Scottish Mountain Rescue

Tiso and Scottish Mountain Rescue

Throughout Scotland, day or night and 365 days of the year, over 850 selfless, highly trained volunteers are willing to go at a moments notice at request of Police Scotland to the aid of a casualty in the outdoors. Often these unpaid, hardy rescuers who sacrifice family and work commitments to attend a call-out, face atrocious weather conditions as they search for a stricken climber, skier, mountain-biker or hiker injured or lost in Scotland’s great outdoors.

From the North of Scotland and islands to the Scottish boarders these volunteers form the Scottish Mountain Rescue community are part of a world clSearch and Rescue (SAR) service, the 28 Scotland-wide teams are all charities. SMR community also co-ordinates with three Police Scotland MRT’s, 1 RAF Lossiemouth MRT, 2 search and rescue dog organisations and Scotland’s Search and Rescue Helicopter (SARH) organisations.

Tiso Group is exceptionally proud to actively support the work of Scottish Mountain Rescue. For over 50 years, the Tiso family and outdoor business hboth enjoyed a very special bond with SMR. A practical and collaborative relationship, it goes far beyond simply offering financial support. Indeed, the family’s involvement started in 1969, when as a Scotland-based, prominent climber of his generation, the late Graham Tiso, co-founder of what is now Scotland’s leading outdoor retail specialist, was working as a volunteer winter instructor at Glenmore Lodge.

During his time at Glenmore, Graham was involved in some serious rescues in the Cairngorms, often undertaken in very challenging winter conditions. His sChris, the current CEO of Tiso Group and a keen skier and mountaineer has also followed in his father’s footsteps. During the late 1980s and at school in Perthshire, he was a member and leader of the Rannoch Mountain Rescue Team. This time spent as an active volunteer only further cemented Chris’ huge respect for the dedication, courage and skills of Scotland’s small army of hardy volunteers, who day or night and whatever the weather conditions, respond to calls for help from complete strangers.

As we enter a new decade, Scotland’s stunning rugged landscape of wild moors, mountains, forests and rivers is attracting outdoor enthusiastsunprecedented numbers. Tiso is aware that such popularity can potentially lead to a greater number of incidents requiring the response of Scottish Mountain Rescue and its partners.

Consequently, there is no doubt that the role of Scottish Mountain Rescue remains as relevant and crucial today as when it was first formed. Our stothroughout the country are all locations where you can pop a few coins in SMR collection tins. For all of us who embrace all that the great outdoors has to offer, making a small donation can be a way of lessening the financial burden on a charity whose work and skilled team members are an integral part of Scotland’s diverse outdoor community.

Hopefully you will never need to call upon the services of these volunteers and will heed the well publicised advice to plan, dress and equip propebefore heading into the hills. However, accidents do happen and it’s humbling to know that at a moment’s notice there is always a team of selfless volunteers willing and able to respond to a request from Police Scotland for assistance.