%20JPG.jpg)
For 47 years, volunteers saving lives
2019: BY THE NUMBERS
353
Volunteers who have served on the team from 1974-2018
634
Incident callouts of the team in its 44 years of service
$0.00
Number of payroll dollars expended in team history
31
2018 incident callouts, a record exceeding the 27 in 2017
1,203
Rescuer-hours expended on the 31 callouts in 2018
479
Training hours by teammates in 2018
0
Number of team fatalities and/or serious injuries in 44 years
On a late July afternoon in 2016, Abby Smith, center in white hoodie, was 2,500 feet above Ouray at the bottom of a 60-foot cliff with life threatening brain trauma. OMR got her off the mountain, and three months later, after an against-odds recovery, Abby and her family showed up at a team meeting to express their gratitude.
The Ouray Mountain Rescue Team was incorporated in 1974 as a non-profit organization to serve the technical rescue and emergency medical service needs of Ouray County. Our team is made up entirely of volunteers and all of our financial support comes from fund raising events, merchandise sales, donations and grants. Our services are free – we do not charge to search for, or rescue, anyone.
Active members of the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team are available 24/7 for callouts that range from high and low angle rescues, litter excavations, swift-water emergencies, searches, and mutual aid to neighboring counties. The team holds general membership meetings the second Wednesday of each month, proceeded by a scenario-based training session the following Saturday morning. Members also participate in ad-hoc training sessions, and represent the team at a number of community events.
Team members must maintain a high level of competence in a number of traditional search and rescue disciplines. Team member skills include technical rope rescue (high and low angle), emergency medicine, avalanche, swift water, tracking, search management and communications.