Search and Rescue: A Wilderness Doctor’s Life-and-Death Tales of Risk and Reward is a thrilling collection of first-hand accounts of search and rescue operations from Oregon’s legendary Mount Hood and other exotic locations around the world, by wilderness physician Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg. The exciting tales offer a fascinating inside look at how SAR teams operate, as well as the importance of taking risks and how to mitigate outdoor accidents.  

Search and Rescue combines hard science and a gripping narrative to analyze the relationship between risk and reward in the mountains, and in daily life. Author and mountain rescue doctor Van Tilburg’s  tragic, sudden, life-altering accident on Oregon’s Mount Hood, where  he has saved countless lives himself, provides the springboard for a deep, complex story on how risk is essential to success, personal fulfillment, and wellness in our lives. But it is also a cautionary tale, from a mountain rescue doctor’s perspective, on how to mitigate risk and maximize safety to avoid dire consequences.