Summit County Rescue Group

10/23/2026

Preparing for Outdoor Emergencies: Part 1 of 3

Trip Planning

How do you prepare for an emergency in the backcountry? Plan like your life depends on it — because it might! Many backcountry emergencies can be addressed long before the trailhead as steps in the planning process. Before hitting the trail, consider these every time:

1. The Route: Download maps for offline use, identify turn-around points to make group decisions at. Caltopo.com is a great resource, even in their free version.
2. The Forecast: Check weather and avalanche forecasts through sources that can provide localized, elevation-specific information such as the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
3. The Group: Match your timeline and route plan to the abilities of your least experienced partner.
4. The In-Town Partner: Leave your trip plan with a dedicated In-town partner. Include the trailhead, exact route and a hard “Call 911” deadline.

10/06/2026

Last week SCRG took part in a 2-day interagency training with Red, White & Blue Fire Protection District and Summit Fire & EMS This course, put on by CMC: Rescue, Safety, Access, allowed our teams to work together and learn one another's rope rescue practices. Building relationships in this way makes everything easier the next time we go out together on a real mission and we hope to coordinate more interagency trainings in the coming year!

10/06/2026

Three of our rescuers presented at ISSW 2026 - International Snow Science Workshop, delivering a podium presentation and two posters to an international audience of over 1300 avalanche professionals.

It was an incredible opportunity to represent SCRG on the international stage, share knowledge and lessons learned, and contribute to the broader avalanche and snow science community. Links to all three published papers are in the comments.

10/01/2026

Thanks for featuring our team, Backpacker Magazine!

Backpacker meets up with Colorado's Summit County Search and Rescue Group to check out a new technology that is making a big difference in the field

09/30/2026

This past weekend Summit County Rescue Group members participated in the annual SARCon conference, hosted at Colorado Mountain College in Breckenridge. Agencies from local, state and federal levels shared their wisdom and current research in all aspects of search and rescue for the benefit of participating teams, with several of our own members leading trainings in search and technical rescue subjects. Specific education tracks included technical rescue, medicine, technology, general SAR, and administration. We are excited to implement the knowledge gained from others in our own operations to stay on the cutting edge!

09/17/2026

Recently we hosted the Summit County PIO group (SPIO for short) for a tour of our facilities in Frisco to get more familiar with our capabilities and where we fit in the local emergency services network. This group of communications professionals from organizations across Summit County meets regularly to improve collaboration and coordination, especially in emergencies. Thanks for visiting, everyone!

09/10/2026

So far this summer we have had two hoist operations rescuing a total of four people from Quandary Peak. It just goes to show that there are no easy 14ers. A big thank you to Colorado National Guard and Colorado Army National Guard for their dedication, skill and partnership.

09/04/2026

Each year for the past five years, Angry James Brewing has donated a portion of proceeds from their annual mug club sale to SCRG. We are grateful for their sustained support as a community partner. Thanks as well to everyone who bought a mug!