Opinion on your local SAR team/agency

I live in Salt Lake, and most counties in UT have a volunteer SAR team. I'm curious as to what you think of your local SAR team.

Do you feel they're competent?
Do you feel you're more competent than they are?
What's your thought regarding teams made up of volunteers compared to paid members?
Do you think they do a great job?
Do you feel they need to do more public outreach?
Good/bad experiences with your SAR team.
Comparisons between teams of diff areas.

You start - what do you think of yours?

I trust most SAR teams to retrieve my corpse from any hilltop.

I'm probably a little biased since I've got friends on Salt Lake Co SAR. It certainly looks like they know what they're doing, and doing it in a safe manner. I feel like I've got enough skills to be a part of SAR, and I'm sure there would still be training to bring it up to rescue standards.

Paid vs volunteer: I think this would be more dependent on the way the team is operated. If the SAR leaders of a team keep a regular training schedule and practice often, then I don't think there would be too much of a difference between paid vs volunteer. It seems like paid teams have more medical training, and they probably have more experience. From the guys/gals on Salt Lake SAR, I think they certainly are very capable and competent to handle it.

I think more public outreach should occur in some fashion; doesn't have to be from SAR. Could be from the forest service or police. I had a Salt Lake SAR brochure on my car the other week, which I thought was great because it showed that they were out there.

Glacier National Park SAR (British Columbia, Roger's Pass) had a fantastic pilot who landed in a tight little opening of trees this past winter for my friend with a dislocated hip. I don't have any other experiences with SAR.

"Do you feel you're more competent than they are? "

Comparing SAR to a multi-pitch climbing pair is apples to oranges. And if you see a need for improvement, sign up and work from the inside, dude.

Bill Lawry wrote:"... sign up and work from the inside, dude.

I always hate these attempts to slight people in an attempt to get them to join what amounts to a local political organization because they have a criticism. My opinion of my local orginization can exist outside of any attempt to fix it.

"Do you feel you're more competent than they are? "

This question is to elicit a response regarding your thought on their competency. A guy I know, who was being rescued after breaking a leg in an avalanche, was telling me that he had to tell the SAR guys what knots to use, and that they were making things way more complicated than what was needed. Some folks may get the impression that they may know more.

That's all I was getting at. I don't have any direct criticism of my local SAR team or any issues or concerns. I do agree that there is so much more to a rescue compared to a climbing pair out enjoying the day.

Fair enough.

I'll still maintain that was an apples to oranges comparison

I personally witnessed a high ranking member of my local team climb past a set of mussy hooks and then cross over the gates then lower to clean a route to the left. In the process he managed to unclip from the right hook and there was a bite of rope running over the left gate. He was moments away from needing to be rescued by his own organization. This is just one incident out of many. The problem with my local group isn't a lack of new recruits it's an absence of seasoned old timers who have been usurped by politically minded zenren back stabbers. So yes I think they could do better.

Okay - I'll go ...

"Do you feel they're competent? "
Largely, yes. Perfect, no.

"Do you feel you're more competent than they are? "
No - not in the unique capabilities they have for high angle rescue and other rescues requiring organized effort. This is where our local SAR shines relative to your average - even above average - climbing pair where one is badly injured.

"What's your thought regarding teams made up of volunteers compared to paid members? "
I have no comparative experience. My understanding is that ours is a volunteer organization.

"Do you think they do a great job? "
Yes - for the most part.

"Do you feel they need to do more public outreach? "
Not sure. Is this question about increasing public awareness of their services or soliciting others to join? One challenge they do have as a volunteer organization is vetting and training up new folks.

"Good/bad experiences with your SAR team. "
Good based on twice playing victim for their field practice and on their help when partner badly twisted / broke an ankle.

"Comparisons between teams of diff areas."
No comparative experience.

I'll add that organized rescues take time. If one is going to call, do it as soon as practical to give them maximum daylight.

Do you feel they're competent?
Yes. Our non-Alpine team has a specific rope rescue team that requires outside certification as rope rescue techs to the NFPA level, etc. They train monthly at the various hotspots for rescues and come up with exercises pulled from many accidents posted online.
The non-rope team is full over voulunteers that take about a year to get certified, to the standard that the state sets.

Do you feel you're more competent than they are?
Overall, no. There are a few volunteers that shouldn't be doing it.... But overall I don't fear them saving me.

What's your thought regarding teams made up of volunteers compared to paid members?

These men and women give up hundreds of hours of their own time, their own fuel, thousands of dollars on gear to hike in awful weather (usually) and at night (usually) for the compensation of cold pizza if they are lucky... I haven't met a local sherif deputy or fire fighter that is willing to do the same...

Now, I have met some paramedics that do wilderness rescue, but of course, politics come into play as to when they can be deployed...

Do you think they do a great job?
Yes.

Do you feel they need to do more public outreach?
They are working on it - the big thing now is to explain to people that most rescues don't cost taxpayers money... or a lot of money... every time a rescue is on the news comments fly around about "we should charge for rescue" yet 99% of the rescuers out there don't want that since it would likely delay someone lost/injured from calling because they don't want to pay and then it makes their chance of survival that much lower.

Good/bad experiences with your SAR team.
All good.... except for the one guy that forgot deodorant...

Comparisons between teams of diff areas.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. We have one team that excels at alpine/mountain rescue... I wouldn't want them doing a normal ground/grid search... But I trust my life to them on the mountain.
K9 teams... /sigh..... no comment....

I see some rope teams where they bought multiple $700 CMC MPDs and that is all they know... show them a munter or a prusik or anything else that you might have to work with and they brush it off. Our local team has MPDs.... but also regularlly trains with I'Ds, Scarbs, Munters, ATC-guides, etc, etc. They spend full days trying out various types of belay devices that climbers would be using to get familiar with them all for locking off, escaping belay, rappelling ,etc --- training builds confidence...