Joining the Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team

The team’s most important asset are its members and we are always on the look out for the right people to join us. If you have what it takes we would love to invite you to apply and reap the rewards of being part of a dedicated and close-knit team, providing a life-saving service to those in need.

If you feel you can offer help with fundraising tasks and events to support the team but don’t have the inclination or the skills to become a hill-going member of the team, then joining as a supporter might be for you.

Being an on-call member of the team can be both physically and mentally demanding, and there is a broad skill-set required to carry out the role effectively. Naturally, we don’t expect everyone who applies to have all the skills to start with, so the team runs an annual training programme designed to teach and assess the specific skills required for mountain rescue, over and above general outdoor skills and competency which we expect of our recruits.

We expect new recruits to:

Have a reasonable level of experience and aptitude in the outdoors, throughout all seasons.
Be suitably equipped for operating in an upland, outdoor environment for lengthy durations in all conditions.
Be able to competently navigate in open country using a map and compass.
Have a reasonable level of fitness to be able to carry out mountain rescue operations, which may involve long periods of activity, and carrying loads.
Have a keenness and ability to operate as part of a team.

In return, we offer:

A structured training programme, covering more specific skill areas required for mountain rescue, such as search techniques, casualty care, ropework techniques, radio communications, stretcher handling etc.
Role-specific PPE such as helmets, safety glasses, high visibility clothing as required.
The opportunity to progress through different roles and areas of responsibility.
An opportunity to be a part of a dedicated team, with a great social atmosphere.

We enrol members from age 18 upwards.

Our members are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We understand that individuals may not be able to respond all the time, due to work, family or other commitments, but it is worth having a conversation with your employer and family to judge your likely availability. Having said that, the majority of our call-outs occur when people are in the hills for recreation, so tend to be outside of work hours.

Frequently asked questions about becoming a Mountain Rescue team member

How does Mountain Rescue work around full time jobs?

Ideally, we would like your employer to recognise the importance of your voluntary role by allowing you to attend call outs during the work day. Obviously, this has to be within what’s reasonable – we wouldn’t expect you to leave important meetings or for attendance at call outs to impact your general ability to carry out your work. We understand that in some roles – teachers, doctors, police, or paramedics for example – this is not possible.

We have team members with a variety of availability during the week and we understand that there are always limitations. However if it is likely that you will only be able to attend call outs at weekends, for example, then it is probably not the role for you.

What is the commitment?

We get an average of approximately 60 call outs a year and these can occur at any time of day and any day of the week. Once you become a call out member you are on call 365 days a year 24 hours a day by default. You can sign off when you need to but in general you will need to be willing to respond to a callout whenever these occur. This could be at mid-night and continue throughout the night, for example. Call outs never seem to happen at convenient days and times and if you live with a partner and a family you should have a discussion about what level of disruption is likely to be acceptable. Will your partner be annoyed by a 2am call out, or will they be supportive? How would they feel about you opting out of a pre-planned family event due to a call out? Just some examples of areas it is good to discuss.

There is no minimum level of call out attendance but if your attendance is lower than 25% we would need to have a conversation about whether being a team member is the right role for you.

When/how often is training?

Before you can become a call out member you need to complete a 12 month training programme and then to attend six call outs as a probationary member.

Trainee training takes place on the evening of the first Tuesday of the month. This is followed by training with the full team on the evening of the second Tuesday of the month. There is also a full day’s training on the third Sunday of the month. There is also ‘Equipment Night’ on the third Tuesday of the month where we check and maintain all our equipment and vehicles. We ask that trainees attend this as it is the best way of really getting to grips with all our specialist equipment.

As a trainee you will need to cover all the areas required to be a call out member and in your trainee year you will need to attend at least 75% of training to be able to achieve this.

Once you become a call out member each required area will need to be kept up to date, which can be achieved by attending between 25% and 50% of training, although many members attend more than this as the training is enjoyable as well as challenging.

How do the actual call outs work?

Once you are on the call out list you would be added to our incident management system, SARCALL. This is used to send you a text message to notify you of a call out. Team members use various methods to make sure that these create noisy alerts and that they override your do not disturb and overnight settings. Messages normally give you a very brief overview of what the call out is and where we need you to meet. We cover a large area, basically the whole of the south of West Yorkshire so you would be given a postcode and a grid reference and you would be asked to meet other team members at that location. Once there you will be given taskings by operational leaders. Call outs are normally either searches for high risk missing people or are to support the ambulance service in treating and evacuating casualties from difficult to access locations.

How to apply to join the team

Applications for the next group of callout trainees, who will start training in January 2025, are now closed. The next application window will open in October 2026 for our 2027 intake. We welcome applications to join the team as a supporter – please contact us for more information about the various opportunities.

What's it like to be a team member?

The video below was produced by Mountain Rescue England and Wales a few years ago. The callout technology has changed somewhat but the video still gives a good idea of what it is like to be a hill member of the team: