Joining SPART

Membership Benefits

The primary benefit to joining SPART is the ability to help individuals in need. The King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) is the agency responsible for wilderness search and rescue operations in King County, but they quite simply do not have the resources required to send dozens of rescuers out into the field, so KCSO relies upon volunteer search and rescue organizations within KCSARA to affect rescues. Without SPART and other KCSARA organizations, those lost in the wilderness would have no one to help them. There are other, more tangible, benefits to SPART membership but these are quite often not as fulfilling. SPART members receive discounts from a variety of outdoor goods manufacturers, the opportunity for additional advanced training with KCSO, and the ability to volunteer for various in-city events in a medical capacity. Additionally, SPART provides individual members with some equipment and financial support for additional training.

Overview

Most successful SPART members have availability to respond to winter missions at Snoqualmie and Steven’s Pass (which often start in the afternoon and evening), are experienced backcountry skiers and ski patrollers, and have time for training on weekends.

Current patrollers: get to know SPART by completing a NSP Mountain Travel and Rescue course at Snoqualmie Pass! Most patrols count NSP training as a duty day.

Application Process

1. At a minimum, applicants must complete the following training before applying to SPART:

• ICS 100 (online training)
• ICS 700 (online training)
• CPR
• First Aid
  • Adult First Aid is the minimum requirement
  • Ski patrollers typically meet this requirement as an Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) technician or EMT
  • Others typically take Wilderness First Responder (WFR) or Wilderness First Aid (WFA)
  • Higher levels of medical certification (RN, MD, etc.) also meet this requirement
• Avalanche Recreational Level 1 training course*
  • Our NSP course includes self-paced online content, 2 online weekday evening sessions, 1 weekend classroom day, and 3 weekend field days; NSP members can sign up via the NSP website)
• Avalanche Rescue training course*
  • AIARE providers offer this separately or in conjunction with some Level 1 courses
  • Our NSP Avalanche Recreational Level 1 course includes this training

2. Apply by completing this form. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis during ski season. 

3. SPART will invite qualified applicants for a ski tour at Snoqualmie Pass.
4. Upon successfully completing a backcountry ski tour, the SPART board will review applicants. If selected by the board, candidates will be invited to:

• Become a NSP Member (if you are not an active or alumni NSP patroller, you can register as an Associate member by creating an account at https://www.nsp.org/NSPWebsite/Contact_Management/Create-Contact-Form.aspx)
• Apply to be a county emergency worker via the King County Sheriff’s Office (requires providing a copy of your driver’s license for a background check)

5. Once candidates are approved by KCSO, receive their emergency worker card, and attest to their mental and physical wellbeing, they become a SPART Novice and are able to go into the field on search and rescue missions under the supervision of a SPART Field member.

Field Status

6. To become a SPART Field member, complete:

• Online training
• In-person classroom helicopter course
• In-person classroom crime scene course
• NSP Mountain Travel and Rescue (MTR) 1 training course 
  • Can be waived for members who have sufficient mountaineering experience
  • Our NSP course is 6 online weekday evening sessions and 4 weekend field days
• NSP Avalanche Organized Rescue Module or Professional Avalanche Search and Rescue (Pro AvSAR) training course*
• Avalanche Rec 2 training course*
  • Our NSP course is 3 online weekday evening sessions and 3 weekend field days
• Avalanche search and rescue (AvSAR) test by finding and unburying 2 avalanche transceivers in a 75m x 75m grid in 10 minutes (annual recertification required)

7. Within 1 year of becoming a SPART Field member, complete:

• NSP Mountain Travel and Rescue (MTR) 2 training course
  • Our NSP course is 6 online weekday evening sessions and 4.5 weekend field days

8. Annual requirements to maintain Field status:

• Complete Avalanche search and rescue (AvSAR) test
• Deploy into the field on at least 2 missions per year

* Avalanche training course providers should be certified by the American Avalanche Association (A3)