Mountain Rescue

How do I become a member?

We have open enrollment in November/December, followed by a 9-month Observation/Probation Program. Check out the membership details and fill complete a Stowe Mountain Rescue Application(PDF, 781KB) and Reference Packet(PDF, 676KB).

If I need to use rescue services, what does it cost?

We do not charge for services. Your safety is paramount and we never want assistance for an injury or other type of emergency to be dictated by a financial decision.

How many calls do you go on in a given year?

We support 45-55 calls per year. All seasons are well represented as our surrounding back country draws outdoor enthusiasts throughout the year.

How do you interact with Stowe Emergency Medical Services?

Stowe Mountain Rescue’s mission is to safely extract a subject from a back-country location. The team is licensed by the Vermont Dept. of Health as a first response agency so we can provide quality medical treatment until we turn over care and transport to a local hospital to Stowe EMS.

Do you work with other local SAR (Search and Rescue) agencies/teams?

Yes, we work closely with many local SAR teams, especially on missions where extensive manpower is required to extract injured people from difficult situations.

Do you respond outside of Stowe?

Yes, we routinely provide mutual aid support to our neighboring communities, and have a Memorandum of Understanding with the State of Vermont Dept. of Public Safety under which we may be asked to assist in other more distant areas of the State.

Do you provide rescue training to outside organizations?

We do not provide training to outside organizations, but we do work with other SAR teams in joint training events. Example: Colchester Technical Rescue, VT State Police/Search and Rescue, New England K-9 Search and Rescue.

How do you interact with Stowe Resort / Mt. Mansfield Ski Patrol?

Mt. Mansfield Ski Patrol is responsible for all in-bounds injuries. Stowe Mountain Rescue is responsible for all events/incidents outside of the ski area boundary. However, we have a very close working relationship and it is not uncommon for us to work together on missions near or in the ski area.

How is Stowe Mountain Rescue funded?

Stowe Mountain Rescue is funded primarily through Town of Stowe tax dollars. We also apply for state and federal grants to supply necessary equipment.

Jon Wehse

Team Chief. Jon has been skiing, snow shoeing, biking, kayaking, hiking and trail running throughout Stowe since 2007. When not enjoying Stowe's wonderful playground, Jon is tied to a desk supporting disaster recovery and cyber recovery operations for a Fortune 40 company.

Drew Clymer

Deputy Chief. Drew is the Search and Rescue Coordinator for the State of Vermont Department of Public Safety. He originally moved to Vermont in 2008 with his wife and 2 daughters. An avid outdoorsman, he spends as much time as he can exploring the backcountry surrounding Stowe. When not working you will find him hunting, fishing, hiking, snowboarding, mountain biking, backcountry skiing or volunteering on a variety boards in the community.

Greg Speer

Lieutenant. Greg grew up in Vermont and spent much of his time hiking climbing and skiing the backcountry of the Green Mountains. After spending 10 years in Seattle and exploring the Pacific Northwest, Greg returned to Vermont and is co-owner of Stowe based Sunrise Mountain Guides. If ever we were foolish enough to organize a race, Greg would win it hands down, no matter how many rocks we put in his backpack!

Doug Veliko

Director of Training and Technical Systems. Doug is an accomplished technical rock and ice climber, climbing throughout the Northeast, Rockies, Sierras, Bugaboos and Cascades. Doug was the Team Chief for about 8 years, served as Deputy Chief and Training Officer for about 15 years and has been on the team for 30 years.  Doug has operational oversight on our missions, creating and managing the Caltopo maps that keep us organized and accounted for.  

Stella Richards

Originally from the UK, Stella and her family have lived in Stowe since 2013. Outside of Stowe Mountain Rescue, Stella is involved in the world of K9 Search, serving on North Country Search Dogs together with her Wilderness Airscent German Shepherd, Mookie. Stella is also an EMT and a Ski Patroller at Jay Peak.  She is on our leadership team with the responsibility of maintaining Mission Readiness, as well as managing our Social Media presence. 

Todd Westervelt

Todd is an avid back-country skier, hiker, and cyclist. He knows the trails and woods around Mount Mansfield well as he spends much of his spare time exploring the Stowe backcountry during the four seasons. Todd enjoys a career with Marvell Semiconductors.

Tom Rogers

Tom is an avid whitewater boater, backcountry skier, and mountain biker. He has worked as a guide and instructor across North America, and has run whitewater on five continents. Tom is Director of the Stowe Land Trust, working to preserve the landscape that we all love.

