How to get involved in mountain rescue?

I've been thinking about ways I can apply climbing in other ways than purely a hobby for enjoyment, and am pretty interested in mountain rescue. Do any of you guys have advice on how to get involved?
Additionally, are there other ways I haven't considered to apply climbing in less of a hobbyist way?

Thanks :)

A good place to start is your local Search and Rescue team. Most Counties that have mountains within their borders have some type of technical rope rescue team and are always looking for volunteers that are active and excited.

I once heard (reputably) of a search and rescue class that would take volunteers to be "the victim". That maybe a way to get a foot in the door, if that sort of thing exists in your area.

When I moved to Las Vegas I looked up the SAR website local to Red Rocks and Mount Charleston, they had a link to fill out for anyone interested in getting involved. I filled it out 2 or 3 times over the years and at the end it says someone will contact you when the need arises for more people to get involved and they can start training you. 6 years later....no one has ever reached out to me.
Currently practicing as a Physician Assistant (PA-C) with a master degree.
Past history, ran on an ambulance for 5 yrs (we worked hand in hand with SAR), worked as a wild land firefighter for 5 yrs, 2 of which was on a helicopter, 2.5 yrs in an ER and >10 yrs trad, ice, alpine climbing, white water kayaking,  spelunking, and am an active trail runner.
Still only hear crickets....
My guess is if one wants to get involved with SAR, in my case like RR, I am assuming any major destination area, i.e. Yosemite, Moab, etc,  you would need to know someone and have an “in” then show more initiative and follow up. I just put my name out there but didn’t follow up much more than that. I’ve gotten busy since, but plan on taking the NOLS and Wilderness First Aid course in the next year and we’ll see where it goes from there.
Good luck, go get’em!

Good luck. I had similar interests many years ago and ended up getting into EMS instead. There are more opportunities now than back then but they're still slim, especially in the SE. As has been said, most are volunteer-based (Stokes County handles the Sauratown Mtns area, Burke County the Linville area, and Brevard Rescue the PNF area). Traditionally, Outward Bound played a big role in Linville extractions as well, as they were by far the most skilled with ropes... but nowadays National Guard helicopters have been used to pick them straight from the scene and it seems that long carry-outs/or hauls are mostly a thing of the past there. Anyway, here is a new climber-specific rescue group that would be worth getting in touch with.

https://www.appalachianmountainrescue.org/

Search and rescue involves lots of training, and far more searches than rescues. Of the few rescues, not many are technical rescues involving climbing. That said, poke around on this site, for more information:

http://mra.org/

They are the parent organization for a great many SAR groups. 

Also consider looking into groups that bring climbing to folks who wouldn't otherwise have access. We have a group here that works with disabled "kids" of all ages (and all disabilities) called Courageous Kids. It is heaps of fun to volunteer when they come to town, as a climbing coach and belayer in whatever gym they are at.

Best, Helen

After decades of wilderness and climbing, from the 70s, I got interested about 15 years ago, took about 5 years to cycle in and get really involved, worked for about another 7 on a busy team as a hard charger, hundreds of lives. Then moved more into structured e-med and remote medicine with further education. It's not for everyone, but was a calling for me; both the greatest and worst experiences ever. It's not what you think it is. It's incredibly rewarding, but can be a real gut check, and can be a real financial money suck.
 
I know climbers that won't have anything to do with the enjoyment of climbing, skiing, or the wilderness any more as their mental health really declined with repeated callouts of nothings, or bad shit, or even good shit that they lost interest in. I still work extensively in remote medicine, but I'm stupid and still a crazy fucker.

My advice is to talk with the people in your area and see if you'd be a fit. Anyone that gives you a pager for showing up the first week is a mistake, but if they can take 4-6months and work you in and mentor you, that's more ideal.  

drink heavily before you go and while recreating,  pick an inexperienced partner for a major, technically ambitious objective, and leave a bunch of gear and clothing behind.  Start late, right before some major weather systems, climb fast and try to push some major new route variations. Don't think too much, go with your gut and keep moving.  

That should work. 

Follow nbrown's advice, Appalachian Mountain Rescue has been trying to navigate the political process of creating a workable team in NC. In the interim they train on a regular basis. 

Best wishes for a successful experience.  For me, mountain sAR was extremely rewarding, challenging, and fulfilling - one of the highlights of my life.  

I amnow in my 80s and was active  primarily from 1958 to 1985 in southern Arizona - varied terrain,including cave rescue (really demanding), swift water operations, andall kinds of stuff.  As others have noted, many, if not most, SAR ops involve lost hikers, etc. and do not require technical skills.  you usually do not know this at the begiining of an operation, so your climbing skills may come into play in the most unanticipated circumstances.

SAR requires you to demonstrate individual initiative, while simultaneously functioning as a team member - one of its most rewarding aspects. Your people handling skills will develop and thrive, probably to become useful in other aspects ofyour life.

In Arizona and most western states, i believe the county sheriff is primarily responsible for SAR and similar emergencies.  They typically rely on individual volunteer SAR organizations.  There should be some sort of website and regularly scheduled meetings'

If all else fails, move toTucson, AZ, and join SARA (Southern Arizona Rescue Association), my old group, still operating and thriving as never before.  they will take you in and give you an opportunity to show your stuff and develop your skills

One broad field of application would be to enable field scientists to collect specimens/data from tricky situations.  During my career as an archaeologist, climbing skills were useful on several occasions and i have assisted three other archies and a couple of paleontologists in retrieving specimens from difficult vertical environments Usually rappel work, but all kinds of weird possibilities.

