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What is PMR?
Portland Mountain Rescue is a non-profit, volunteer
organization dedicated to saving lives through rescue and education.
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Who We Are:
Portland Mountain Rescue is one of the many mountain rescue units in the
country that function under the auspices of the international
Mountain Rescue Association (MRA). These subsidiary units, like
Portland Mountain Rescue, consist of a volunteer group of highly skilled
climbers and enthusiastic support resources that are dedicated to getting
people out of trouble in mountainous and high-angle areas. Our members,
numbering over 70 strong, serve in a variety
of roles, while working toward a single goal - saving lives.
What We Do:
PMR specializes in search and rescue (SAR) operations involving high angle
rock, snow, and ice. Occasionally, we also assist in SAR missions below
the timberline in mountainous terrain.
In addition to our SAR duties, we actively promote safety in the outdoors
through a variety of activities, such as:
· Sponsoring educational seminars and lectures for the
outdoor community
· Publishing a variety of safety brochures
· Teaching mountain safety classes to local youth
· Instructing avalanche awareness and survival skills classes
· Providing this informational website
· Producing the safety display in the Wy’East Day Lodge on
Mount Hood
Where We Operate:
PMR provides search and rescue services mainly in the mountainous and
high-angle areas of a three-county area of Northwest Oregon and Southwest
Washington stretching nearly 4,000 square miles with over 1,000,000 in
population. For the most part, our missions occur on Mount Hood, Oregon's
tallest peak at 11,239 feet above sea level. However, we occasionally
participate in SAR operations ranging from Central Oregon to the North Cascades
in Washington, as well as other parts of the Pacific Northwest. Several
stories on PMR missions from around the area may be viewed in the
Headlines section.
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Primary Areas of Operation:
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Click
here to view a larger version of the operations area map
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Northwest Oregon
• West & South sides
of Mount Hood
• Mt Hood foothills near Estacada, OR
• West end of Columbia River Gorge
• Steep urban parks near Portland, OR
• Coast Range Mountains
Southwest Washington
• West end of Columbia
River Gorge
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Secondary Areas of Operation:
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Central Oregon
• Mount Jefferson
• Three Fingered Jack
• Mount Washington
• Three Sisters Wilderness
• Mount Bachelor
Western Washington
• Mount Adams
• Mount Rainier
• High Country near Mt St Helens
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Coordination and Mobilization:
Our SAR missions are coordinated through the Sheriff's office in the county
where the operation is taking place. Generally, the County Sheriff
receives a 911 dispatch, evaluates the situation and, if necessary, mobilizes
Portland Mountain Rescue or another SAR organization.
Occasionally, a PMR member will encounter an unreported accident while in the
backcountry. In these cases, the PMR member must contact the Sheriff's
office as soon as possible to establish a formal rescue mission and mobilize
other emergency services.
Funding:
PMR is a non-profit, volunteer organization. All funding is derived from
individual donations, grants and other types of fundraising. We do not
receive financial support from the government. Team members do
not receive compensation for their work and are not reimbursed for their
expenses whatsoever. Our members spend countless hours of their free time
- and occasionally their work time - training and learning so that they will be
ready to respond to a search and rescue operation on a moment's notice.
Our funding needs fall into three categories: operating expenses, field
equipment and educational resources. PMR maintains an operations vehicle,
utilizes specialized mountain rescue equipment and performs a number of
valuable community services free-of-charge. All members must have their
own basic mountaineering and climbing equipment.
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Summary - Why We Exist:
Our existence is a direct response to a way of life for untold thousands of
people living in the Pacific Northwest who cherish their right to actively
experience the freedom of the hills. The Cascade Range mountains and much
of the surrounding region is a vast wilderness with inviting, but dangerous,
topography.
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Mount Hood, for instance, is one of the most climbed
mountains in the world, but its many glaciers, steep terrain and unpredictable
conditions can quickly overwhelm an inexperienced hiker or even an experienced
climber who is unfamiliar with the mountain. When accidents occur,
volunteer groups like Portland Mountain Rescue are asked to help carry out
search and rescue operations.
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Oregon's majestic Mount Hood
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Without volunteer SAR teams, the cost of an average rescue in manpower,
equipment, helicopters, etc., would be totally prohibitive. The local
authorities in these remote areas have neither the resources nor the funding to
maintain a staff of search and rescue professionals. If the local
government, Sheriff or Forest Service had to absorb the full cost of SAR
missions, many of our most beloved mountains would have to be closed to the
public.
By providing a volunteer group of technically trained climbers for search and
rescue work, organizations like Portland Mountain Rescue help to keep our
mountains open for all to enjoy.
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