Andy Millick

Originally from Pennsylvania, Andy moved to Stowe in 2014. He is a climbing guide, Technical Rescue Instructor with Corvus Professional and Ski Patrol specialist at Jay Peak Ski Resort. Andy spends his free time with his wife and daughter exploring the mountains and tributaries throughout Vermont.  Andy is our Equipment Officer, maintaining and updating our technical gear. 

Alex Sargent

Alex spent 22 years in the Army serving as chief instructor at The Army Mountain Warfare School (where he went by ‘Master Sergeant Sargent’). He has climbed all over the world and is responsible for several first ascents on both rock and ice here in Stowe. He is the chief guide at the locally based Sunrise Mountain Guides.  Alex is an AEMT and serves as our Medical Officer, keeping our medical equipment organized and up to date and ensuring we have regular and relevant medical trainings. 

Michael Harger

Michael is a native Vermonter (Proctor) and is a PGA Professional managing the Golf and Alpine Club in Stowe. Although his job has taken him all over the world, he is thrilled to be living in Vermont once again and has called Stowe home since 2018. Michael is an avid outdoorsman and in his free time loves to fish, hunt, and explore the backcountry on his splitboard.

Greg Skelton

Greg Skelton was born and raised in Vermont and returned to the Stowe area in 2023 after thirty years in the military and government service. Both of Greg's parents hailed from Stowe and he always hoped to retire back to the area. Greg aims to get 100 plus days on skis per year until he turns 80. He is a third generation ski instructor at Stowe Mountain Resort, as well as serving on Ski Patrol.  He is an AEMT and recently earned his Diploma in Mountain Medicine. 

TJ Howard

TJ was born and raised in Massachusetts before moving to Vermont. He is a third generation public servant and a Lieutenant with the Vermont State Police.  He heads up the VSP Search and Rescue Team, managing all lost person searches in the State. In his free time he loves exploring the mountains and Vermont's backcountry, when he's not working in the sugar woods.

Ed Miller

Ed is no stranger to SAR or the Stowe backcountry. He is an avid backcountry skier, hiker, trail runner and biker. Ed serves as VP of the Stowe Nordic Outing Club and is the Trail Chief for the Stowe section of the Catamount Trail. Many years ago he worked with an air scent dog on a SAR team in New Jersey. Ed is a long-term member of our team and he supports us by taking excellent care of our fleet of vehicles.

Aaron Brillhart

Aaron Brillhart is an emergency physician at Northwestern Medical Center and the University of Vermont. He is involved with wilderness medicine teaching and research and holds a physician level certification in Mountain Medicine. He is an Associate Member on our team, providing valuable medical training and case review.

Richard Choularton

Richard is a beloved member of the team who is currently on leave of absence while he works his dream job as Director of the Climate and Resilience Service for the UN World Food Program in Italy. We miss him and look forward to his return, whenever that may be.

Neil Van Dyke, Member Emeritus

Member Emeritus. Neil is one of the team’s founders and served as team leader for more than 30 years. From 2010-2012 he served as President of the Mountain Rescue Association. He also served for ten years as Search and Rescue Coordinator for State of Vermont Dept. of Public Safety. Neil was voted in to MEMBER EMERITUS in February, 2021 after over 40 years on the team; Neil will continue to support the team on an ad hoc basis.

Ed Stewart, Member Emeritus

Member Emeritus. Ed is a founding member of the team and very active in SAR. He is a search team leader for the FEMA USAR Team from Beverly, Mass. Ed is a recently retired Detective Sergeant for the Stowe Police Dept and is the Emergency Management Director for the Town of Stowe.

Volunteering for our Rescue or Support Teams with Stowe Mountain Rescue is unlike any other volunteer job you might have had.

It takes significant training and preparation, unusual dedication, and the willingness and ability to exert yourself physically in austere and high-risk environments. Our team members are always on call, with typical missions taking place late in the day on weekends and holidays.

The rewards are also unlike a typical volunteer experience. Members are an integral part of a highly trained team of intelligent, fit, and experienced backcountry enthusiasts with experience as first responders. They learn new technical skills and have the opportunity to use what they know to save lives.

If you’re ready for a challenge, we encourage you to meet our members, look at our medical and rescue equipment, and explore our fleet and facilities. We welcome applications from any locally-based man or woman who has the drive and confidence to succeed as a member of our team.

Want to join the Stowe Mountain Rescue?

