North Shore Rescue looking for volunteers

It's been a rough year for Mike Danks and the other 40 or so volunteers at North Shore Rescue, "to be honest, we kind of got our butts kicked," he said.

The outfit saw its busiest year ever in 2015 and says its members were stretched too thin.

Theyconducted138 rescues, the most in NSR's50 year history.

On average North Shore Rescue gets 90 calls a year, but saysan apparent trend towards hikers going into the backcountry unprepared may be behind the increase.

• NSR frustrated with ill-prepared hikers
• Backcountry mistakes highlighted by NSR
• 2015 busiest year ever for North Shore Rescue

"We are seriously taking a look at bringing on some new members, because we want to reduce the burden on our current members," said Danks.

Potential volunteers must havefirst-aid training and be familiar with the North Shore mountains.

"But we're really kind of focusing on fit with the team and availability," said Danks, adding that volunteers need to be available for at least 10 hours a week to attendtraining sessions and rescue calls.

The deadline for applying for one of seven spots isFriday, Jan 8, 2016.