In the organization’s early days, team members were expected to supply and fund their own rescue and avalanche gear required to carry out rescues in both summer and winter conditions. To this day, WSAR members voluntarily perform rescues as a collective effort alongside the RCMP and the community it serves.

WSAR’s first operational location was in the fire hall at Mons Station.  In 1986, the WSAR team moved to a small space underneath the Municipal Hall. At that time the team’s gear consisted of four “unreliable” radios and a half dozen rescue ropes.

In October of 1994, everything changed. A young woman went hiking alone on Whistler Mountain and never returned. Many WSAR members and the community knew her. The search lasted for 7 days and involved over 120 local volunteers, including Search & Rescue teams from Pemberton, Squamish, Lions Bay, the North Shore, the Fraser Valley, and Vancouver Island. These other teams had their own rescue gear, team uniforms, vehicles, and other specialized equipment that enabled them to conduct large-scale rescue operations. WSAR had next to nothing. The October 1994 rescue operation was a watershed moment for WSAR; the organization recognized the importance of bringing their quality and standards closer to those of other SAR teams in British Columbia.

Community fundraising efforts gave the team the ability to purchase needed gear and conduct training for new and veteran members. To this day, an annual event known as “Wine’d Up” – WSAR’s largest fundraiser – continues to bring in the much needed funds that help run the organization so it can best serve the community of Whistler.