Lions Bay Search and Rescue maintains a team of approximately 30 members all of whom are enthusiastic outdoors people and active in the outdoors. Our team focuses on mountain travel and rescue skills which are matched to the local terrain found in the Howe Sound corridor and surrounding area. The team’s skills are constantly being updated and honed through regular team training exercises and organized courses. Most weeks, summer and winter, will find the team out in the local area practicing these skills in all conditions.
All members are required to complete a 75 hour Ground Search and Rescue (GSAR) course, designed to teach the skills necessary to safely and efficiently function in a SAR operation. Topics covered include; proficiency in navigation, survival, radio communications, rope management, tracking, shoreline searching safety and searching techniques. Members attend weekly training sessions to ensure that these skills are kept up to date.
To develop further skills there are a number of courses available through the Justice Institute of BC. These courses include the following:
• Ground Search Team Leader & Instructor
• Mountain Rescue I & II
• Rope Rescue Team Member & Leader
• SAR Management
• Organized Avalanche Response Team Member & Leader
• Tracking
• Swiftwater Search Operations
• Swiftwater Rescue Technician
Team members may be general all-rounders in these skill areas or may be specialists on one or more of them. All training conforms to the standards determined by PEP and is standardized province wide, so that when the team is called upon to provide mutual aid to neighboring teams the qualifications of each searcher can be quickly determined.
More information on training programs can be found on the website