Our monthly general meetings are open to the public, generally on the third Monday of every month. Some trainings are open to guests who have attended the general meeting preceding the training. Others are open only to BAMRU trainees and members.
BAMRU monthly General Meetings are where members discuss recent and future Unit activities, including trainings and missions. General Meetings are open to the public, generally on the third Monday of every month. [See calendar for dates.] We share our expertise and learn from our experiences. Potential applicants are encouraged to attend as many meetings as possible to get to know us and vice versa.
BAMRU also has monthly trainings throughout the year to reinforce member skills and train our first-year cohort. All trainings are led and taught by Unit members. Some trainings are open to guests under specific conditions - please see the guest policy. BAMRU-only trainings advance core competencies. See below for upcoming meetings and trainings and hover over trainings for more information. Asterisks * mark the core program for first-year trainees.
Permission to participate in a BAMRU training is at the sole discretion of BAMRU. 'G' marks training events that are open to Guests. Selected BAMRU trainings are open to guests provided the guest has:
(1) attended the general meeting preceding the training,
(2) completed Sheriff's Office waiver form and been sworn in by a designated Sheriff's official, and
(3) been approved by that training leader.
Some of the trainings have limited space for guests. All events and schedules are subject to change.
Most BAMRU meetings are hybrid Zoom and in-person, but some are now in-person only. Guests are welcome. For an invitation, email recruiting@bamru.org.
| Unit Meeting, Virtual Only | Jan 27 |
| Unit Meeting, Hybrid | Feb 24 |
| Unit Meeting, In Person at ROC* | Mar 17 |
| Unit Meeting, Hybrid | Apr 21 |
| Unit Meeting, In Person at ROC* | May 19 |
Weekend trainings are typically full days (8am to 6pm, plus travel time to training site). Weekday trainings are typically evenings only (approximately 7pm to 10pm) and will likely be virtual.
| DO Skills Night * Virtual | Dec 4 |
| DO Skills Night * Virtual | Dec 4 |
| On-Road Driver Training * New County Employee Garage, 266 Middlefield Rd. (@ the ROC) | Dec 7 |
| Off-pavement Driver Training Hollister Hills SVRA | Dec 8 |
| Mental Health Skills Night * TBD | Dec 11 |
| Mental Health Skills Night * ROC (In-Person) | Dec 11 |
| Castle Peak Small Alpine Donner Summit | Dec 21-22 |
| Snow Camping * North Lake Tahoe area | Jan 11-12 |
| Snow Skills* TBD | Feb 1-2 |
| MRA Reaccreditation: Wilderness Search & Tracking San Mateo County | Mar 8 |
| AHC Skills Night * TBD | Mar 12 |
| Tahoe Small Alpine TBD | Mar 14-16 |
| Snow Training Backup Dates * TBD | Mar 22-23 |
OL Training TBDInvite-only |
Apr 9 |
Tracking * G TBDThe tracking training will cover primarily basic topics in tracking - recognizing sign, preserving clues, the structure of a tracking team, and following sign. Guests are welcome at this training, pending leader approval. |
Apr 26 |
Medical * G TBDMedical Skills Training is all about putting our skills and knowledge to use. BAMRU has an exciting medical skills training planned this year. Some highlights include guest lecture by Stanford's Wilderness Medicine Fellow, Skill labs with lots of hands on practice, and the BAMRU Medical Olympics where groups compete at a diverse set of wilderness scenarios. Training open to guests, pending Leader approval. |
Apr 27 |
| Medical * TBD | Apr 27 |
Search Management TBDWe will spend two days planning and executing the first operational period of a search operation, in slow motion, in rugged terrain. |
May 17-18 |
| Mock Search * G TBD | Jun 21 |
SAR Basic * G TBDIntensive weekend training to orient prospective members on the basic skills required to operate effectively in search and rescue operations. Intended for people with no prior SAR experience. Attendance at SAR Basic is one of the requirements for application to become a Trainee member. Training open to guests, pending Leader approval. |
Jul 26-27 |
| Onboarding * TBD | Aug 13 |
| Gear and Truck Training * TBD | Aug 16 |
Navigation * TBDNavigation training and signoffs, concentrating on map and compass, gps and caltopo usage. Focusing on becoming an effective nav lead during operations. Prerequisite include ability to read topo maps and relate terrain features to topo maps. |
Aug 23 |
Low Angle * TBDWe will focus on single line rescue systems as an introduction to the larger world of technical rescue. Personal Rock Skills is required to attend this training. |
Aug 24 |
| Purcell Prusik Skills Night TBD | Sep 17 |
Personal Rock Skills (PRS) * TBDThis two day course covers general rock skills skill stations, scenarios, and discussion of their application within the SAR community. Topics include anchors (trad gear and natural protection), belaying, rappelling, basic self-rescue, jugging/ascending, and personal emergency evac equipment with scenarios. Focus will be on both theory and practice. Personal rock skills is a prerequisite for Basic Technical Training. |
Sep 20-21 |
| Low Angle Skills Night TBD | Oct 8 |
| High Angle * TBD | Oct 11-12 |
DO Skills * TBDWe will cover the theory of being Duty Officer (what needs to be done during any DO shift, DO-ing during a training, what needs to be done in the ramp up for a search, etc), and the practice of DO-ing (how do we accomplish all of these things with the tools we have, like bamru.net). For new and experienced DOs alike! |
Nov 5 |
Tracking * G TBDThe tracking training will cover primarily basic topics in tracking - recognizing sign, preserving clues, the structure of a tracking team, and following sign. Guests are welcome at this training, pending leader approval. |
Nov 15 |
| On-Road Driver Training TBD | Dec 6 |
| Mental Health Skills Night TBD | Dec 10 |