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KINDER MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM

Saving lives in wild and remote places since 1971

To request Mountain Rescue: Dial 999, ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue

KINDER MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM

 

Saving lives in wild and remote places since 1971

Please Support Us

Kinder Mountain Rescue Team (KMRT) has been in existence since 1971, and is one of seven mountain rescue teams that operate within the Peak District National Park, as part of the Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation (PDMRO).

Our 50 members operate on an purely voluntary basis and are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to assist members of the public on the hill or in urban search and rescue situations.

We are almost exclusively funded by public donations, and all proceeds from fund raising go towards equipment and resources used on our call outs.

Joining The Team

Applications for membership are now closed, and we will not be recruiting in 2024. In early 2025 we will be deciding if we will be taking on probationers later in 2025. Please monitor this page for news.

If you have any questions, please drop an email to our secretary at secretary@kmrt.org.uk.

Kinder Mountain Rescue Team needs people of all ages over 18, all capabilities and talents to take part in search and mountain rescue activities. See the section below titled “About the person we need” for further details.

Mountain Rescue is a 999 service under the control of the Police. It is staffed entirely by volunteers and funded by charitable donations. Before you commit to being a prospective member, here are some details about the team, its activities and how we train probationers.

As a team member, you will be involved with providing assistance and support to people who are in significant distress and are in need of our help. In some circumstances, you may be saving someone’s life. As such, we take membership seriously. Being a team member is a demanding commitment, but it is also very rewarding. You will be a member of a close-knit team of people with a common aim and a strong social and mutually supportive bond.

This page is aimed at those contemplating joining the team to take part in search and mountain rescue callouts. If you are more interested in the fundraising and social aspects of team life please contact our Fundraising Officer at fundraising@kmrt.org.uk .

About the Team

Kinder Mountain Rescue Team is based in Hayfield and is one of the 7 Mountain Rescue Teams that form the Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation (PDMRO). We are a registered charity set up to assist the Police and Emergency Services in search and rescue operations. We can be called out at any time to incidents in the Peak District and occasionally to other areas in Britain, but we have a particular responsibility for the area around Kinder Scout. We often work with other teams who are part of the PDMRO. There are about 50 people in the team, and all are volunteers.

Callouts

We have an average of about 40 callouts each year. Most callouts are search and rescue operations on the hills and crags of the Peak District, not only for hill walkers and climbers but also for missing or vulnerable people. Sometimes we are asked to assist the Police in urban and lowland rural searches.

Callouts can be at any time of day or night. We tend to get more callouts in the evenings and over weekends, which is when more people are outdoors. We generally meet at the Team Base in Hayfield, but the meeting point can be anywhere. All members are expected to be available for most callouts.

When there is a callout, team members are formed into hill parties and deployed to specific locations or routes to perform their search and rescue work. Each hill party has an experienced leader. The party leaders report to a senior team member who manages and directs the callout. This senior team member is also supported by drivers and other operational support staff.

About the person we need

You must have sound hill experience, knowledge of our operational area, and good navigation skills.

Members must be over 18 years old. Our insurance for members is limited to those who are under 75 years old, so applicants who are approaching that age will not be accepted.

Most members come from the Hayfield/New Mills area, but anyone within a 30 minutes’ drive of our Base in Hayfield will be considered. Applicants living within the operational area of other local mountain rescue teams should not apply but are encouraged to apply to their local team. Our operational area on the below map. Our operational boundary is the blue line on this map.

Mountain rescue is potentially hazardous. It can be arduous, often in inclement weather and in the dark. It can also be stressful, but it is also very rewarding. The team tries hard to control the risks to all concerned, but you must understand that being part of the team will involve accepting the associated risks.

We require significant commitment from you.

Application process

Your application will be considered by the Team’s Management. We will contact you to explain the outcome. If accepted you will be invited to an information session where we tell you about the team, what we offer and what we expect of you.

You must then attend the Applicant Assessment Day. This will involve a series of activities designed to assess a range of skills: mountaincraft (including map and compass navigation), your equipment, fitness, teamworking, communication, initiative and leadership.

If you are selected for the team, you will begin training in the September of that year. You will need an appropriate first aid qualification and a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS).

Probationer Training

As a probationary team member, you join a specific probationer training programme. Once this training is completed, you can then be promoted to become a full team member. You would normally be a probationary team member for around a year.

Probationer training sessions normally take place on one evening each month. Probationers also attend the general team training sessions – normally on two evenings and one Sunday each month. There is also a monthly team meeting. The normal monthly cycle of training and meetings for probationers follows:

When, every monthActivity
First Monday eveningGeneral team training
Second Wednesday eveningGeneral team training
Second Thursday eveningProbationer training
Last Friday eveningTeam meeting
Last Sunday all dayExercise

Training is a mixture of indoor and outdoor sessions. This keeps our skills current and ensures we work confidently with each other, with other Mountain Rescue Teams, and other agencies such as the Police, Coastguard Ambulance and Fire Service. You will be expected to attend a high proportion of all training.

After the first few months of probationer training, you will be added to the emergency callout list and expected to attend our search and rescue activities from then onwards. As such you will be expected to have a mobile phone and always carry it with you for emergency use.

If you do not already have a suitable first aid certificate you will need to gain one before being promoted to a member of the team. Suitable first aid qualifications are a First Aid at Work Course or a Wilderness First Aid Course.

The team is a charity, and fundraising is essential. You will be expected to contribute to fundraising activities in your probationary period, and also as a full team member.

The probationary period fulfils three functions. Firstly, it gives you time to understand the commitment, level of fitness and knowledge of hill craft required to be a full team member. Secondly, it gives the team leaders time to assess your character and capabilities. During a rescue, particularly in adverse conditions, members need to rely on each other. The team leaders need to be sure that each individual can not only make a useful contribution but also work effectively as part of the team. Thirdly, your probationary period allows you to get to know your teammates and form the bonds which will hopefully stay with you for many years.

Promotion to membership

When you achieve team membership, you will be supplied with a range of clothing and equipment that includes the familiar red Mountain Rescue jacket and a team radio. This will be yours for the duration of your membership, and we expect you to use the equipment during team activities. We also expect you to take good care of this equipment.

Your training does not end when you become a team member. You will be encouraged to enhance your first aid skills by gaining the Mountain Rescue Casualty Care Certificate and also encouraged to develop additional skills and interests such as driving, rope rescue, water rescue and management of search and rescue activities.

Conclusion

If you join the team, we will make a heavy investment in you – in terms of both training and equipment. Having made this investment, we would be most unhappy if your commitment faded, or if you were joining for inappropriate reasons. Before you start the process of joining, we want you to be sure that you want to join to help others in need of assistance in the hills, and that you see your membership as a long term commitment.

Most of the members of Kinder Mountain Rescue Team would tell you that joining was one of the best things they have done. If you think carefully about your prospective membership and all that it entails, we are confident that you will one day feel the same.

If you would like to discuss anything related to joining the team, feel free to drop an email to secretary@kmrt.org.uk.

Team Calendar

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