Rescue Tradition

A simple mishap in Juneau's rough backcountry can land even the most experienced person in a dangerous situation, setting off a chain of events from which they could never escape by themselves.

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But because of several dozen committed rescue volunteers in Juneau, many of these unfortunate events leave the survivors with nothing more than a good tale and a lesson to tell.

"It's never one thing that goes wrong; it's usually a chain of events that start to unfold," said Doug Wessen, administrative director of Juneau Mountain Rescue. "We want to break that chain."

Juneau Mountain Rescue and the Southeast Alaska Dogs Organized for Ground Search, often called SEADOGS, are both celebrating big anniversaries this year. Mountain rescue turns 25, while SEADOGS turns 30.

SEADOGS launched in the fall of 1977 after an incident in which two boys played hooky and went missing on Mount Juneau.

"It started out a gorgeous day and turned into total nastiness and fog," recalled Bruce Bowler, coordinator of SEADOGS. "Rusty was looking for a quick way down, so he and his buddy wouldn't get into trouble. And the shortest way down was the face of Mount Juneau."

Eleven-year-old Rusty Dursma did not make it back alive. He died of exposure after tripping down a ravine, and it took three days to locate his body.

"One of the first search parties that went to look for Rusty got lost," Bowler said. "State troopers had to find another search party to go look for the first search party."

A woman who had experience training avalanche dogs suggested that the situation could have been easily solved in 24 hours with the use of more search dogs.

"It motivated us to get together," Bowler said.

Juneau Mountain Rescue came along five years later, when Mount Juneau's rough terrain struck again and an ice climber was stranded.

The organizations are two of many that provide rescue services to the area, including the fire department, the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Guard. Many rescuers volunteer for more than one organization, creating a rescue community that consists of dozens of people volunteering hundreds of hours over several decades to make sure that those unfortunate events have some likelihood of coming out all right.

10 essentials for backcountry travel in Juneau:

1. Map and compass.

2. Flashlight with extra batteries and bulb.

3. Extra clothing: Hypothermia is a common killer in the backcountry.

4. Sunglasses, to prevent blindness from the sun's ultraviolet glare.

5. Extra food and water.

6. Waterproof matches in a waterproof container.

7. Candle/fire-starter: A candle burns longer than a match. This is helpful when trying to start a fire.

8. Pocket knife.

9. First-aid kit.

10. Space blanket or two large, heavy-duty trash bags.

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Web links

• Juneau Mountain Rescue: www.juneaumountainrescue.org.

• SEADOGS: www.seadogs.us.

• Mountain Rescue Association: www.mra.org.

For every one hour spent rescuing, volunteers spend 20 to 25 hours training at a professional level, Wessen said.

"We are an isolated community and the hours that are put in by all of the volunteers and rescue organizations in this community give everybody a cushion in the event of a major problem," said George Reifenstein, 57, captain of the special rescue teams at Capital City Fire and Rescue.

One day in 2005, Reifenstein saw himself go from rescuer to rescuee. He fell while on the job, tripped over backward, landed on his head and shattered his helmet.

He was 900 feet up Mount Roberts, and it took fire department rescuers five hours to get him out safely. Turns out, he'd broken his neck. If rescuers had not handled him correctly, his spinal chord could have been severed.

"It was pretty much because everyone knew what to do that I am still walking today and able to lead a normal life," Reifenstein said.

"You spend a lot more hours training than you do rescuing, so that when you get that call, you can launch a no-huddle offense," Reifenstein said. "You know what you are going to do so well, you know how to execute it quickly."

Rescuers regularly train in conditions even the most enthusiastic outdoorsmen shun out of good common sense. Rescuers and rescue dogs must practice functioning safely and efficiently in the cold, dark and wet environment that many victims are found in.

Rescue volunteers report that they do it out of a sense of community service.

"My family has always had a very pro-bono attitude toward life, about giving back to your community and being surrounded by good people," said Steve Lewis, director and co-founder of Juneau Mountain Rescue.

Lewis, 47, is a mountaineer and Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the Alaska Army National Guard. He recently returned from a tour in Iraq.

Lewis recalled an incident in which two women were stranded in the snow on the side of 4,200-foot Mount McGinnis.

"We pushed hard to get up there, and we found them," he said. "You couldn't imagine a worse night, blowing rain that turned into wet snow. It was cold and wet.

"The woman who broke the ankle, she was fine," Lewis added. "The other woman I was with, at 4 in the morning, she stopped breathing on us. We brought in the Black Hawk and got her out."

Juneau Mountain Rescue conducts about 10 to 30 rescues per year. In most of those, it recovers someone alive. On the other hand, SEADOGS more often than not is on a "recovery" mission, bringing a body back to loved ones. Both are on call 24 hours a day.

One mission that many remember successfully combined the efforts of Juneau's rescue community was when, in 1999, three helicopters crashed in white-out conditions on Herbert Glacier. Nineteen people, including five tourists, spent the night in below-freezing temperatures on the glacier, and no one was seriously injured or died.

"It's such a high to rescue somebody and get them back alive," said Lewis, who was one of the first rescuers on the scene.

Juneau Mountain Rescue and SEADOGS both do what they call preventive education, trying to inform people about how to best avoid getting into a situation in which they might need a rescue. That includes going into the backcountry well prepared and telling someone where you are going and when you'll be back.

Many people know mistakes can happen. Some don't know how easily they can happen.

"People say, well how could you get lost up there? I tell people, if you haven't gotten lost or disoriented in Juneau, you haven't gotten out enough," Lewis said. "It's easy to do in Juneau."