Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team trainee Travis Compo, of Weathersfield, Vt., climbs through the brush while participating in a line search exercise in the woods behind the Hanover Fire Department in Hanover, N.H., on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Compo, who has been a volunteer firefighter for over a decade, said that he’s always been interested in joining a search and rescue team, but the widely publicized search and eventual recovery of Emily Sotelo, a lost 19-year-old hiker from Massachusetts, last November “kind of kicked it into high gear.” The major drive for Compo isn’t only the person in distress, but also a dedication to his team. “You don’t always respond specifically just for that subject or patient, you have team members going and they’re going to have to work harder if you don’t go,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed helping people and the camaraderie that’s involved in that.”
New Hampshire and Vermont are known for their landscapes. Hikers flock to Appalachian peaks worn down by millions of years of erosion, and the states’ dense forests draw thousands of tourists hoping to see the fleeting jewel-toned spectacle every autumn. The mountains of northern New England, though beautiful, can be unforgiving for those who become lost or injured in the backcountry. As interest in outdoor recreation has risen over the years, a sprawling network of volunteer search and rescue groups has been established to assist in wilderness emergencies.
The Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team, based in Hanover, N.H., responds to calls in both states. The team conducts fixed-point rescues for injured individuals, but the majority of their work involves searching every inch of an area, from the “point last seen” out. New members are put through extensive training to learn the skills they will need, and to understand the extent of the commitment they are making by joining the team. This year, 19 out of 43 trainees made it through to graduation – one of the highest retention rates the team has seen since its inception.
Jason Houle, left, of Wilder, Vt., and James Pardo, of White River Junction, Vt., practice using their compasses during a navigation training at the Hanover Fire Department in Hanover, N.H., on Thursday, March 16, 2023. Trainees learn the technical skills involved in executing a search, as well as behavioral differences that are important when searching for a subject with dementia, mental health issues or hypothermia that might make them more difficult to find.
Travis Compo, of Weathersfield, Vt., holds up a figure eight knot on a bight at the Hanover Fire Department in Hanover, N.H., on Thursday, April 20, 2023. Search and rescue requires a variety of skills, from the physical strength to carry a litter, to communicating with a subject in a way that can help to assess their injuries and keep them calm. “Everybody brings something different to the table,” Compo said. Knowing where to assign them “just comes down to knowing the team.”
A cross-country skier looks on as he passes by a group of UVWRT trainees, from left, Jen Hotaling, of Nashua, N.H., Peet Danen, of Fairlee, Vt., Travis Compo, of Weathersfield, Vt., Megan Maville, of Enfield, N.H., and Assistant Safety Officer Mike Garcia, of Newport, N.H., while they practice getting into the correct formation for a line search at the former golf course behind the Hanover Fire Department in Hanover, N.H., on Thursday, March 16, 2023. UVWRT Vice President and Training Officer Tom Frawley said line searches are usually one of the more difficult concepts for people to grasp, and he regularly reminds trainees to keep the people on either side of them in the formation in view.
Jen Hotaling, left, of Nashua, N.H., and Jason Houle, of Wilder, Vt., check their coordinates on a GPS unit during a team shakedown hike at Cardigan Mountain State Park in Orange, N.H., on Saturday, March 25, 2023. Hotaling has previously participated in wilderness EMT trainings to learn skills for her own personal use, but said that training with UVWRT felt different because of the understanding that “you will be actually interacting with real people who need your help,” she said. On multiple occasions full team members were pulled away from training exercises to attend real callouts, which Hotaling said made the experience more salient. “That reinforces how important it is for you to respond and know what you’re doing and not just be along for the ride.”
Clockwise from second to right Jake Cawvey, of Weathersfield, Vt., shows Peet Danen, of Fairlee, Vt., a container of stormproof matches that he used to light a fire that is being stoked by Rich Nguyen, of Nashua, N.H., and Megan Maville, of Enfield, N.H., as Zach Adams, of Hudson, N.H., Jason Houle, of Wilder, Vt., and Jen Hotaling, of Nashua, N.H., work on building a shelter at Cardigan Mountain State Park in Orange, N.H., on Saturday, March 25, 2023. When team members find an injured subject it can be hours before others arrive to help with a carryout, so they have to be able to keep them warm and out of the elements.
UVWRT trainees trek up above tree line toward the summit of Mount Cardigan during a team shakedown hike in Orange, N.H., on Saturday, March 25, 2023. Many of the group’s new members have started planning to do regular social hikes together outside of callouts. “I can’t imagine doing this work without sort of spending time with people outside of that setting,” UVWRT trainee Steven Deheeger, of Lebanon, N.H., said. “Social cohesion is so important to being able to respond and be mentally and emotionally healthy.”
Rich Nguyen, center, of Nashua, N.H., laughs as he talks to Steven Deheeger, left, of Lebanon, N.H., while the group stops for a snack after summiting Mount Cardigan during a team shakedown hike in Orange, N.H., on Saturday, March 25, 2023.
