brandon Fire Department (BFD), Brandon Area Rescue Squad (BARS), and Rochester Fire Department (RFD) gathered at the trailhead of the Long Trail, at the top of the Brandon Gap, to learn and practice techniques for the safe transport of the injured from difficult and isolated spots.
The training session was run by Drew Clymer, who is the Search and Rescue Coordinator for the Vermont State Police and a member of the Stowe Mountain Rescue Squad, a volunteer rescue service. A veteran of over 40 backcountry rescue missions, Clymer’s goal in these trainings is to provide “not just competency but fluency.” Rescuers need to be able to execute correctly but also swiftly in extreme conditions, which in winter can include subzero temperatures, icy terrain, and deep snow.
Most of the rescues that first responders deal with in backcountry environments involve skiers or hikers who have become unable to make their own way back to safety because of injury or illness and need to be carried out in a litter, which is essentially a shallow, body-length basket onto which the patient is strapped.
Clymer demonstrated several techniques for securing the patient and maneuvering the litter down difficult trails, even when the litter is mounted on a wheel. Clymer at one point attached a length of strapping to a wheeled litter to create an effective “brake” that helps keep the litter from making abrupt drops when going down rocky slopes.
BFD has a contractual arrangement to provide services in Goshen, so when requests come in from injured skiers or hikers around the Gap, Brandon may be called upon to execute rescues.
BFD Chief Tom Kilpeck said that so far, the number of calls in the area hasn’t been large but the increasing number of people using backcountry trails is cause for stepped-up training.
“People are going further out than they used to,” said Kilpeck. Technology, such as GPS and electric bicycles, often makes the risks of remote recreation seem lower than they are, especially for people who are not experienced. And when those forays go awry—a broken leg, a concussion, hypothermia—it’s the members of the rescue teams who must put themselves at risk to extract the injured parties from locations that might take hours to access.
None of the crew present on Saturday bemoaned their service; they were all there because they are happy to help their communities. But none of them wants to be a “secondary subject,” someone who ends up requiring medical care in addition to the person they initially set out to rescue. In fact, Clymer spent a good amount of time explaining to the crews how to take care of themselves in order to take care of the subjects.
“Leave a lot in the tank for when you get to the patient,” he said, meaning that crews shouldn’t expend so much energy getting to the patient that they don’t have enough “in the tank” for the arduous trip back down. The same advice applies to skiers and hikers: don’t exert yourself so much on the way up that you can’t make it back down.
An extraction can take hours. Clymer’s record is 12 hours (“From 5 p.m. to 5 a.m.”) on the Bamforth Ridge of Camel’s Hump. Fortunately, it was a successful mission, and the patient made a full recovery. That kind of rescue requires an experienced team capable of working together toward the goal.
The existence of these teams may feel reassuring, but hikers and skiers must always keep in mind that it can take hours for help to arrive. So, it’s crucial to call for help as soon as you need it.
“If you think you need help, if the thought is even crossing your mind, you probably do,” said Clymer.
And because there can be a significant time lapse between a call for help and its arrival, Clymer advises backcountry users to carry certain items with them every time they venture out: headlamps, extra clothing, food & water, and a first-aid kit. But most important, he said, is an emergency blanket. If you have to wait a few hours for help to arrive, you need to keep warm.
“As soon as you stop moving, everything changes,” he said. The generation of body heat from locomotion can keep you warm, but as soon as you’re injured and have to stop, you put yourself at risk of hypothermia.
“Be on the lookout for the ‘umbles’: mumble, stumble, bumble,” Clymer cautioned. When you’re in frigid weather and feel yourself unable to speak clearly or walk steadily, you’re probably experiencing a degree of hypothermia and it’s crucial to raise your core temperature and/or call for help.
Clymer also cautions against moving someone who has fallen into advanced hypothermia (unresponsive and immobile), since the sudden flow of unoxygenated, cool blood from the limbs back into the heart can trigger cardiac arrest. But if someone is responsive and able to move, get them moving to stave off further loss of body heat. And that emergency blanket can help enormously.
And before you head out, let someone know where you’re going, who you’re going with, where you plan to park, what route you plan to ski/hike, and when you plan to return.
“The more information we have, the easier it is to find you if you need help,” said Clymer. And keep in mind that the Brandon Gap is a “dead zone” for radio and phone communication. Phones that have excellent service in Brandon village can go dead up at the Gap, making it even more important to let someone at home know where you’re going and what you’re planning to do.
“It’s very common now for people to get in over their heads,” said Clymer. “They see stuff on social media and think ‘I want to do that’ but they don’t have the experience or training. Twenty-five years ago, there was a much higher barrier to entry for extreme recreation. Now, the barrier is much lower and you can go into any ski or bike shop and buy equipment you think will keep you safe.”
“Nobody thinks it’s going to happen to them.”
