Road Conditions         SAR Weather News & Information | Wilderness Safety | Alive & Kicking | Emergency Medicine Road Conditions | SAR Weather | Equipment | Maps & Navigation | GPS We have hand picked these links because of their interest to El Dorado County SAR members and others. We are always interested in tips about relevant, entertaining, and informative sites. If you have a nomination for our list, please contact us. TOP News & Information SARScene Magazine - A well-done, wide-ranging SAR magazine from Canada. Not every article's a grabber, but if you can't find something to interest you, you're comatose. Backpacker Magazine - Sections on skills, navigation, food, nutrition, first aid, survival, more. Outdoor Recreation Resources Directory - This "directory" site has little material of its own, but sports a big collection of links to other sites where the real action is. TOP Wilderness Safety (Safety & skill overlap, so some skills are listed at SAR Skills) Lightning Safety for Campers and Hikers - Some quick pointers on how not to get zapped from the National Lightning Safety Institute. According to their collection of. It Can't Happen To Me stories, most people survive. (For wilderness-specific advice, see also General Backcounty Safety below). General Backcounty Safety - From the Mountain Rescue Association. For anyone who hikes. Covers equipment, clothing, planning, natural hazards, etc. 21 pages. Avalanche Articles from Colorado Firstrax - Illustrated articles on measuring avalanche danger, traveling in avalanche country, the use of avalanche beacons, and more. Crossing Streams Safely - Streams are a part of most assignments. If you must cross them on foot, here's how to do it safely. From Santa Barbara SAR. Helicopter Safety Handout - A handy one-page list of safety rules for people who may be working on the patient near the helicopter. From Brandywine Hospital in Pennsylvania. TOP Alive & Kicking (and Biting & Stinging) Living with California Mountain Lions - Excellent page on this feline predator from the California Department of Fish and Game. Rattlesnakes - No medical info, but pictures and text explain identification, habits and territory. Spring Rattles In - Pictures, text and emergency medical treatment for the layman. Gets your interest. American Lyme Disease Foundation - Includes information on the new Lyme disease vaccines. TOP Emergency Medicine Learn CPR - Even if you're current in CPR, check this site out. It has well-illustrated guides to adult, child and infant CPR, and even a downloadable video. An excellent refresher or study aid. Snakebite Emergency First Aid - Complete and authoritative. Recommended reading for everyone, including First Responders and EMT's. TOP Road Conditions (So you think the roads are open all the way to base camp, huh?) Caltrans reports. The straight facts from the people who ought to know. Highway 49 Highway 50 Highway 88 Highway 89 Current Traffic Accidents - Real-time updates from the CHP dispatch center in Sacramento. TOP SAR Weather U.S. Weather Service. No fancy pictures, no ads. Just the facts, fast. Mother Lode Sierra Nevadas Lake Tahoe The Weather Channel. For those bleary 3:00 a.m. callouts, here it is in pictures. Placerville Lake Tahoe TOP Equipment Gear Review.com - Just what it sounds like. Reviews of backpacking equipment: boots, packs, clothing, etc. Equipped to Survive - Emergency survival on land, sea, air. Plus, actual tests of gear you might never see in stores. TOP Maps & Navigation Topographic Maps Online - Topozone.com has collected every USGS topo map in the United States and put them on the web, for free. While it's slower than CD maps like Topo! or Maptech, it's free, and it's faster than waiting for that map of Gopher Junction to arrive by mail. And did I mention it's free? Using UTM - This easy-to-read tutorial explains UTM in short bites with lots of illustrations. TOP GPS Peter Bennet's GPS Site - A variety GPS material, mainly links to other places. Good collection of software links. Not for beginners.