From left, Executive Officer Eric Bivona, of Norwich, Vt., Pat Barnes, of Vershire, Vt., and Jen Hotaling, of Nashua, N.H., fight their way through a thick stand of spruce trees while conducting a line search at Green Woodlands in Dorchester, N.H., on Sunday, April 30, 2023. Hotaling was surprised that bushwhacking, especially at night, felt more invigorating than frightening. “I think that knowing that people are doing the exact same thing five to ten feet away helps because you’re like ‘oh yeah, we’re all in this together,’” she said.
Zach Adams, left, of Hudson, N.H., stabilizes the bottom of a litter that Steven Deheeger, of Lebanon, N.H., is strapped to while Team Leader Scott Carpenter, second from right, and Vice President and Training Officer Tom Frawley hold it at an angle so Executive Officer Eric Bivona can attach a wheel in a field behind the Hanover Fire Department in Hanover, N.H., on Saturday, April 15, 2023. “This is kind of a big sacrifice,” UVWRT trainee Scott Roy, of Grantham, N.H., said. “Even if we don’t get called out as many times this year as last year, the unknown alone of it is a bit of a commitment. I’m so impressed with how organized the group is and how serious they are about it. It’s a really, really great service to the region.”
Scott Roy, right, of Grantham, N.H., checks on team member Alison Bowen, of Cornish, N.H., while, from left, Chris O’Reilly, of Marlborough, N.H., Megan Maville, of Enfield, N.H., and Zach Adams, of Hudson, N.H., observe during a patient assessment training on the former golf course behind the Hanover Fire Department in Hanover, N.H., on Saturday, April 15, 2023. Roy works in sports medicine and said the skills he has used in his job for years don’t always apply in the same way in search and rescue. “(If) somebody has a sudden emergency and they’re in distress, that evaluation is very different on a sports field with good ambulance access, and resources and equipment with you than it is out in the wilderness.”
Steven Deheeger, second from right, of Lebanon, N.H., and Rich Nguyen, of Nashua, N.H., high five after pulling a litter up the hill at Green Woodlands in Dorchester, N.H., on Saturday, April 29, 2023. “The first day was a lot of small talk and we were shaking hands, and then by the last training weekend the energy felt a lot more like being with family,” Deheeger said. “I think it’s amazing how quickly you bond with people when you have a shared mission, especially when that mission involves trudging through impenetrable forests and swamps in the middle of the night, and even more so when the mission potentially involves saving someone’s life.”
UVWRT Vice President and Training Officer Tom Frawley, center, walks around the room observing as teams establish their search plans for a final training exercise at Green Woodlands in Dorchester, N.H., on Saturday, April 29, 2023. Frawley has been a member of the team for over a decade and said that this training class is one of the largest he has seen, with 19 people successfully completing the training.
Steven Deheeger, of Lebanon, N.H., learns to do a handstand while being spotted by Rich Nguyen, left, of Nashua, N.H., and Zach Adams, of Hudson, N.H., at Green Woodlands in Dorchester, N.H., on Saturday, April 29, 2023.
Zach Adams, center, of Hudson, N.H., walks ahead of a litter-carry team hauling a rescue dummy out of the woods behind the Hanover Fire Department in Hanover, N.H., on Thursday, March 30, 2023. “Sometimes we put ourselves into spots where we don’t know how to get ourselves out, and sometimes we need a little help. Sometimes we don’t know if that’s coming, so it’s nice being the dude that shows up,” UVWRT trainee Rich Nguyen, of Nashua, N.H., said.
UVWRT trainees use headlamps to light their way out of the woods late at night after completing a simulated search at Green Woodlands in Dorchester, N.H., on Saturday, April 29, 2023. “There’s something chilling about walking through the woods and saying ‘listen’ and blowing the whistle as hard as you can, and it’s this piercing noise, and then just screaming someone’s name at the top of your lungs,” trainee Steven Deheeger, of Lebanon, N.H., said. “That moment of doing that as a team of eight people in the woods has stayed with me, and even though it was an exercise, to think of doing that when you’re actually trying to find someone – it just feels chilling to me.”
From left, Jeff Davis, of Cavendish, Vt., James Pardo, of White River Junction, Vt., Jason Rook, of Croydon, N.H., Amber Corriveau, of Croydon, N.H., and Travis Compo, of Weathersfield, Vt., listen during an early morning session on first responder mental health led by Mick Foot, front, of Keene, N.H., at Green Woodlands in Dorchester, N.H., on Sunday, April 30, 2023. Em McClure, of West Lebanon, N.H., said that she was surprised to hear how many callouts end in recoveries rather than rescues, and she isn’t sure how she’ll react to that aspect of team membership. “I think the team did a really great job introducing it saying look, this is gonna be hard, but we do try to support each other and these are some of the resources that we have available should it turn out that you don’t react well to it,” she said.
Newly-minted members of the Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team pick out their new blaze orange shirts during their graduation ceremony at Green Woodlands in Dorchester, N.H., on Sunday, April 30, 2023.
Newly-minted members of the Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team conduct a line search to find a hat and sweatshirt left out as clues during a training exercise the night before at Green Woodlands in Dorchester, N.H., on Sunday, April 30, 2023. New members got their first official call about a week after completing training, but they received the all clear shortly before many finished their two-hour drive to the scene. “If what it takes to find someone is for a bunch of people to jump in their cars and start driving, that’s what we’re there for,” Em McClure, of West Lebanon, N.H., said. “The important part is to find the person.”