{"id":798235,"date":"2019-08-04T15:46:56","date_gmt":"2019-08-04T21:46:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=369484"},"modified":"2019-08-04T15:46:56","modified_gmt":"2019-08-04T21:46:56","slug":"summit-county-rescue-group-looks-to-grow-team-as-it-plans-for-new-headquarters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/summit-county-rescue-group-looks-to-grow-team-as-it-plans-for-new-headquarters\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit County Rescue Group looks to grow team as it plans for new headquarters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
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Summit County Rescue Group members Mark Benson, from left, Mike Clement and Travis Sirek work to evacuate a patient during a training exercise Wednesday, July 31, near Boreas Pass Road.<\/strong>
Courtesy Summit County Rescue Group<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

FRISCO \u2014 The hours are long, the pay is bad and the equipment is expensive, but for about 65 Summit County Rescue Group volunteers, it\u2019s the best gig around.<\/p>\n

Despite a social media presence that features helicopters, mountain vistas and snowmobiles in powder fields, the job is \u201ccompletely unsexy,\u201d group training officer Helen Rowe said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEighty to 90 percent of it is trudging around in the dark, climbing Mount Royal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also dealing with a high level of exposure and being prepared for difficult situations, including body recoveries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do see some hard stuff in the field,\u201d Rowe said. \u201cWe are dealing with people who are having their worst day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
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A litter team is lowered to a patient during a training exercise Wednesday, July 31, near Boreas Pass Road.<\/strong>
Courtesy Summit County Rescue Group<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A growing team<\/strong><\/p>\n

The all-volunteer team is looking to grow its ranks by about eight to 12 members this fall.<\/p>\n

While the team has few criteria \u2014 be committed and a team player \u2014 it\u2019s still looking for people who know their way around the backcountry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not an outdoor recreational club, so we\u2019re not asking for people to come to us to learn to hike in the dark or to learn to do backcountry skiing,\u201d Rowe said.<\/p>\n

While fitness it important, being the fastest person on the team isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need our fast people, but we also need our endurance, strong people, so just because you can get to Peak 1 in 45 minutes doesn\u2019t mean we need a whole team of those, because that\u2019s not how mountain rescue works,\u201d Rowe said. \u201cIn general, we have to go out for long periods.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ideal member would still have a smile on their face when they\u2019re cold, wet and hungry, Rowe said.<\/p>\n

The team has received about 140 applications over the past year, she said. Of those, Rowe expects about 40 will be interested in joining the team. After reviewing the applications, the group will winnow the list by about two-thirds, with the goal of adding eight to 12 to the team. <\/p>\n

Those few finalists then dive into a 10-week training program that includes everything from navigation and radio skills to first aid and avalanche safety. It wraps up with a 24-hour outdoor survival test in November.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of training, I have to be able to tell the mission coordinators that these guys are \u2026 safe and capable in the field, so that they can help the mission and not become an issue to us,\u201d Rowe said.<\/p>\n

The time and financial commitment for members is significant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like taking on a voluntary profession,\u201d Rowe said.<\/p>\n

The team trains weekly on Wednesdays plus the occasional weekend training and optional technical rescue trainings on Tuesdays. Once prospective members are cleared to head out on missions with the team, they\u2019re required to attend a minimum of 15% of calls.<\/p>\n

Summit County Rescue Group board president Brian Binge estimates the team responds to about 100 calls per year, many of those after dark and in less-than-ideal conditions.<\/p>\n

Carrying an injured patient off the top of Quandary Peak, for example, is an 8- to 10-hour mission, often after a full day at work, Rowe said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe train hard, and we get a lot of missions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n
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A litter team evacuates a patient during a training exercise Wednesday, July 31, near Boreas Pass Road.<\/strong>
Courtesy Summit County Rescue Group<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A new headquarters<\/strong><\/p>\n

The team\u2019s home base, known as the barn, is \u201cfalling apart at the seams,\u201d Rowe said.<\/p>\n

The building\u2019s heating is spotty, sometimes leaving vehicles and medical supplies in the cold. And the training loft seats 15 or so people despite a team of about 65.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t event fit in here,\u201d Binge said.<\/p>\n

A new barn is part of Summit County\u2019s master plan for the County Commons in Frisco, and the exiting structure will be demolished.<\/p>\n

The new building will be shared with the Summit County Water Rescue team and the Summit County Sheriff\u2019s Office, which oversees search and rescue. It would house the team\u2019s four rescue trucks, five ATVs, 10 snowmobiles and various trailers and gear.<\/p>\n

The design phase of the project is expected to kick off late this year or early next year, and Binge said he hopes the project will break ground in summer 2020.<\/p>\n

Some money from the 1A Strong Future Fund that is slated for county infrastructure will go toward the new building, but the project will be paid for primarily through fundraising.<\/p>\n

That effort will fall largely on the team, which gets 60% to 80% of its annual budget through grants and donations, primarily from people it rescues.<\/p>\n

In the fall, Binge said the team plans to launch a fundraising campaign, which aims to raise about $1.5 million over the next three years.<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summit County Rescue Group members Mark Benson, from left, Mike Clement and Travis Sirek work to evacuate a patient during a training exercise Wednesday, July 31, near Boreas Pass Road.Courtesy Summit County Rescue Group FRISCO \u2014 The hours are long, the pay is bad and the equipment is expensive, but for about 65 Summit County […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-798235","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-18 19:18:36","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798235\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}