Search and Rescue Training

As part of my near-future employment at Palmer station, I have agreed to do some extra training to be on one or more of the emergency teams at the station. Because the station is not big enough to have official emergency responders and because scientists don't fill these rolls either, it is up to the support personnel to fill these positions. The first of these trainings was Oceanic Search and Rescue. Since Palmer station is on an island and it's typical of station personnel to take boats out to other islands, an Oceanic Search and Rescue team is necessary.

After flying into Denver last week, I met the rest of my SAR team and we all drove down in two rental vans to Page, AZ with a stopover in Moab, UT. It was a very beautiful drive. On the way down, we visited Arches National Park in Utah for some hiking and amazing vistas.

Once in Page, AZ our SAR training began in earnest. We spent a lot of time doing hands-on activities (such as reading compasses and gps's) and spent a lot of time on Lake Powell. We got into immersion suits and then got into the lake for exercises, we drove zodiac boats around and did man overboard drills, and then on the last day, we did a full-scale search in the desert for a lost person.

After training, we drove back to Denver, again via Moab, UT, but this time with a stop on the way at Monument Valley...quite gorgeous.

I learned a lot during this week, and of course, driving zodiacs around is just plain fun.

Click here for some photos