If variety is the spice of life, I guess this job has it!



Day and night.


You're never really sure when you start a shift, just what it is that you will be doing.
But one thing is certain. There are bears!




The bears have been out for a while now, and the main goal is to keep the bears and people from killing each other. This tends to involve a lot of bear-sitting. This might be trying to stop traffic on the Trans Canada highway if the bear family decides to attempt a crossing, or it might be 'encouraging' them to try a different place or time. We don't have any fencing or fancy bear crossings here, it is just paws on the pavement (and rails). These bears are not collared, so it takes a bit of intuition and detective work to locate them and 'facilitate' their survival. Here is a pic of #72 and her pair of year-old cubs after yet another safe road crossing.
(you can click on the photos for a bigger view)(This is safe, but don't try to get closer in real life)















I think it was Friday night, and I was finished herding bears and tourists for the day and was relaxing at home when our dispatch centre called.

Apparently there had been a serious motor vehicle collision near Golden, BC, west of here, and they wanted to fly a patient to the trauma centre in Calgary. My job was to be an 'air traffic controller' and coordinate the meeting of the STARS -1(Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society) helicopter from Calgary and the ambulance unit from Golden.














Because this was to take place in Yoho National park, at one of several pre-determined transfer points, I was required to open gates to a closed section of road (for the ambulance, not the helicopter!), make sure the landing zone was safe and secured, and to provide communication between all the parties.














The weather was ideal. Clear, calm, and a big full moon to make the night vision goggles effective.
A few minutes after the Star-1 landed, around 1 AM, the ambulance arrived and the patient was transferred and was soon on the way to advanced care in Calgary.
















Here is what the machine looks like in daylight (file photo).


Ho-hum, just another day (and night) on the job.