Mark Anderson

Mark is a Lieutenant with the Kirkland Fire Department near Seattle. He has been a firefighter since 1976 and has been teaching rope rescue for the last 10 years. He is a member of Kirkland’s Technical Rescue Team. Mark currently serves on the Technical Committee for PRI and is also the Equipment Supervisor.

Wayne Auer   1958-2005

Wayne was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident on Memorial Day 2005. His death leaves a huge hole in the Peak Rescue family and we will miss him dearly. At the time of his death, Wayne had been a Lifeguard with the City of San Diego since 1979 and held the rank of Sergeant. Along with his typical beach life guarding duties, Wayne was an Instructor and member of the Swift Water and Cliff Rescue Teams for the Lifeguard Service. As a member of these teams, he had been involved with over 75 river rescues and more than 100 technical rope rescues. Wayne had been teaching rope rescue since 1981. At PRI, he served on the Technical Committee and the Course Committee and typically taught the Specialist Course.

Peter Bloom

Peter is a Managing Director at General Atlantic LLC, where he has worked since 1996. Peter is based in New York and assists the CEO’s and senior management teams of GA portfolio companies globally. He is also responsible for technology assessments of investment prospects as well as providing guidance on emerging technology trends.

Peter has served on several public, private and non-profit boards. He has been actively involved with Peak Rescue Institute since its inception and currently serves as the Chairman of our Board of Directors.

Doug Bouck

Douglas is a Captain with the Miramar Fire Department located in San Diego, California. He has been in the fire service since 1998. Prior to the fire service, he was a helicopter crew chief with MCAS El Toro Search and Rescue in Orange County, California. Currently, Douglas is a member of his departments rescue committee and through his training and experience has helped improve his departments rescue tactics. He is a graduate of PRI’s Technical and Specialists courses and now serves on staff as an Apprentice Instructor and Peak’s Assistant Communications Advisor.

Kevin Brown

Kevin is a Captain with the Miramar Fire Department located in San Diego, CA. He has been in the fire service since 1993. After attending PRI’s Technician and Specialist level courses, he has helped bring his department’s rope rescue skills up to date and serves as the chairperson of their Technical Rescue Committee. Kevin has been an instructor since 2005 and is our Travel Supervisor.

Tom Brown

Tom’s background is in the construction industry. He is a retired member of Sheet Metal Worker’s Union Local #105. Tom’s main duties are maintenance and upgrade of the camp facilities and equipment. He has been doing that since 2004 and is appropriately nicknamed, the Human Swiss Army Knife.

Mike Calhoun

Mike is a Fire Captain with Jackson County Fire District #3 located in southern Oregon. He has been a member of his department since 1994 and an original member of his department’s technical rescue team since its inception in 1996. Mike also teaches a rescue class at the local community college and is an adjunct instructor for the local fire academy. Mike also serves as our Safety Officer.

Frank Carus

Frank has been climbing rocks and mountains since 1983 and working as a climbing guide off and on since 1993. Currently he is a US Forest Service Snow Ranger on Mount Washington, NH. Professional guides training includes AMGA Alpine Guides Course, Certified Rock Instructor Exam, and Aspirant Ski Mountaineering Guide program. Frank is also a Team Leader for Mountain Rescue Service and an EMT and Firefighter for Brownfield Volunteer Fire Department and Fryeburg Rescue in rural western Maine. Frank enjoys collecting exotic canned goods, inner-tube origami and competitive mopping in his spare time. Frank serves on the Technical Committee.

John Everhart

John has been an ocean lifeguard for the San Diego City Lifeguard Service since 1984. He has been a member of the River Rescue team for 17 years, the Boating Safety Unit for 15 years, and the Cliff Rescue team for 5 years. He has received national awards for excellence in various rescue disciplines. John has participated in several hundred technical rescues, either on the coastal cliffs of San Diego, or in flooded river areas. He is rated at the instructor level for all types of aquatic rescues, including rescue boat handling and Marine Firefighting.

John Giddings

John has been a Firefighter/EMT with Snohomish County Fire District #1 near Seattle since 1979. He is a member of the department’s Technical Rescue Team and also the South Snohomish County Zone Task Force. John has been teaching various rescue disciplines since 1993. He serves as Secretary/Logistics Officer and is a member of the Finance and Course Committees.

Darren Jeffrey

Darren, served as professional Wildland Firefighter for 9 years before Starting Alpine Training Services (ATS) in 1999. An avid Rock Climber of 25 years reinforces the backbone of Darren’s life goal, the intent of spending more time in a harness. Consequently Darren has also pioneered the sport of Canyoneering and Canyon Rescue in the United States. He also contributes his knowledge as a lead researcher and rope developer for the Sterling Rope Companies new product line. Darren hold’s a varied range of industry related training certifications and works closely with law enforcement and military teams across the country in vertical rope access and rescue training programs.

Stephen Katz

Steve has been a New York City Fireman since 1983. He spent 18 years working in Harlem and the Bronx before transferring to Special Operations in 2001. Steve teaches with the FDNY Technical Rescue School and is also a member of USAR New York Task Force 1.

Ben Lewis

As 15 year lifeguard in San Diego Ben has logged numerous rescues along the coastal cliffs of Black’s Beach and Sunset Cliffs. Ben has been with the Peak team since 2005. He has also been a rope rescue instructor with the SD Lifeguards since 2005.

