2011 Year in Pictures

Ice climbing and winter training in Ouray, Colorado: Mission prep at Red Rock: Arizona Vortex in action at Red Rock: 2011 Mountain Rescue Basic's Class: Stranded Hiker Rescue at Mt. Charleston: Technical Operations at Red Rock: Avalanche training Mt. Charleston: Team extraction at Red Rock: Red Rock Mission: Short...

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In the News - Las Vegas Weekly

Photo courtesy of Las Vegas Weekly Our Unit is featured in this week's Las Vegas Weekly.  Thank you to Erin Ryan, the writer of this story.  She spent countless hours with our team and was even fortunate enough to go on a rescue with us (timing is everything). Pick up your copy tod...

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Helicopter Crash at Lake Mead

Last night, all SAR officers responded to Lake Mead after receiving reports of a helicopter crash. The Air Unit fired up the Huey along with one of the smaller Bell's to respond. Although LVMPDSAR reached the scene of the crash within 45 minutes of receiving the call, Officers confirmed that all 5 passengers had died shortly after arriving to the scene. One of the many news stories can be found here. LVMPDSAR sends its condolences to all affected...

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Lost Hiker at Mt. Charleston

Last Thursday, Mountain Rescue volunteers were called upon to help with the search of a lost hiker at Mt. Charleston. The hiker had ventured to the area with his dog on Wednesday with the intent of spending the night and heading back home on Thursday. However, on Thursday morning, he woke to a large accumulation of snow...

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Busy Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend is a very busy time of year for places like Red Rock Canyon, Mt. Charleston, Lake Mead, and other surrounding outdoor recreational areas. The more people that head outdoors to enjoy the 70 degree weather, the higher the potential is for rescues. This year was no exception as SAR Officers and Mountain...

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3 Stranded Hikers and an Injured Ankle

Every year, the Mountain Rescue Volunteers undergo two tests.  The first test insures that each member is sufficient in their technical rigging skills while the second is a physical test that measures each member's level of fitness.  Our goal is to be the best that we can be and these tests serve as an internal...

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Dive Team in Action

I guess it's a little more difficult to take pictures while diving, which explains why we don't post very many photos of our dive team in action. Our dive team is a small group of dedicated divers that train once a month and have extensive experience. This group is also on-call 24/7 and responds to various types of missions...

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Annual Short Haul & Fastrope Certification

Each year, LVMPDSAR's pilots, officers, and MR volunteers either certify or re-certify for short haul and fastrope operations.  This is a big training day for the Unit because of the teamwork and coordination that it takes to keep everyone trained. Here's a picture of a tandem shorthaul: And here's what it looks...

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T-Shirt and a Tour Giveaway

We have great news! We're going to be giving away a LVMPDSAR t-shirt and a tour of our hangar to five lucky recipients! Eligibility In order to be eligible for the giveaway, two things need to happen: You must 'Like' our page on Facebook.  We must have at least 1,000 'Likes' by the end of the year.  What...

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Basic's Class 2011

Earlier this year, we opened recruitment for our Mountain Rescue Unit and as our mid-July cut-off date approached, we had received over 120 interest forms. After hosting an orientation, physical fitness test, and in-person interviews, we chose 12 people to attend this year's Basic's class. This month, our Basic's Class...

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Training, Training, and more Training!

We've been awfully quiet lately and I'm sure that everyone is wondering why. Remember the fundraiser that we held earlier this Summer? Those funds, along with funds that are so graciously given to us throughout the year, have been put to really good use in recent weeks. Our Unit conducts in-house training, however,...

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Overton, Red Rock, and a Reprieve from the Heat

When it comes to rescues, it's impossible to predict what's going to happen or where we'll end up next. Last week, we responded to Overton and Red Rock Canyon for separate missions. One involved an ATV crash and the other was a response to a stranded climber. August 17th - ATV crash in Overton Bureau of Land Management...

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Cold Creek and Mary Jane Falls Rescues

On Sunday, August 7, two Officers responded to two different rescues: The first rescue was a search for a man who was supposed to be hiking in Cold Creek.  Trails were searched, including Wheeler Pass without locating the man. After flying the area and feeling confident that we did not miss him, we cleared from the call pending further information and investigation by ground units. The man later turned up somewhere in town. The second rescue...

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First Online Fundraiser

Last month, we conducted our very first online fundraiser, aimed at raising funds for the volunteers that help support this Unit. Much of the equipment that is used to conduct rescue missions are purchased by the volunteers themselves. Money donated by members of the Community help to subsidize the cost of this equipment. As you can imagine, each volunteer is beyond thankful for every contribution that is made. Total raised = $1,225 We'd like...

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Show Your Support!

Last Thursday afternoon, seven Mountain Rescue volunteers dropped everything that they were doing and headed to Mt. Charleston in response to reports of a fallen climber. It was early afternoon, so many left work. Others gave up their day off. Each volunteer climbed into their personal vehicle and used their own gear...

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Fallen Hiker at Mt. Charleston

Yesterday morning, SAR units were dispatched to an area above the Big Falls trail at Mt. Charleston in response to reports of three stranded hikers, one of which had fallen 70 feet. Two officers were initially flown in by Huey where they located one of the stranded hikers. While rescuing the hiker, they learned that...

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GPS vs. LightSquared

There's been lots of talk in the news lately about a new company called LightSquared, a business based out of Virginia that is planning on building the next open wireless broadband network. This new network will utilize satellites to provide 4G-LTE coverage to millions of broadband Users. The Global Positioning System...

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Fundraiser and Feature Story

Thanks to your overwhelming generosity, our July fundraiser has been a huge success! Because of the numerous donations that we've received, we upped our original goal from $1,000 to $2,000. As of this morning, we're at $1,105, so help us spread the word. We've got 6 days left to achieve our new goal! Our volunteers...

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Knee Injury at Mt. Charleston

Today, one Mountain Rescue Volunteer and two Officers responded to the Little Falls trail at Mt. Charleston. Initial reports indicated that a 39 year-old female hiker had injured her ankle and knee while hiking the trail. Upon arrival, Fire and Ambulance Units had responded to the scene and reached the patient. In order...

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