The Hellenic Rescue Team hosts for the first time in Greece the International Commission for Alpine Rescue Congress

Increased tourism in the mountains of Greece, even during the winter months, has resulted in an exponential increase in accidents and, subsequently, in search and rescue operations. In addition, the lack of mountaineering education, information and training is another important factor contributing to the further increase in incidents, many of which are unfortunately fatal for climbers.

The Hellenic Rescue Team (HRT), in the context of fulfilling its statutory purpose of informing and educating the public on self-protection and prevention, focuses its efforts on raising awareness of mountaineers and all those involved in mountain safety issues, through a series of actions and initiatives. These include the free self-protection schools it holds each year for citizens, seminars, training sessions and workshops on first aid, the use of safety equipment, meteorology and telecommunications.

At the same time, HRT has been managing the Petrostrougas shelter for over ten years, while its volunteers take care of the maintenance of the emergency shelters on Mount Olympus.

Having completed 30 years of history in mountain rescue in Greece, HRT is hosting, for the first time in the country,  the World Mountain Rescue Conference, which will take place from 15 to 20 October 2024, in Thessaloniki (Grand Hotel Palace).

The Congress will present all the developments in the field of mountain rescue, both in terms of techniques and procedures and in terms of materials, innovative technologies and pre-hospital care and First Aid. Accident statistics and incident analysis occupy an important part of the presentations, while the central theme is the training and education of rescuers.

In addition to the presentations and lectures, the programme of the event includes a day of mountain rescue demonstrations, which will be held in Litochoro, Pieria with the participation of HRT volunteers and other rescue teams from abroad.

It should be noted that the Hellenic Rescue Team is the only organization in Greece that is a member of the International Commission for Alpine Rescue (ICAR) since 2007.

 The conference is under the auspices of the Region of Central Macedonia.

You may watch the Congress promo video here.