As an aside, i can assert that the first 5.8/5.9 routes were ascended around 1100 CE, at least in Canyon de Chelly.  Probably earlier there and elsewhere.

Years ago, I retrieved a dropped camera via rappel at Mesa Verde.  You just never know.

• A good foot in the door might be joining your local ski patrol. Almost all volunteer patrols will provide training. If you’re genuinely interested in getting outdoors and helping people, ski patrol may be a quicker option than trying to join a SAR. There’s a lot of knowledge and training you can get as a patroller which could help get you into a SAR. 

From what I have observed, SAR, in the southern Apps, consists mostly of walking trail, looking for overdue hikers.

James Lee wrote: From what I have observed, SAR, in the southern Apps, consists mostly of walking trail, looking for overdue hikers.

Helping people with sprained ankles is #1 in Acadia NP

James Lee wrote: From what I have observed, SAR, in the southern Apps, consists mostly of walking trail, looking for overdue hikers.

In SW Colorado it is looking for people on their ATV. Too much booze or herb or both and not paying attention.

Regarding the comments about "mostly search" and finding lost hikers and ATVers....
Salt Lake County Sheriff's SAR has a FaceBook public page that contains a summary of every call-out. There have been 43 so far this year. A lot of them involve little or no climbing or rigging expertise, but a lot of bushwacking in rugged, steep terrain, often at night. Check it out at: https://www.facebook.com/slcosar/

Here's a very common write up:

Rescue #40:  Lone Peak/Little Willow
 Call-out time:  7:45 pm Sunday 10/6/2019

SLCOSAR was called out Sunday evening around 7:45 for an 18 year old male lost hiker on Lone Peak.  The hiker reported starting from Orson Smith trail head midday and using the Cherry Creek Logging Trail to summit Lone Peak.  On the descent, he lost the trail and ended up in the Little Willow drainage.  He evidently followed Willow Creek downhill for several miles and hours until in thick brush and at dark called 911 for help.  His location was estimated to be near the actual Willow Creek at an elevation of 7500’, based on his mobile phone call.

A SAR team of 7 members was deployed from Hidden Valley park in Sandy.  They used the Sawmill trail to ascend into Willow Creek as far as possible on trail and began “bushwhacking” uphill in the Willow Creek drainage at an elevation of about 6800’.  They were able to locate the patient around midnight.  After giving the patient water, food, warm clothing and a light, they all began the trip home.

A slightly easier and faster path downhill  was identified with the help of a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter, which was flying overhead, assisting with the search.  The team and patient were safely off the mountain around 2:00 am Monday morning.

There are both paid and volunteers SAR opportunities. If you want to go the paid route, becoming a climbing ranger in a national park is really the only avenue. These positions are highly sought after and extremely competitive...expect to pay your dues for years before landing one of these coveted positions....and you better know your stuff.

Like others have said, many states have volunteer based SAR teams. Though every state is different, the best advice I can give you is get involved with the team in some way. Attend a public meeting, help them fundraise etc...

Also, keep in mind the kinds of “missions” that teams commonly respond to varies greatly by the type of terrain in their response area. The busiest team in the nation with actual vertical climbing rescues is either YOSAR or RMR out of Boulder (el dorado and flatirons). My SAR team is just south of RMRs territory but we only do 4 or 5 vertical rescues a year. However, we do a lot more high altitude mountaineering rescues (we have 4 14ers in our territory) and avalanches in winter. 

Lastly, if you do decide to join a volunteer SAR team, please understand the level of commitment required. We respond to 130 - 150 missions a year and during the busy months, it’s not uncommon for me to spend 20+ hours a week on calls. All of this is time away from my family, job and personal recreation. I’m not even counting all of the training, meetings and other ancillary activities that come along. Of course, some teams don’t have this mission load, all depending on the number of people and activities in their territory.

If you are angling for a slot specializing in SAR in the National park Service, make plans to win the lottery as well.  Those positions are a tiny fraction of the staff.I speak as an NPS retiree,functioned as an archaeologist, and did SAR work as a volunteer in southern Arizona.

Hereis a link to the SARA web page.  The organization is busier than ever:   facebook.com/ArizonaRescue

Note that a couple of years ago, they experienced a repeat of a June, 1981 incident - a flash flood that in1981 drowned eight people instantly.  We were a week finding and retrieving all the bodies.  I rappelled down one waterfall to extricate the remains of one young lady.

Time commitments vary with the group and individual circumstances. We typically had about eighty members, and at any given time, about twenty to twenty-five would respond, which was sufficient.   I was absent most of the summer, conducting job related field work.  different groups may have different expectations.

Even in Yosemite, which has seen many historically significant vertical rescues, a fair amount of time is devoted to searching for lost and overdue hikers.  Particularly before the advent of cell phones, you often had no idea of what kind of situation might develop when an operation began.  You won't spend all your time on 5.12c routes and if you are there, you will probably be rappelling them.  Still, skill and comfort in the vertical environment will serve you, and the group, as well as the victimw, well.

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