Rescuer Portrait
October 16, 2024
Tor André is a veteran volunteer rescuer located in Tromsø, Norway. By day, he is an IT consultant and senior advisor at the University Hospital of North Norway, but his dedication extends beyond office hours.
Tor André remains on call 24/7 in case of emergencies in the mountains. With three rescue kits prepared–one at home, one at the office and one in the car–he is always ready to respond to a mission.
Tor André is a member of both the Norwegian Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team (Røde Kors Hjelpekorps) and the Norwegian Alpine Rescue Group (Norske Alpine Redningsgrupper) and has been involved in approximately 50 avalanche rescue missions over the last four decades.
We sat down with Tor André to learn about his life and rescue work, something he’s been doing since 1979.
What does your life look like as a volunteer rescuer?
Since I work as an IT consultant, my work and my passion for search-and-rescue are two separate things. As a volunteer rescuer with the Norwegian Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team and the Norwegian Alpine Rescue Group, I can be called to an accident at any time so I always have to be prepared. I keep a kit of rescue equipment with me at all times - one stays at work, one stays in the car, and one is always packed at home.
For instance, at the end of April, I had just made a pizza for my wife and opened a bottle of wine when a rescue call came in. Two skiers had triggered an avalanche south of Tromsø. Luckily, both skiers managed to free themselves. Then in May, just after completing a RECCO SAR exercise, there was an alpine rescue call for a skier trapped in ‘Øksehugget’ in Tamokdalen.
Can you describe what types of accidents you get called to assist with?
Nearly half of all avalanche fatalities in Norway happen in Tromsø county. The avalanches are not only triggered by skiers, but also include snowmobilers, hunters, and other recreationists. When the avalanches are closer to towns, they cause damage to houses, buildings, and roads such as the E8, the main highway to Tromsø.I am also involved in lots of year-round missions for missing people (for example, elderly persons with dementia or preschool-aged children who are missing).
Alpine Rescue Group gets calls to do ‘high angle’ rescues when rescue helicopters cannot reach the victims. These require climbing up and down peaks, specialized training and equipment, and special techniques due to the unique challenges of steep and vertical terrain.
We also get called when professional rescuers don’t have the capacity, knowledge, or experience for high-angle rescues. The amount of time it takes to reach an accident location depends. For close-by avalanches, it may take between 10 to 30 minutes. The longest missions can take 4 to 5 hours by car or 2 hours by plane. If we go to Lyngen by car it takes 2 hours, but if we go by helicopter it takes 10 to 30 minutes.
Why did you become a rescuer?
I have had a passion for mountaineering since a very young age. When I started with the Red Cross, it became like a family. You feel a connection with the group – and it becomes a kind of an addiction. People in the rescue organization have different skills (some are snowmobilers, climbers, organizers, etc.) but everyone shares the same passion for the outdoors and being able to make a difference when needed. Although my adrenaline-chasing desire has slowed down, mountain rescue has become an integral part of my lifestyle. When a callout comes, I feel like I need to be around. It’s hard to ignore that we as rescuers can make such a difference for either the person directly involved and almost always for their family.
How many avalanches have you responded to?
I stopped counting after 15 years, but I would guess I have been involved in 40-50 avalanche missions (1-2 per year) over the last 44 years.
What’s the difference between volunteers and pro rescuers?
Professionals attend missions when they’re at work or on duty, but not when they are off-duty, at home. Volunteers get calls whenever–it could be when you're at home at night, or when you are in an important business meeting. Volunteers respond if they are able and can choose to go or not depending on the situation and their availability. On average there is one callout of some sort every other week, so all volunteers cannot attend all callouts. That would interfere too much with their jobs, families, and private life.
What’s the biggest challenge in your work?
As far as missions go, considerable risks are involved when going to avalanche-prone areas. If a skier is caught in an avalanche, it’s clear that there is an avalanche danger already. You don’t want to be that next skier!
Volunteers need to have the knowledge and experience to adapt to very different scenarios. Avalanches and alpine rescues are often very challenging and in dangerous areas demanding special skills to stay safe. Searches for missing kids or elderly people in urban areas have less risks involved but higher demands regarding organization and management.
Even if I´ve done it many times, it’s still a challenge to witness a deceased person. Avalanches and alpine rescues often tend to be definitive, either you survive or you don’t. It may be difficult to go out on a mission and know that we could be recovering a body.
What’s your biggest fear being outdoors? Do you approach the mountains differently since you’ve become a rescuer?
Because I’ve been to so many avalanche accidents, I know the consequences of being caught and buried, and it’s never far from the front of my mind when I’m in the backcountry.
My approach to the mountains has become more defensive in general. I tend to stay away from areas where I’ve been called to an avalanche rescue and seek ski tours when there is lower avalanche risk. Risk perception and evaluation is very personal, and I cannot judge other skiers' choices.
What would you like to tell people going outdoors?
Go out, and enjoy the outdoors and the scenery first and foremost, but be prepared and be searchable. Being searchable will make the search easier and put rescuers at less risk.
The longer rescuers stay on site, the more risks we take.
Today professional rescuers define an avalanche as a medical emergency. Meaning that if we know where an avalanche is and know where the victim is, the local ambulance helicopter will go directly to the scene and start with possible life-saving medical assistance. Volunteer rescuers are second to arrive.
