M.L. Rowland

How far would you go to save the life of a stranger? Dangle on a rope over the edge of a cliff? Sleep outside in the winter with only a sleeping bag? Jump out of a helicopter into four feet of snow on the side of a mountain?

M.L. Rowland has done all of these things and more, all in the line of service as a mountain Search and Rescue volunteer.

Born, raised and, except for one year of high school in Hawaii, schooled kindergarten through college in the midwest, Rowland comes by her adventurous spirit honestly. Her mother pioneered for women’s rights in the early 1960’s. Her father—a neurosurgeon and marine scientist—was a world traveler and member of The Explorer’s Club. After college, Rowland lived and worked in Florida, Missouri, Connecticut and New York City, finally settling in the mountains of southern California where she joined the local Search and Rescue (SAR) team.

During her almost twelve years on Search and Rescue, Rowland participated in over five hundred search and rescue missions and trainings, including technical ropes rescues, helicopter insertions and evacuations, and searches for lost children, hikers, snowboarders, mountain bikers and criminal evidence, in mountain, desert and urban environments. She served as the team’s Training Officer and participated in community events and public speaking engagements. Trained in land navigation, and desert and winter survival, including avalanche awareness and self-arrest, she holds a certification in tracking from the State of California. Rowland served on her local Sheriff's Department Incident Management Team, including the team's advisory board. She drew upon many of her experiences and those of her husband, Mark, and other SAR team members for her mysteries.

Rowland is an avid political activist, naturalist and environmentalist. She is an accomplished painter and loves to snorkel. She has traveled to all fifty United States and throughout the world, including a camping safari in Kenya. As often as possible, she hikes and explores the slot canyons of Utah.

Rowland lives with her husband and their two dogs at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in south-central Colorado.