Mountain Rescue International Partnership Program

The Partnership Program

This is an opportunity for MRA teams and the MRA as a whole: the international mountain rescue team partnership program.  The goal is to strengthen communication and cooperation between international mountain rescue teams and, in so doing, further our mission of promoting mountain safety and providing the best response to those in need in the mountains.

A number of very successful "sister" relationships already exist between U.S.states and cities with regions and cities in Europe, Asia, and South America. For example, there is an existing sister state relationship between Colorado and Slovenia, and Seattle has sister city relationships with Nantes, France, Taejon, Korea, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.  There are numerous other examples throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The purpose of these programs is to build friendships, encourage cultural and professional ties, and develop cooperative ventures. Pursuing the same type of positive benefits, a number of MRA teams have informally developed ties with international teams, we have hosted Chinese and Israeli teams at the MRA Spring meetings. For more information on International Exchange click on this link.

In 2003 the MRA Board supported the idea of developing a more formal partnership program that would establish links between MRA and international teams. Rick Lorenz from Olympic Mountain Rescue brought the proposal to the International Commission for Alpine Rescue (IKAR) meeting in Brasov, Romania, in July 2003, and a number of IKAR teams supported the venture. Since that time the idea has been discussed at the other IKAR meetings, including Slovenia 2006, with considerable interest.

A number of initial partnerships were identified, leaving it up to the individual teams to follow through.  For example, Colorado teams are encouraged to pair with Austrian teams due to similarities in terrain and interest.  The number of volunteer teams in Austria exceeds the number of MRA teams in Colorado. Another way to do this is on an individual team basis; a list of tentative assignments is provided below. Again, these are just examples and the ultimate look and feel of the program will evolve with team participation.  

This program is designed to have no cost to MRA.  Membership dues will not be used to support exchanges.  MRA will simply act as the "clearing house" between the teams.  It will assist with the initial matches, provide mail and e-mail contacts, make development suggestions, and, perhaps, hold and disburse private donations made to MRA in support of the exchange program. All team participation will be entirely voluntary. The commitment of time and resources by partnered teams will entirely be a function of the relationship established between the respective teams. The possibilities range from the simple exchange of information regarding your team and current issues to mutual visits.  There is no danger that twenty mountaineers from Bhutan will show up on your doorstep (unless you invite them). Any financial commitment from your team, or any travel, will be entirely voluntary.

International Team Profiles

International teams that participate are asked to post a short team profile and a link this website so everyone can learn about the partner teams.  You can find additional links to international SAR teams on the SAR LINKS page of this web site. The teams linked below are interested in developing partnership links with US teams.

Argentina

Austria

Bosnia

Poland

Romania-Arges

Serbia

Slovenia

Spitak-Armenia

WHAT TO DO: FOR US TEAMS:

1.  MRA teams contact someone on the Exchange Committee listed below, giving a preference for a region or particular international team.  Each team designates a US point of contact (and alternate) with e-mail addresses.
2.  MRA committee matches teams, if necessary, and provides contact information to both sides. Some matches can be made right away, others can be made at the IKAR meetings each October in Europe.
3.  Individual teams follow up with contacts and voluntary program development. Brief reports can be made to the MRA committee on the program.
4.  MRA maintains this web page with team profiles, descriptions of
successful programs, and suggestions on how to develop and extend the program.

We encourage US teams to get this information out to your respective teams; this is a worthwhile program that can benefit your team and the MRA.  We can learn from other teams, assist others, and make lasting friendships at the same time.  The rewards of promoting communication throughout the international mountain rescue community will be both personal and professional.

FOR INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM MEMBERS:

CONTACT RICK LORENZ OR ANOTHER COMMITTEE MEMBER BELOW

International Teams can fill out the Team Profile Form and it will be posted on this page, send it by e-mail to Rick Lorenz.

The exchange committee:

Charley Shimanski (shimanski@speedtrail.net)
Rick Lorenz (fmlorenz1@aol.com)
Dan Hourihan (dfhourihan@yahoo.com)

Art Farash (Bergschlawiner@gmail.com )

Here is a list of some tentative partnership links, it is up to the team members to follow through and make the necessary communications.  Rick Lorenz is available to provide e-mail information.

1. Portland Mountain Rescue has been matched The Zagreb Croatia Mountain Rescue Team
2. Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit has been matched with Hargitha District (Romania) Mountain Rescue
3. Olympic Mountain Rescue Unit is matched with Hellenic Mountain Rescue in Greece. We BOTH have a mount Olympus.
4. Central Arizona Mountain Rescue is matched with Slovenia Mountain Rescue based in Ljubliana, Slovenia.
5. Inyo County California Mountain Rescue is matched with Tatra Mountain Rescue (Poland).
6. Vail Mountain Rescue is matched with Pinzolo Station, Italy.