Helping the helpers

As participants were signing up for the Sixth annual Snowy Range Poker Run, Homer Beach and Jim Piche were eating breakfast in The Rendezvous Lodge Saturday morning.

Beach had already had a long night and was now on call for the poker run in case anyone got lost or injured.

Beach, who has been a fireman for 50 years is also on the Ryan Park Search and Rescue Team.

He had been called out at 3 a.m., because snowmobilers had gone down to the French Creek Canyon and were unable to get out.

The search ended successfully at 6:30 a.m. The stranded snowmobilers had done what they were supposed to do after they activated their SPOT GPS. They stayed put. When the rescuers found them, the snowmobilers had started a fire and were "hunkered down", Beach said.

This was the third rescue in the past week on the Snowy Range.

Cell phone service is spotty in the Snowies, Beach and Piche said. Beach is the fire chief and Piche is the assistant chief in Ryan Park.

Both of the men are avid snowmobilers and know the Snowies well.

Piche said the cell phone can bounce off of towers as far away as Fort Collins, Colo., and lost or stranded snowmobilers should realize that when a call is dropped and they call back, they are not always talking to the same dispatcher service. One call can go to Fort Collins, another to Laramie, Wyo., and another to Carbon County, Piche said.

Each time a call is made to the dispatch office, information is requested by the dispatcher including name, location and cell phone number.

Technology, such as the SPOT GPS has made locating a lost or stranded snowmobiler a lot easier than it was in the past.

Piche said it has narrowed down a 500 square mile search down to 50 square miles.

Fifteen people in the county volunteer for search and rescue and they all work together.

"Sometimes Ryan Park and Saratoga get called out, other times it's Ryan Park and Encampment/Riverside," Beach said. There have been some instances in which all of the search and rescue teams have been called out, depending on the situation.

Saturday morning, it was the Ryan Park and Saratoga crew that were called out.

In search and rescue situations, the Carbon County Deputy Sheriff is the incident commander.

In Saturday's case, the command center was set up as what locals call Chain's End, the gate that closes the Snowy Range off to winter travel. SCWEMS (Southern Wyoming Emergency Medical Service) is called for EMS backup.

A plan is developed for the rescue and if that plan doesn't work out, another plan is put into place, Beach said.

Search and rescues are happening all year round, Beach said. The situations vary depending on the season.

People who are not familiar with the terrain, especially the depth of the canyons, are more likely to get lost during snowmobile season, hunting season and the summer season.

While the county provides funds for search and rescue teams, there is always a need for more, Beach said.

Many of the rescuers use their own ATVs and snowmobiles, so the donations are used to upgrade and replace equipment.

Search and rescues also take place on foot and by horseback. Most of the horseback rescues take place in the Sierra Madres, Beach said.

The search Saturday morning used $104 in gas, which is another example of how search and rescue money is used.

Beach, who has been on the Ryan Park Fire Department since its inception 22 years ago, said the search and rescue was started the same year. He has always volunteered, but when he lost his son Douglas several years ago, it became more personal to him.

Douglas was climbing a 14,000-foot mountain when he lost his life. Beach understands the sacrifice the rescuers made to get to his son in dangerous conditions. Now, it's the first thought that comes to him when he is called out on a rescue.

Where the money goes

Donations can be made to the Carbon County Search and Rescue, PO Box 190, Rawlins, WY 82301.

That money is used for the nine different search and rescue teams in the county, Carbon County Sheriff Jerry Colson said.

Colson said the money is used for training and equipment. The search and rescue teams meet twice a year to decide how to use the money. In the past, the money was used to purchase avalanche equipment such as shovels, probes and backpacks and each rescue unit received the equipment for their team.

This year, the Carbon County Search and Rescue has had two workshops, one by the county coroner when a rescue becomes a recovery and an avalanche training which took place last weekend.

Colson said many of the donations come from families who have had members rescued and in memory of victims.

Donations can also be made directly to the search and rescue teams to offset expenses.

Other monies that come into the search and rescue coffers are from fishing and hunting licenses and four-wheeler permits. Purchasers have an option on the application to donate money to search and rescue. That money goes into a state fund, which is distributed throughout the state, Beach said.