Question about yosemite

[u/bpdd1]

Hey, just looking to chat about what might look good for a YOSAR application. I come from a fire dept family (am hoping to join my city's department depending on how my test score comes back) and as an avid climber I would love to bring that together to join the Yosemite team. I am a registered nurse, have an EMT license, first aid certified, and am starting an ER job soon to get more acute care experience, can comfortably climb 5.10 and higher, though do not have Yosemite climbing experience which I know isn't great for that. Just want some advice about what I should be doing between now and January when I send my application for next season.

[u/drewts86]

I just want to throw this out. My old climbing partner left his well paying job to move to Yosemite and pursue the climbing dream and aspirationally join YOSAR. Had his Wilderness EMT cert and all that hullabaloo. After living, climbing and working in the Valley for a year and getting to know the YOSAR guys fairly well, he ultimately decided against pursuing YOSAR. It sounded like team members burn out at a higher than average rate. The climbing community is very small and it doesn’t take long before you end up doing body recoveries on people you know or are friends with. I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t pursue it, but just realize the mental trauma that potentially comes with the job.

[u/BallsOutKrunked → u/drewts86]

I work with yosar a lot, there are some nice people but 9/10 are the weirdo antisocial climber you may know, now with a yellow shirt on.

There's a lot of dick measuring and pecking order stuff.

Some of the leaders are legit af but team wise whenever I get near them I just know they will be super insular and standoff-ish.

I spent a day on a field team with a yosar person a couple years back and after the air finally cleared she said they get treated like shit by the rangers.

Whole thing seems weird.

[u/tyeh26]

> do not have Yosemite climbing experience

Look at it this way, if a call comes in and someone says "I'm on After Seven and a soloist just fell 30' on onto the ledge, they need help"

Are you going to be flipping through SuperTopo and Mountain Project? Or do you know where to park and do you know if you're climbing up or rapping down? Do you know what gear you need?

There may be some exaggeration involved..., but my understanding that everyone on YOSAR has big wall experience, and many would be able to do nose in a day. These people know Yosemite rock like the back of their hand.

[u/ujitimebeing]

Have you tried reaching out to the team? Each team has different requirements.

Here’s some things I see missing based on what my team requires:

• Map/compass navigation (no GPS)
• Tracking lost persons using the above
• Snow back country experience
• Rappelling (not climbing) and climbing rescue skills (look at Saano Adventures for training)
• Wilderness First Responder or Wilderness EMT (hospital experience is nice but not a direct carry over). There are accelerated courses for medical professionals through NOLS.

[u/AJFrabbiele → u/ujitimebeing]

When I looked in the past, I believe they did have a Trad Lead requirement of 5.10.

edit: with exception for YoDogs, for obvious reasons. I work with former YoDogs people.

[u/yay_tac0]

check out Wild Rescues book, great insight into the types of callouts they get

[u/No_Shoulder7581]

If you want join YOSAR, go climb in Yosemite, with a focus on grade V walls. Get yourself a respectable NIAD time. Learn to move fast while aid climbing and alpine climbing. You are up against a host of phenomenal dirtbag rock climbers who put in hundreds of days per year on rock. They are heavily focused on climbing skills, and if building that skillset doesn't appeal to you, I don't think you actually want to be on YOSAR.

[u/bpdd1]

Also I am hoping to get a level 1 trauma ER position, but there aren't too many options in my area so I may need to go to a lower level. Would that realistically make a difference

[u/klmsa → u/bpdd1]

From a medicinal practice perspective, yes it does matter. No idea whether it matters to YOSAR or not.

Consider that all of us special operations medics are assigned to a major trauma center (I went to Grady Hospital in Atlanta, with ambulance work as well) for a few months before we're allowed to graduate our school (all services go to the same Army school). If you don't have trauma experience, it can really help to create good routines and sort of break the shell on that initial emotional reaction.

YOSAR is probably going to care more about the insertion/extraction capabilities than treatment, though. The care you can provide is extremely limited in the backcountry, since you have to consider the impact of additional evac time, hostile weather, infection, etc. on every intervention.