Why No Charge to Rescue

Why VMRG does not charge persons rescued for their service:

It is universally believed that such charges would in some cases discourage a victim from calling for help until it is too late.  This is consistent with the policies of the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA).   Many persons rescued do make donations to support VMRG moving forward.

VMRG’s relationship with MRA is important to Eagle County:

VMRG is part of the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA), and as such must be re-certified every five years by a group of its peers drawn from other teams in Colorado and elsewhere.  As part of MRA, VMRG is also part of the Colorado Search and Rescue Association (CSRA) which represents each certified Search and Rescue (SAR) team in Colorado. Whenever a SAR team in Colorado needs additional resources, it will contact CSRA and ask them to find the requisite resources from other CSRA teams.  VMRG and Eagle County have benefited from this relationship a number of times when other teams came to help VMRG. Similarly VMRG has provided assistance elsewhere in Colorado when needed.