The Making of a Rescuer

About the Book

This is a book about the making of a hero - a rescuer. There are few of us that can claim to be bigger-than-life heroes, but surely the story of Dr. Otto Trott’s life is the story of one of these. Because of his existence many lives have been saved or improved, human suffering has been reduced, and the world is a better place. What greater statement can be made about a person?

A hiker sees the beautiful blue of a mountain gentian just off the trail and stops to capture the image through a snapshot, but in seeking a slightly wider angle steps back -- in a flash the hiker lies injured amid the rocks. A snowboarder searches for untouched powder snow, but finds a cliff instead. A small plane has engine trouble and glides steeply toward a mountain meadow. An early snowstorm catches two climbers exposed in the high alpine. An avalanche buries a foolish snowmobiler trying to make the highest mark on the side of snow-covered slope. An older gentleman has a heart attack far from his city hospital.

It’s quite possible and even probable that what all of the above have in common is Dr. Otto Trott. He co-founded the search and rescue organization that seeks out the injured and carries them down from the mountains, he pioneered the medical treatments that will be used for hypothermia and frostbite, he introduced advanced European methods of climbing as well as the identification of avalanche danger areas and the systematic search for and rescue of accident victims. Most importantly, Otto taught generations of others to follow in his footsteps.

As Lou Whittaker, the renowned mountain guide states, “This book is a must for anyone who seeks the mountains and their reward.” Dee Molenaar the acclaimed mountaineer, artist and writer, says that this treatise is long overdue, while the legendary high altitude premier climber Jim Wickwire writes that “Nicholas Corff has brought to life the fascinating story of Otto Trott…” There is no question that Dr. Otto Trott was one of those few men who was a legend in his own time, but he always remained a man of great empathy as well as skill who sought to relieve suffering, improve the safety of the outdoors and protect the mountain environment he so loved.

In his long and adventuresome life he overcame great loss with courage and perseverance, and ultimately was the recipient of many awards including the Jefferson Award. Along with the text there are over 250 full page photos and illustrations.

About the Author

Nicholas Campbell Corff holds Bachelor and Master degrees from Stanford University, with further education there under the official title of Graduate at Large. Mr. Corff served as a Peace Corps Volunteer and was a decorated U.S. Army officer. He was selected to be the first Director of the Stanford Workshops on Political and Social Issues, a large multi-discipline credit-granting program pioneered by Stanford University.

Mr. Corff moved to Seattle to take up duties as a consultant to school systems and municipalities, specializing in population forecasting as it relates to facilities and the environment. In this capacity he developed many computer-based tools for complex problem solving. Several computer software companies resulted from this work. Through this period he also became active in skiing, climbing, hiking, sailing and camping in the Pacific Northwest, including open ocean sailing to Hawaii.

He has served on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations, was the executive director of a successful program to bring 50 top scientists from the expiring Soviet Union for the first ever exposition of their work in the free world, and has written innumerable reports and studies. Mr. Corff has been a full-time writer and historian for the past twelve years and has recently completed two new books besides The Making Of A Rescuer.