In a place as vast and extreme as Alaska, no one takes safety for granted. Whether adventurer or homesteader, tourist or native, people look out for themselves and for each other. But sometimes it just goes bad, and no amount of resourcefulness or resiliency can make it right. That’s when search and rescue teams kick into gear, launching operations by air and by land that have generated amazing tales of heroism, tenacity, and human kindness. Some of those stories have been gathered in Search and Rescue Alaska, including: Rescues on Denali, North America’s highest peak, from the mountain’s first search and rescue in 1932 to a rescue in 2017 that highlights the utility of modern equipment and decades of SAR experience A World War II search and rescue that ended with a remarkable recovery more than half a century later Rescues during the Good Friday quake of 1964 The rescue of mountaineering students and their instructors in the Chugach Range The rescue and recovery of Klondike-bound gold-seekers caught in an avalanche on the infamous Chilkoot Trail These stories and others in this compilation of essays will kindle a new appreciation for the skilled and selfless pilots, troopers, military personnel, and rangers on call for search and rescue in Alaska.

When the fishing vessel La Conte sinks suddenly at night in one-hundred-mile-per-hour winds and record ninety-foot seas during a savage storm in January 1998, her five crewmen are left to drift without a life raft in the freezing Alaskan waters and survive as best they can. One hundred fifty miles away, in Sitka, Alaska, an H-60 Jayhawk helicopter lifts off from America's most remote Coast Guard base in the hopes of tracking down an anonymous Mayday signal. A fisherman's worst nightmare has become a Coast Guard crew's desperate mission. As the crew of the La Conte begin to die one by one, those sworn to watch over them risk everything to pull off the rescue of the century. Spike Walker's memoir of his years as a deckhand in Alaska, Working on the Edge, was hailed by James A. Michner as "masterful . . . will become the definitive account of this perilous trade, an addition to the literature of the sea." In Coming Back Alive, Walker has crafted his most devastating book to date. Meticulously researched through hundreds of hours of taped interviews with the survivors, this is the true account of the La Conte's final voyage and the relationship between Alaskan fishermen and the search and rescue crews who risk their lives to save them.

A mountain search-and-rescue mission turns into a fight for their lives. Sent to find a wedding party that disappeared during a hike, Alaskan state trooper Hunter McCord and his K-9 partner, Juneau, discover bridesmaid Ariel Potter hanging from a cliff. But this was no accident — she was pushed — and her hiking companions are missing. Now it’s up to Hunter and Juneau to find them…and make sure whoever wants Ariel dead doesn’t finish the job. Mills & Boon Love Inspired Suspense — Courage. Danger. Faith.

A missing person rescue is now a K-9 manhunt for a killer… A missing person case sends search and rescue worker Elsie Montgomery and her K-9 to a remote Alaskan island…only to discover she’s got a target on her back. Now she must partner with pilot Wyatt Chandler, the one man she doesn’t trust, to stay alive while confronting her shadowy past. But can they capture a killer before their time together runs out for good? From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith. K-9 Search and Rescue Book 1: Desert Rescue by Lisa Phillips Book 2: Trailing a Killer by Carol J. Post Book 3: Mountain Survival by Christy Barritt Book 4: Search and Defend by Heather Woodhaven Book 5: Following the Trail by Lynette Eason Book 6: Dangerous Mountain Rescue by Christy Barritt Book 7: Wilderness Hunt by Lisa Phillips Book 8: Alaskan Mountain Search by Sarah Varland Book 9: Alaskan Avalanche Escape by Darlene L. Turner Book 10: Tracking Stolen Treasures by Lisa Phillips Book 11: Alaskan Wilderness Rescue by Sarah Varland Book 12: Lethal Mountain Pursuit by Christy Barritt

The epic memoir of an Alaskan pararescue jumper, Special Forces Operator, and decorated war hero. “That Others May Live” is a mantra that defines the fearless men of Alaska’s 212th Pararescue Unit, the PJs, one of the most elite military forces on the planet. Whether they are rescuing citizens injured and freezing in the Alaskan wilderness or saving wounded Rangers and SEALS in blazing firefights at war, the PJs are the least known and most highly trained of America’s warriors. Never Quit is the true story of how Jimmy Settle, an Alaskan shoe store clerk, became a Special Forces Operator and war hero. After being shot in the head during a dangerous high mountain operation in the rugged Watapur Valley in Afghanistan, Jimmy returns to battle with his teammates for a heroic rescue, the bullet fragments stitched over and still in his skull. In a cross between a suicide rescue mission and an against-all-odds mountain battle, his team of PJs risk their lives again in an epic firefight. When his helicopter is hit and begins leaking fuel, Jimmy finds himself in the worst possible position as a rescue specialist—forced to leave members from his own team behind. Jimmy will have to risk everything to get back into the battle and bring back his brothers. From death-defying Alaskan wilderness training, wild rescues, and vicious battles against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, this is an explosive special operations memoir unlike any that has come before, and the true story of a man from humble beginnings who became an American hero.

"A staple for paddlers.... [The Packraft Handbook has] now become the bible for outdoor recreators taking their inflatable rafts into the backcountry." ― Anchorage Daily News 2021 National Outdoor Book Award Winner in Outdoor Adventure Guides 2022 Banff Mountain Book Competition Guidebook Winner Alaska-based author is a leading expert on wilderness travel Emphasis on skill progression and safety applies to wide range of outdoor water recreation Vibrant illustrations and photos inform and inspire The Packraft Handbook is a comprehensive guide to packrafting, with a strong emphasis on skill progression and safety. Readers will learn to maneuver through river features and open water, mitigate risk with trip planning and boat control, and how to react when things go wrong. Beginners will find everything they need to know to get started--from packraft care to proper paddling position as well as what to wear and how to communicate. Illustrated for visual learners and featuring stunning photography, The Packraft Handbook has something to offer all packrafters and other whitewater sports enthusiasts.