Rescuers to train at Mount Rose

Search and Rescue workers from Washoe County will converge on Mount Rose this weekend for training aimed at honing life-saving skills.

Approximately 100 members of the 400-member Washoe County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team will make their way up to the wilderness area to practice victim location along with specialized rescue techniques.

Sgt. Todd Vinger, search and rescue coordinator, said Washoe County has an outfit that rivals any in the state.

"Search and rescue has changed a lot since the early days," Vinger said. "It used to be that a family would call a day after someone was missing, and then that person would be found three days later."

In its modern state, he said, rescuers place a higher priority on getting to the rescue scene quickly to prevent injury or loss of life.

The mostly volunteer group of rescuers will gear up for exercises on Saturday and Sunday. Units from the county Search and Rescue, HASTY team, Air Squadron, Special Vehicle Unit and the Communications Unit will be on hand.

Vinger said the groups will attempt to find dummies that are literally thrown off cliffs, in ravines and any other place between the mountain and Verdi.

The units, which specialize in skills such as rappelling, searching from air and radio communications, will work together practicing and using equipment.

'We take advantage of the new technology that is out there," Vinger said. "It has saved a lot of lives."