Javier Lopez

Javier is a Firefighter with Jackson County Fire District #3 in Southern Oregon. He’s been a member of the department since 2003 and been with their Technical Rescue Team since 2004. He is also involved with Rogue Community College teaching Rescue Courses..

Daryl McDonald

Daryl is a lifeguard with the City of San Diego and has been with the department since 1986. Daryl is a cliff rescue instructor, a member of their swift water rescue team and a member of USAR Califrornia Task force 8. Daryl is also a California State Fire Training Instructor for Low Angle Rope Rescue Operational (LARRO Course). As with all the San Diego lifeguards, Daryl brings a wealth of actual rescue experience to the Peak Rescue team.

Edith Pinson

Edith is our logistics coordinator, more commonly known as “Queen of the Gear Cache”. She is responsible for tracking our equipment and managing our administrative functions in the field. She is also the one who welcomes our students and makes them feel at home. She can often supply a grateful student with a few feet of cordage or the gloves that they forgot to pack. She has been with our team since the beginning. Edith has a wealth of backcountry experience and has climbed, skied and hiked in places around the world.

Glenn Pinson

Glenn has been a Firefighter and Paramedic with the Beverly Hills, CA Fire Department since 1989. He is a member of their Technical Rescue Team and has been teaching Technical Rescue since 1988. Glenn also brings climbing and guiding experience to our program. Glenn serves as our Operations Officer and is also a member of the Finance and Scholarship Committees.

John Sanfilippo

John works for Loveland Fire Rescue in Colorado. He has been there since 1998 and currently holds the position of Engineer. In 2003, John was assigned manager of the department’s rope rescue program. He has been involved with rope rescue since 1998 with three different agencies in Northern Colorado. John began teaching with us in 2004. He enjoys traditional rock climbing which compliments his interest in rope rescue.

Zach Smith

Zach has been a Firefighter/Paramedic with Rocklin Fire Department since 2007. He began as an instructor with PRI in 2005. Zach’s background includes volunteer firefighting with Cal Fire, ocean lifeguarding with the Los Angeles County Fire Dept., outdoor guiding and backcountry rescue. Zach also serves as a medic in Africa with Mission to Heal, an international aid organization.

Kevin Smoker

Kevin is a lifeguard working for the City of San Diego since 2001. After completing the Technician and Specialist courses, Kevin has helped to train his peers through in service training. In addition to lifeguarding, he teaches SCUBA and Coastal Cliff Rescue courses for Miramar Junior College. Kevin’s background includes climbing, backpacking, and trail running.

Andy Speier

Andy has worked in the fire service since 1977. Currently, he is the Battalion Chief of Special Operations for the McLane-Black Lake Fire Department (WA) and a is coordinator for their Special Operations Rescue Team. He has worked for several departments in the Puget Sound area and was a NYC Firefighter assigned to Ladder 4 and Engine 54 in Midtown Manhattan. He is an Adjunct Faculty member for the Puget Sound Community College Fire Service Program and is the Director of the Western Region of Spec. Rescue International based out of Seattle. He has taught fire and rescue classes for fire and law Enforcement agencies throughout North America. Andy has lectured at several national and state rescue conferences. Currently, Andy is the Instructional Coordinator for Peak Rescue and chairs the Scholarship Committee.

Matt Speier

Matt is a FDNY paramedic and has been involved in rescue work since 2000 as a Certified level ski patroller through National Ski Patrol and the Professional Ski Patrol Association. He is a contributing writer for National Ski Patrol’s Mountain Travel & Rescue Manual. Matt coordinates and conducts lift evacuation and rope rescue training for the Belleayre Mountain Ski Patrol where he has worked since 2001. He is a lead rescue technician for New York Search & Rescue and teaches Rope Rescue Ops for a community college fire science degree program.

Jarod Trow

Jarod is a Firefighter/Paramedic with the Bellingham, WA Fire Department where he started in 2003. He got his start in rope rescue as a member Mountain Rescue Aspen and eventually served as Training Officer for the team. Jarod began teaching rope rescue in 1999 and continues to enjoy working with students from a variety of agencies. Jarod serves on PRI’s Technical Committee and takes pictures for the company’s website and other media.

Kevin Wakashige

Kevin is a Firefighter/Paramedic with the San Diego Fire Department and has been there since 1998. Before that Kevin worked for the San Diego Lifeguard Service for 15 years and was a member of their Cliff Rescue Team. Kevin has been instructing rope rescue since 1991.

Mike Walker

Mike is an engineer with the Boise, ID Fire Department where he has worked since 1995. He is also a member of the Boise-Ada County Technical Rescue Team. Mike serves on the Technical Committee and is our Special Needs Supervisor.

Jeff Weaver

Jeff serves on the Finance and Contract Committees. Jeff has been working as a Firefighter and Paramedic since 2000 and currently works for the Forsyth County Fire Department just north of Atlanta, GA. Jeff is a member of the National DMORT team and has been teaching Technical Rescue since 1993.

Jon Vipond

Jon Vipond is a sergeant in the Lifeguard Division of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. He is a member of the Lifeguard Cliff Rescue Instructor staff and a Swift Water Rescue Team supervisor. Jon is also an adjunct instructor at Miramar College in San Diego where he teaches multiple rescue-related disciplines including Low Angle Rope Rescue Operational (LARRO). In 2004, Jon completed one of Peak’s first Technician courses, and the following year he completed the Specialist course. Jon has been instructing with Peak Rescue since 2005 and he serves on the Technical Committee.