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1.1 This guide establishes the minimum training, including general and field knowledge, skills, and abilities, for search and rescue personnel who conduct operations in mountainous terrain.

1.2 A Mountain Endorsement is intended only for those individuals capable of operating in the difficult conditions found in mountainous terrain, at altitudes that may have a negative impact on human physiology.

1.3 Specifically, Mountain Endorsed individuals may, under qualified supervision, perform their normal duties safely and effectively in mountainous terrain.

1.4 A Mountain Endorsement alone is not sufficient to indicate that an individual has the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities to perform any specific duties, including search and rescue operations, other than those defined within this guide.

1.5 This guide alone does not provide the minimum training requirements for performing operations in partially or fully collapsed structures, in- or on-water, in confined spaces, underground (such as in caves, mines, and tunnels), or in an alpine environment.

1.6 Type I-IV teams (as defined in F1993) which may utilize personnel trained to this guide are Kind A (wilderness), Kind B (urban), and Kind C (mountainous), Kind D (disaster/collapse), Kind E (inland water), Kind G (cave), Kind H (mine), Kind I (avalanche), Kind J (evidence/cadaver), Kind K (aircraft), and/or Kind L (unclassified).

1.7 Mountain Endorsed SAR personnel must work under qualified supervision, as deemed appropriate by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ).

1.8 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

4.1 This guide establishes a minimum standard for training of SAR personnel who conduct operations in mountainous terrain.

4.2 This guide only establishes the minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities required for a person to operate in mountainous terrain as a part of a larger team. No other skills are included or implied.

4.3 Mountain Endorsement only indicates that personnel are qualified to operate safely and effectively in mountainous terrain in their normal area of operations.

4.4 This guide is an outline of the topics required for training or evaluating a Mountain Endorsed individual, and may be used to assist in the development of a training document or program.

4.5 This guide can be used to evaluate a document to determine if its content includes the topics necessary for training individuals to operate in the mountainous environment. Likewise, this guide can be used to evaluate an existing training program to see if it meets the requirements in this guide.

4.6 The knowledge, skills, and abilities presented in the following sections are not in any particular order and do not represent a training sequence.

4.7 This guide does not stand alone and must be used with other ASTM Standards to identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to conduct search and/or rescue in the mountainous environment.

4.8 Though this guide establishes only minimum standards, it does not imply that a Mountain Endorsed individual is a “trainee,” “probationary,” or other similarly termed member of an organization.

4.9 Mountain Endorsed individuals shall document training by completion of a position task book, or by field demonstration under qualified supervision. Where proficiency in a skill or ability must be demonstrated, unless stated otherwise it shall be demonstrated for initial qualification, and as often as required by the AHJ.