The most important skill we look for in applicants is comfort in the mountains - the self-sufficiency to stay out multiple days, hike around off trail, and deal with weather as it comes. People who only go out in perfect weather on marked trails and stay in organized campgrounds after weeks of planning and research are not the kind of people who succeed at SAR.
The team teaches all the technical rescue skills we use, plus things like navigation (including white-out map and compass - kinda handy sometimes
), personal rope skills, and winter travel techniques (ice ax and crampon stuff). Experience backpacking, mountaineering, climbing etc is important not just for the skills, but because it shows you like being in the mountains and won't freak out when dropped out of a helicopter 10 miles from the nearest road. We all are EMTs, so coming in with a current certification will save you a semester of night school. Experience dealing with people having a bad day helps with the mental toughness that the job requires. But for those of you reading out there without medical experience, we don't require it at the beginning, and we take care of arranging the class for you if you pass the membership test. In fact, we have 5 EMT instructors on SMSR so all the hands-on training is done by members to prepare you for our unique EMS role.
When we put together a training class, there are people from a variety of backgrounds and experience levels. Over the course of the training program, everyone will be challenged and learn a lot. If you are thinking about it, send in an application. One of the team members will then call you and talk in much more detail about the team and what is involved.
