Today, we’re continuing our conversation with Dean Rosnau. If you haven’t listened to Part I yet, I highly recommend checking that out before diving into this episode.

We pick up with one of the most personal and tragic stories in Dean’s life: the loss of his close friend, Pete Schoerner, in an ice climbing accident. This part of the conversation is heavy—graphic at times—so please proceed with that in mind. But it’s also an important story, one that opens the door to a deeper conversation around grief: how it manifests, how we process it, and what it looks like to live on the other side of profound trauma.

From there, we shift focus to a more positive side of the SAR experience—a rescue that saved three skiers’ lives after a cornice collapse on Mt. Dana. We explore why, despite the complex technical skill required and the real risk involved, nearly all search and rescue work remains volunteer. What does that mean for the people who do it—and what drives them to keep showing up?

We also talk about the long-term emotional effect of saving a life. To witness someone you’ve rescued go on to live, have children, and impact the world—it changes something in the rescuer too.

We close the episode by talking about Matthew Greene, a missing climber Dean has been searching for over the past 13 years. We go into the details of his disappearance, the painstaking efforts to find him, and the difficult question: when is it time to stop searching?

You’ll hear both Dean and I reference a book throughout this conversation—The Shortest Straw: Search and Rescue in the High Sierra. It’s Dean’s memoir, filled with some of the most powerful stories from his 35 years in SAR. This podcast only scratches the surface. I encourage you to grab a copy and dive deeper.

You can find the link to the book HERE

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Resources

Dean's Book "The Shortest Straw: Search and Rescue in the High Sierra"

Dean's Website

Dean's IG