Search and Rescue
If you need to initiate a search and rescue operation for any reason within the Yukon please contact your nearest R.C.M.P. detachment. They will have up-to-date information on how to best initiate a search in your area. Contact information for each detachment can be found at https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/detach/en/find/YT.
The Klondike Snowmobile Association does not offer any professional search and rescue services. However, we are happy to help out where we can, so if you feel that some experienced local snowmobilers may be a helpful addition to a professional operation please contact us and we’ll do our best to assist.
If someone has left a trip plan with you and they have not checked in:
1: Stay calm. In the vast majority of cases it turns out the missing party is actually perfectly fine and just got stuck in the snow or are dealing with a mechanical breakdown.
2: Try to get in contact with them.
3: If contact can’t be established within a reasonable period of time then the next step is to contact your nearest R.C.M.P. detachment for assistance. This 24/7/365 service is free for all Yukoners and there is no minimum time for them to be missing.
If you are in the group needing rescue:
1: Take a moment to assess the situation. As they say, always put your mask on first before assisting other people.
2: Begin providing first aid if its needed and if you have any extra people delegate one of them to arranging for search and rescue.
3: Gather some information that search and rescuers will need. Before they can come to you they will need to know where to go and what to bring, so please have the following information ready:
– Your current location and some tips on how to get there
– Nature of your emergency (what happened and how did it happen)
– How many people are in your group and how many of them will need to be rescued
– If anyone is hurt take notes of how many are injured, the types of injuries, and any first aid already being provided
– What equipment and supplies you have with you
– What assistance will you need
4: To initiate a rescue operation for fastest response contact your nearest R.C.M.P. detachment if able, next best is contact someone at home and have them contact R.C.M.P., next best is press the SOS button on your satellite device. If all of the above fails then stay calm knowing the person you left a trip plan with should be starting a search when you don’t return on time.
5: Plan for what to do while you wait for rescue and what to do when rescue arrives. Consider starting a fire, making some shelter, making your site more visible from a distance, making space for the rescuers to arrive and work in, and what to do after help has arrived.