Rob Johnson
Co-ordinator for Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team (LLMRT)
Looking after Snowdon, Crib Goch and the south side of the Glyderau, LLMRT is one of the busiest teams in the UK, and Rob has worked with them as team member, team leader and chairman from 2015-2017. He tells us what it takes and means to be a volunteer. llanberismountainrescue.co.uk
“Requirements differ from team to team but in Llanberis, where a lot of our jobs involve climbing, we ask that people are competent climbers in summer and winter. We want volunteers to know the Snowdon area fairly intimately and be able to look after themselves in all weathers, in all seasons. On top of that, we ask that they know somebody in the team, and are fit and strong enough to carry a stretcher up and downhill.
“We have about 200 jobs a year, and training-wise we do one Sunday and one evening per month. We take on people with a strong skillset to begin with, so it isn’t a huge amount and we focus on the technical side of rescuing like ropework, casualty care, helicopters and other things that you wouldn’t do as an active mountaineer. You need to be able to perform in a higher stress environment than you could as a recreational climber.
“Our safety policy essentially says that all volunteers are experienced climbers and mountaineers with sound judgement in a mountain context, and that nobody should ever take on something that they’re not comfortable with. Nonetheless, it’s important to recognise that accidents do happen and you can’t go mountaineering and certainly can’t go out as a mountain rescuer and expect things to be safe because it can’t be. We manage the risks as best we can.
“Really, it’s about having fun. That was, and is, my main motivation. I enjoy the physical challenge, and the mental challenge of problem solving. The camaraderie and being part of a team. Often when you get home, you sit back and reflect, you remember the banter and what you’ve fought through and overcome it. Those are the positives that make it worth doing again and again and again.”