{"id":799940,"date":"2019-09-30T16:44:39","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T22:44:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=372271"},"modified":"2019-09-30T16:44:39","modified_gmt":"2019-09-30T22:44:39","slug":"search-and-rescue-teams-from-across-colorado-descend-on-breckenridge-for-annual-training-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/search-and-rescue-teams-from-across-colorado-descend-on-breckenridge-for-annual-training-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Search and rescue teams from across Colorado descend on Breckenridge for annual training conference"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A SARCon participant assists with a ‘Pike ‘n Pivot’ demonstration on Swan Mountain on Friday, Sept. 27, 2019.<\/strong>
Sawyer D\u2019Argonne \/ sdargonne@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

BRECKENRIDGE \u2014 Volunteer search and rescue team members from across the state arrived in Breckenridge this weekend for the 10th annual Search and Rescue Conference.<\/p>\n

The event, hosted by Flight For Life and the Colorado Search and Rescue Association, brings together about 150 volunteer search and rescue members for continuing education to help hone and develop skills in the areas of technical rescue and wilderness medicine.<\/p>\n

For participants, it serves as a valuable opportunity to learn from other agencies and build confidence in their skills in a controlled environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis keeps our profession sharp,\u201d said Brian Taylor, director of the Wilderness Emergency Medical Program at Colorado Mountain College. Taylor also serves as a technical rescue instructor for the conference. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to stagnate, and wilderness medicine and technical rescue are things that are changing constantly. What we try to do here is instill updated techniques, pedagogy and share ideas through these courses.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conference offers a variety of courses and practical training in everything from learning new technologies available to search teams to much more technical skills like hands-on mountain rescue and emergency medical scenarios.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese volunteers spend a lot of time away from their families to rescue strangers,\u201d said Chad Miller, lead flight paramedic with Flight For Life Colorado, who\u2019s served as an instructor at the conference since 2011. \u201cSo at Flight For Life, we take our hats off to them for having that dedication. It\u2019s a way to give a little back with training, continuing education and networking possibilities. \u2026 The way we\u2019ve designed it is we have lectures throughout the weekend, and we\u2019ll reinforce it with some hands-on training.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participants have their pick of which subjects they\u2019re most interested in learning and training in. For example, a group of about 50 went out to Swan Mountain on Friday to participate in field training for \u201cPike \u2018n\u2019 Pivot\u201d techniques \u2014 learning methods for safely maneuvering a rescue basket down and back up over a 90-degree edge.<\/p>\n

Participants received instruction and guidance from experts and got the chance to share others in the group some techniques their own teams use.<\/p>\n

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