Andrew Lock is out on a mission; to help with the search for missing Everest trekker Trevor Stokol. A SAR in Himalaya doesn't get better than this: 1SRG is now heading the efforts and the support from the community in Dallas and the federal government has been tremendous. Image of Andrew, ExWeb files.
LINKS
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1SRG - searching for missing explorers, anytime, anywhere
Posted: Aug 02, 2005 05:38 pm EST
He was there when a serac fell on Annapurna’s north side route, injuring three climbers and killing Christian Kuntner. The lethal rock and ice chunks flew over Andrew Lock, Charlie Mace, Brendan Cusick, Silvio Mondinelli, and Christian Gobbi, to hit with full force a second group of climbers who were in a narrow couloir just meters below.
Today, only a few months later, Andrew Lock is out on an entirely different mission; to help with the search for missing Everest trekker Trevor Stokol.
A SAR in Himalaya doesn't get better than this. As HRDSN (check previous story) is unable to participate, 1SRG is now heading the efforts. "There is an official web site about the search (check links section, ed note), and the support from the community in Dallas and the federal government has been tremendous," a spokesman told ExWeb today.
"Anytime, Anywhere"
Andrew Lock is on scene to manage the next phase of the search effort, and 1SRG has been assisting with logistical, media, and other issues.
With the motto, "Anytime, Anywhere," 1SRG is a rapid deployment search and rescue and disaster response unit dedicated to saving lives through high-quality search and rescue services.
Available worldwide, 1SRG can provide standard wilderness search teams; Man tracking teams; Ground and/or Water Search with K9 utilization for both living subjects and cadaver (including forensic search); Technical Rescue including urban, mountain, cave, and confined space; and, Water Rescue.
Volunteer professionals
The organization also provides a range of courses related to SAR and DR. The team is entirely composed of volunteer professionals and is available upon request to help in international search and rescue problems anywhere, also incorporating local volunteers, military, and other organizations. Members are Fire fighters, emergency room nurses, climbing and back country rangers, wilderness paramedics, police officers, air medical providers and physicians.
"Saving someone’s life. Helping other countries improve their SAR and disaster response capabilities, so we’re not needed anymore. Bringing closure to a traveler’s family when the worst happens. The 1st Special Response Group was formed to help in these situations," is the mission.
Fast action
The guys provide a wide variety of international SAR-related services at no charge or on a cost recovery basis. They are the only non-governmental organization in the United States that provides these services internationally.
They can deploy in as little as 12 hours for periods as long as a week without support, or several months with resupply and additional support. The team travels with all food and equipment required for seven days of field operations. Local support is required for transportation to the search area, and for acquiring sufficient bottled water for seven days. (Water purification systems are included in the team’s gear if bottled water is not available in sufficient quantity.)
For a full operation, they deploy a team of up to twelve people, usually containing the following resources:
Three person tracking section
Three person canine section
Three person communications, medical, flanker, and logistics section
Three person overhead section
Mission Specific Support Services
They also serve a communications section to support a medical team operating in a humanitarian aid mission, or a medical team to support an adventure race. All sections deploy with at least one overhead member for liaison, communications, safety, and logistical issues.
You don't get to hear much about Australian Andrew Lock, although on September 25 last year he summited his 10th 8000er (Cho Oyu). Australia’s most accomplished altitude climber, his 8000 metre summits include: 1993 K2, 1997 Dhaulagiri, 1997 Broad Peak, 1998 Nanga Parbat, 1999 Hidden Peak, 1999 Gasherbrum 2, 2000 Everest, 2002 Manaslu, 2002 Lhotse, 2003 Shishapangma, 2004 Everest.
An experienced Antarctic veteran, Andrew has led, trained and guided members of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions on multiple expeditions and guided commercial groups across Antarctica and the sub Antarctic. Andrew is also an experienced mountain and wilderness documentary cameraman and in 2004 was contracted to film and climb Mt Everest for the Discovery Channel.
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