UKC

I'm considering applying to volunteer for my local MRT. Concerned that I will resent the commitment as I'm looking forward to getting out climbing a lot. Can people share their experiences? Anyone with young kids in particular.

In reply to sea_lene:
Can you cook pizza? I'm not talking about kneading dough, just chucking one in the oven and making sure it doesn't burn?

In reply to Skol:

Strangely we had pizza tonight...

Big time commitment then?

In reply to sea_lene:
Which area? Call out numbers and expected commitment vary enormously across different regions. An evening a week training, as many callouts as you can, and some contribution to the functioning of the team (training, admin, equipment etc) would be the minimum I guess.

Tom (mrt member)

In reply to sea_lene:

Teams are very variable in the amount of time required, particularly from a callout perspective.
I'm with a relatively quiet Peak District team and the training is one weekday evening a week and one Sunday per month. There is also more when you are a trainee. There are also fundraising and other events. During the summer MR can take up at least one day most weekends. Some teams are out on callouts several times a week in addition to all that (I think I saw on Facebook that Langdale Ambleside had 4 incidents today!).

Of course you don't have to make every session - work, holidays, family commitments, etc are understood.

The time commitment is not to be taken lightly but well worth it in my opinion. I'd speak to your local team and try to get a feel for what would be expected, and whether you'd enjoy it.

In reply to sea_lene:



It is with OVMRA. They're sponsored by Dominos.
The base is close to the crags though!
( no offence meant to OVMRA, may I never need your pizza

In reply to sea_lene:

I'm a member of OVMRO. In terms of getting out climbing, as far as I can see that is to be encouraged as it is all part of your mountaineering experience. We have a number of new trainees who are keen climbers and get out regularly together.

It is quite a commitment being a team member particularly during the training period since there are a lot of new skills to learn, and people to get to know. The team only accepts people who have good personal mountaineering skills (can climb, navigate, know the local area etc) and then the first 12 - 18 months concentrate on developing the rescue skills. After the first month, including some basic training, it is possible to attend callouts.

I don't have a family commitment myself, however I think it is essential to understand that everyone's circumstances are different and that a team member can only give so much time to the team. There will be times when you want or need to be with the family, or when you have to work. As long as you are available enough to complete your training in 12 - 18 months, are around enough for getting to know other team members on the hill, and to attend a reasonable number of callouts (as that is what we train for) the I don't see it being a problem.

Finally, regarding pizza, what better way to warm up after a job on Tryfan that started just before dinner time and finished late at night

That's my experience of Ogwen, although other teams may be different. Hope it helps.

In reply to sea_lene:
Try contacting your local team and offer your services as an exercise casualty, tin rattler or whatever else they might need. This will give you a better insight into what's involved and a chance to quiz team members and trainees as to how they manage it. You should get a good idea if its something you want to persue. Remember that all team members time taken to train recruits is their own time, given freely, so if you decide to go for it, really go for it. If you don't think its going to fit, its not selfish to want to do your own thing for a while, maybe until it does fit.

In reply to sea_lene:

Many thanks for the responses. It has helped me understand that whilst it is something I feel I should contribute to, the time has to be right for me so as to be able to commit as fully as possible. So I won't be in any hurry, but like the suggestion of offering my services as a casualty for training or other one off things if they can make use of me...

My nearest would be Wasdale, so I'll also get info on number of call outs etc as someone suggested.

In reply to sea_lene:

MR is an incredibly rewarding form of voluntary work. It can also be very time consuming and it's really important to maintain a family / work / MR balance! I don't have young kids but the members of our team who do have can sometimes struggle to commit time to MR because of family commitments which can be problematic especially during training when the attendance requirement is higher.

Volunteering as a casualty is a good idea, and I'd also strongly recommend doing some Dogsbodying for SARDA Lakes. You learn not just about the searchdogs, but about the MR teams in your area. I'd been a Body for several years before joining MR and when I started my MR training, I already knew a lot of stuff about the organisation.

In reply to sea_lene: Hope you like scafell pike, wasdale team bear the brunt of the popularity of England's highest mountain!