There are three levels of membership:

ASSOCIATE MEMBER
Associate Members may apply for membership based on their area(s) of interest, such as administrative (office support, fundraising, etc.), vehicle maintenance, etc. Associate members are encouraged to attend trainings and meetings to become integrated into the team culture.

SUPPORT MEMBER
Support Members are trained in general mission operations, incident command system, vehicle operations, basic land navigation, search techniques, litter carrying techniques, basic technical rope rescue systems and shoreline support for water rescues. Support Members provide technical assistance to Rescue Members during missions and training.

RESCUE MEMBER
Rescue Members must undertake rigorous, advanced training in high-angle and swiftwater rescue operations.They are skilled in designing advanced rescue systems and executing rescues in high-angle and swiftwater environments. Based on extensive training and investment with the team, these members are highly encouraged to commit to many years of service with the Mountain Rescue.

Requirements

Applicants to Stowe Mountain Rescue must:

• Be a resident of Stowe or live in an adjacent community.
• Possess strong recreational background in outdoor activities (hiking, skiing, mountain biking, rock/ice climbing, white water paddling etc.).
• Submit a fully completed and signed application which includes all supporting materials listed in this application; incomplete applications will not be considered
• Sign the volunteer service commitment as part of the application.
• Provide an official copy of your driver’s record from the Vermont DMV (The form is available on the web site).
• Present a photocopy of your driver’s license, EMS certification, CPR card, and any other current Fire/Rescue/EMS certifications you possess.
• Submit your application via U.S. Mail or in person at our station on South Main Street.
• Instruct your references to complete and return the reference form directly to us.

Before Applying

• Are you a resident of Stowe or an adjacent community?
• Are you willing to commit extensive time and energy to this team for at least 3-5 years?
• Are you able to meet the time commitment?
• If you do not have medical credentials, are you willing to pursue EMT/EMR ratings and commit to refresher requirements (typically 80 hours of extracurricular medical training every 2 years)? Not applicable to Associate member positions. Are you able to begin the orientation and membership process?

Application Process

Your primary contact throughout the application process is the Training Officer. The Team Chief and Training Officer will review your progress on a regular basis throughout the Application, Observation and Probationary periods.

• Submit a completed application by December 31 (Open enrollment is November and December of each year).
• Ask your references to complete and return the reference forms directly to us by the first week of January so that they arrive prior to your interview (mid January).
• Attend an interview with select members of the Mountain Rescue Team (Team Chief, Training Officer and at least two other members) (January).
• If selected to advance, you are entered into a 3-month Observation Period. During this time frame you must attend at least 2 Monthly meetings (First Wednesday of the month) and 2 monthly trainings (typically the third Sunday of the month). During the Observation Period you are highly encouraged to get to know the team members but, unfortunately, you will only be allowed to observe training events.
• At the end of the Observation Period (May), the team will vote on whether to allow you to proceed to the six-month Probationary Period. Only candidates we feel have a high degree of confidence for successfully completing the rigors of the Probationary Period will be allowed to proceed. Successful candidates demonstrate a willingness to participate, engage with team members and truly understand the commitment which they are about to undertake.
• During the Probationary Period, probationary members are able to respond to missions and actively participate in all Stowe Mountain Rescue training activities.
• The Probationary Period is where you will spend a significant amount of time engaged in training and orientation activities. The goal is to complete an intensive training program that is designed to bring probationary members up to “Support Member” status by November. This typically entails weekly ‘bootcamp’ training sessions in addition to the regular monthly training.
• Probationary members are issued minimal equipment but have access to team gear for training sessions and rescue calls.
• Associate members (administrative, fundraising, logistics, etc.) will go through some of the same rigorous training to fully understand the Mountain Rescue mission.
• Full team member status will be determined in November when the current team votes to accept new members.

Application Forms

Application & DMV Forms
Your application must be fully completed when submitted. It will remain confidential while being reviewed by the interview committee. On the DMV Form, please check the box titled "Certified copy of complete operating record (Vermont only) – $20.00."

• Stowe Mountain Rescue Application Packet(PDF, 781KB)
• Vermont DMV Record Request Form(PDF, 108KB)

Reference Form
We require three references. Please use persons for references that you have known at least one year. You may use only one Stowe Mountain Rescue member as a reference. Reference responses must arrive by January 10. Your references should make their submissions directly to Stowe Mountain Rescue at Stowe Mountain Rescue, Mountain Rescue Team Chief, P.O. Box 730, Stowe, Vermont 05672.

• Stowe Mountain Rescue Reference Packet(PDF, 676KB)