When The Going Gets Tough
Well, you know how the saying goes. We couldn’t do this job without a team. And we certainly couldn’t do it to such high standards without a team that’s second to none.
We give up our time (and in many cases our social lives) to save the lives of people in Tayside. Sometimes the job is tough – we work in dangerous environments. Sometimes the job is challenging – nine times out of ten we’re up against the elements (we are in Scotland after all). Sometimes the job is frustrating – a rescue can turn out to be far more complicated than first predicted. And sometimes the job is tiring – we work round the clock regardless of how much sleep we’ve had. But most of the time, the job is rewarding – and that’s what keeps us going and keeps us committed.
Between our 50 volunteers we have a plethora of skills – such as remote medical expertise, technical rigging, swiftwater rescue and search management. We have serving police officers, teachers, managers and engineers as well as outdoor professionals working for us.
We even have a number of Search & Rescue Dog handlers who, as well as doing this job are often called to assist other Scottish mountain rescue and police teams.
Think You Can Rise To The Challenge?
We don’t expect our team members to hold any formal qualifications but we do expect them to have at least several seasons experience of summer and winter mountaineering in Scotland. It’s not a job for the faint hearted and a positive and determined mind is vital – along with being able to work under pressure in a small team for sustained periods of time. Specific skills we look for in new recruits are map and compass skills, the ability to navigate confidently in all weather conditions and terrain and confidence on steep ground with limited visibility. Most importantly we look for a good sense of humour and a team player – sometimes the only thing we have to keep each other going is each other.
Did we mention that we don’t get paid?
We do this job because we choose to.
For more information on how to become a TMR volunteer get in touch with one of the team.
