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Ice Climbing in Norway
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Heroes Among Us
How a blink-of-an eye accident set one Ellis Brigham staff member on a journey to becoming a search and rescue volunteer.
Introduction
Ever wondered what it takes to be a search and rescue volunteer?
Let Charlie Gay, Partnerships and Events Co-ordinator at Ellis Brigham, fill you in.
Can you tell us about how this all started for you?
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In 2015, I was climbing at a remote crag on the Isle of Raasay with three friends. My friend had already started climbing while my belay partner and I were tying into the rope. Just before I started, I looked over to my left, and as my friend was putting in his first bit of protection, his foot slipped, and he fell from around 5 metres directly onto his back.
It was clear that we needed more support to help him out. I remember seeing the helicopter overhead and the winchman descending to help us. The feeling that gave me – that someone else was there who could assess the situation and create a plan – was calming and inspiring. It’s safe to say that from that moment, I knew that I would like to help people like the winchman helped us.
The training itself took around a year. We trained most Thursday nights and a good number of Sundays as well. There was a mixture of lecture-based lessons, first aid training and search techniques. While I do a wide range of outdoor activities, the skills we were taught through training are rather specialist. For the majority of a live search, it’s the searching skills that are used; looking for clues that will help locate the missing person.
What are the general demands of the role? How does it fit in with your normal life and career?
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The demands of searching can be complex, both physically and mentally. Once we have a search area, we could be out for four hours at a time before returning to base. Four hours between rests doesn’t sound too challenging, but the mental strain when looking for a missing person can be very taxing.
We can get called out to search for a variety of reasons, although a high number of them are related to mental health. While not always, there is a fair chance that we are searching to recover a body, which can be a complex operation. SARA have a robust support network to help search teams deal with this.
SARA is a charity funded by public donations and successful grant applications. Part of our role is to commit time to fundraising so that operations can continue. One event we host is the Cirencester Slog trail run. This year, there are two routes available, a 10-mile course and a 5-mile course that’s ideal for families – we’re hoping around 300 runners will join in.
How have Ellis Brigham supported you in this role?
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What walks of life do the other volunteers you work with come from? What would you say links them all together?
Something that links all the SARA team members is kindness and their desire to help other people. We have members from all backgrounds, from lawyers to ecologists, doctors to event managers.
Can you share a story where you felt particularly proud of your team’s efforts?
While not every search may result in finding the missing person, it’s hard not to feel proud of the team every time we are called out. We are a close, supportive team. That in itself inspires confidence, I know we will be able to deal with the situation we are presented with. It helps that my girlfriend is also on the team, so we can process emotions together after the event.
What would you say to someone who was considering volunteering for a search and rescue team?
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How do you see the field of search and rescue evolving in the future, particularly in the UK?
With advancements in technology, such as drones with high-powered cameras and even the new mountain rescue jetpacks that are in development, I can only imagine how the equipment will improve in years to come.
I think the biggest impact on search and rescue will come from educating the public, particularly educating people on how to spot the signs of friends struggling with mental health. A lot of the mental health messaging currently out there relies on the person who is struggling reaching out for help, but it can be difficult to raise your hand and say, ‘I am struggling,’ especially if it feels like that doesn’t change anything. Learning to ‘sit in the mud’ with someone else, learning how to support them, can be a pivotal moment in that person’s life.
Heroes Among US
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