Catoctin Mountain Park News Release
March 27, 2014
Debra Mills
Catoctin Mountain Park to Host the 2014 National Park Service Basic Technical Rescue Training
News Release
Catoctin Mountain Park will host the East Coast session of the 2014 National Park Service Basic Technical Rescue Training. The Catoctin Mountain Park location moves the Basic Technical Rescue Training to its tenth state and fourth NPS region. This course is in its 18th year, and is one of the most outstanding training opportunities offered in the National Park Service. The 30 National Park Service Rangers and agency partners participating in this course, based in Catoctin Mountain Park's Camp Round Meadow, will spend five intense days learning how to rig the ropes and climbing equipment needed to rescue people trapped in dangerous and often remote mountainous settings.This course is not open to the public and media will need an escort to enter the training site due to the hazardous nature of the activity.
The highly skilled instructor cadre is comprised of experienced emergency responders and recreation outfitters who will teach basic rigging and rappelling in the Camp Round Meadow Gymnasium. Rangers will then practice rescue scenarios on sheer rock faces in Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia and at Michaux State Forest, Pennsylvania. Class participants will face the challenges of transporting bulky and heavy equipment over rough terrain, working in existing weather conditions and in dangerous vertical locations similar to those encountered in actual rescue situations.
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<.5in right="" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;">Catoctin Mountain Park is one of over 400 units administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Correspondence should be addressed to: Superintendent, Catoctin Mountain Park, 6602 Foxville Road, Thurmont, MD 21788. Our website address is www.nps.gov/cato.The Visitor Center is open from 9:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. daily. Emergency calls should be directed to the National Capital Region Communications Center at 1-866-677-6677.
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Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
