The Cave and Technical Rescue Team as well as West Valley SAR successfully completed their MRA snow and ice re-certification on March 7 in Squaw Valley ski resort in Lake Tahoe, CA. The re-certification consisted of two parts. In the first part teams were required to proceed to a snow slope with a set of coordinates to find their patient. Once the patient was located he/she was packaged and evacuated. Throughout the process the teams are accompanied by two evaluators who score the team's technical rope skills, medical care, communications, and leadership skills.

The second part of the test involved an avalanche beacon search. A team of 3 was taken to a slope and provided a scenario where three people have been overcome by an avalanche. Two were wearing beacons, but a third was not. The team of three is then allowed 15 minutes to locate all three people and scored according to their technique and haste. Placer County Sheriff's SAR organized this year's re-certification, and they did a terrific job. The venue was ideal, and the scenarios were challenging. As always, it is good to see our fellow MRA teams in action, and to be a  part of such an organization.