(from Charlie, sent as an email, on 8/24/2010)
Many of you have inquired as to if there was a certain organization where donations can be made in Tyler’s name. Here are my thoughts….
On the morning of July 31st, Tyler Anderson was involved in a mountaineering accident in the Cordillera Blanca. The culmination of a series of events left him at the bottom of a crevasse, needing immediate medical attention. Because of the lack of common use of satellite phones, his party was unable to communicate the emergency without climbing down the mountain. By the time authorities were able to be notified it was late in the day and their response was to wait until the next morning. The response from Tyler's friends in the climbing community was vastly different. Trained in high mountain rescue, Tyler's friends used their expertise and immediately mobilized a group that set out shortly after receiving the call. They took with them all the necessary equipment for a high mountain rescue mission, not knowing what they would find, but prepared for anything. Through close communication with the party of people Tyler had been guiding and their own expertise in the finite details of the mountain, they were able to climb through the night and locate my brother's body the next morning. As they came down the mountain with Tyler, they came across the high mountain police unit who were only then setting out on their 'rescue' mission, more than 14 hours later and armed with only a camera. In Tyler's case, this lapse in time probably would not have made a difference. But each person climbing on that mountain deserves a safety net that will provide help and assistance as safely and quickly as possible.
Our goal is to work with the Huaraz guide training organization (the Casa de Guias) to provide the necessary communication equipment and rescue training which develops the abilities of the local guides, the Casa de Guias managment team, & the owners of local agencies to effectively run a rescue from start to finish, as well as develop a common emergency response plan for everyone working in tourism in Huaraz. We would like to offer a Wilderness First Responder course (which is the guiding industry standard everywhere in the world except Peru) that teaches guides how to evaluate, stabilize, and evacuate in the event of a medical emergency in a wilderness setting and then a separate course on the nuts and bolts management of a rescue scenario. As part of this second course, we would like to introduce an Emergency Response Plan which every company has on hand and utilizes if and when an emergency call comes in.
Through these professional development opportunities, we address the general organizational deficiencies of Emergency Responses in the Cordillera Blanca as well as the actual medical care that a person receives if they've been hurt.
We believe this is a great solution that keeps everyone involved and truly raises the bar here in Huaraz for dealing with the inevitable accidents that occur in the mountains. The WFR course alone will alter the way the every guide who takes it thinks, acts, and cares for their clients. It makes the Cordillera Blanca an exponentially safer place.
Without financial support, it's nearly impossible to convince the guides here to take these courses because they are living on such a shoestring already they simply cannot pay. The emergency response course and development of a common response plan will inject organization into chaos; it will help people understand the essential elements to efficient and effective rescue and give them an outline to follow when the unfortunate time comes that they need it. When Tyler's call came in, the first thing his rescue team did was get out their own plan and begin to follow the steps...
Supporting this cause would be the perfect way to honor the memory of Tyler, who loved his community in Huaraz and the amazing mountains above it. To make it safer for those who wish to experience their beauty would be a great legacy for this man who loved using his experience, appreciation & dedication to this corner of the world to share it with others. If you wish to support this mission, donations can be made to the following:
Anderson Foundation
c/o Kacy Murray
537 10th Avenue
Kirkland , WA 98033
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