Putting their lives on the line to keep others safe in Yosemite

A story in SFGate about Yosemite Search and Rescue:

Once little more than a rag-tag group of climbers who volunteered to help rangers in emergencies, a separate search and rescue program was established by the park service in Yosemite in 1974. It is now a force of at least a dozen highly trained technicians, with support from 20 expert rock climbers, nearly 100 park rangers and dozens of specialists -- from scuba divers to search dogs -- who are on call when circumstances demand.

There is plenty of demand. There were 219 search and rescue operations in Yosemite National Park last year, 216 in 2005 and 207 in 2004. That's approximately 40 more missions every year than a decade ago, park officials said.