This Saturday RescueFest returns to Second Street Rufina for Atalaya Search and Rescue’s annual fundraiser event, and it’s going to be a fun time for a good cause that you should definitely check out.

On Wednesday evening, I met up with volunteer rescuers Ryan LaMonica and Matthew Smith to reacquaint myself with this great local organization and get some details on their upcoming event.

First off, what is Atalaya Search and Rescue, you ask?

“We are a technical search and rescue team based in Santa Fe,” LaMonica said. “And, we have membership spread between Los Alamos, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque.”

ASAR is one of two teams in Santa Fe, actually, the other being Santa Fe Search and Rescue. The difference here is that ASAR is MRA (Mountain Rescue Association) certified. That means they are certified by the original organization (founded in Mount Hood Oregon) that has standardized search and rescue accreditation for over 70 years.

“There are 90 teams nationwide that are all held to the same standard, with a little bit of tailoring to specific regional needs,” LaMonica said. “We are basically held to the national standards that ninety teams are held to.”

Atalaya Search and Rescue operates with the Department of Public Safety and State Police, and is trained to perform everything from high-angle rescues with rope systems, medium-angle type extractions, snow evacuations, avalanche evacuations, as well as performing a wide range of missing-person searches.

“And, so that’s what we do in a nutshell,” LaMonica said. “We kind of hold ourselves to a high standard, and we respond all over northern New Mexico.”

Atalaya Search and Rescue has been around since 2002, and is entirely volunteer based, averaging around 35 to 40 members in a given year. They train and meet together as an organization every other week.

“The following weekend, we’ll typically spend a half day out in the field rotating through the five different scenarios (mentioned above),” Smith explained.

ASAR also holds the occasional classroom-based training, with supplemental training in first aid and other supporting skills.

“We also try to support our (active) members by allowing people to go to (regional-specific) wilderness first-aid classes, and we will reimburse 50 or 100 percent of the costs,” Smith said.

ASAR is organized as separate nonprofits and relies entirely on fundraising to pay for things like technical equipment, trainings, and to keep the lights on, so to speak.

“We do some grant writing. We have people that contribute annually. In fact, some people that we’ve rescued contribute annually as a thank you. But then, RescueFest is our big event, and most of the funding that we really rely on comes in through this big annual event,” said Smith, who also just so happens to be the treasurer of the group.

RescueFest has been put on since 2014 and has had a number of great organizations supporting it along the way. Second Street Brewery has hosted the event for the better part of a decade at several locations now, including brewing a special Atalaya Altbier for the events. Other supporters have included St. John’s College, hosting ASAR in a small, but mighty space, to organizations this year like Creative Santa Fe, Presbyterian, New Mexico Mountain Club, the Santa Fe Reporter, and this year’s musicians, Bill Hearne, Strangers From Afar, and Escape on a Horse.

“We’re very excited to have all these partners coming in and supporting us,” Smith said. ”But, the most important part is the community. The reason we spent so much time and effort and money this year on advertising is because we want people to come. We want to meet them. We want to have them come to our engagement tables and learn basics like tying knots with ropes. We want them to learn how to use apps, because that’s the new thing.”

To ASAR, RescueFest is more than just a fundraiser. It’s about engaging with and educating the community. It’s about awareness and preparedness.

“We want them to know what can go wrong, even during a simple 3-mile hike, and that they should over prepare, they should have more water than they think they need, they should have more food than they think they need, should have a few extra layers,” LaMonica explained. “It gets cold at night here, even if it’s 90 degrees in the middle of the day.

“The second piece is we want people to understand that search and rescue is here. It’s here in Santa Fe, it’s here in New Mexico. It’s here for you. Please, please understand that if you’re in trouble, it’s better to call right away and get those resources moving. We’re all coming from work. We’re all lying in bed, sleeping. And, we’ll have to pack our bags, and we have to meet and get our gear. And then, we have to drive two hours to get to the trailhead to start hiking to even come get you. So, if you’re in trouble, even if you’re not too worried yet, it’s always better to call and get us moving. And, we’re there for you.”

“It’s important to note, too, that people aren’t charged when they’re rescued,” Smith added.

ASAR added that if you have service and you find yourself in trouble in the back country, call 911. That will get the appropriate wheels turning.

If you’d like to learn more about ASAR, about joining ASAR, or supporting Atalaya Search and Rescue, but can’t make it to the event, you can visit their website. ASAR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

At a glance:

Who: Atalaya Search and Rescue

What: RescueFest 2023

Where: Second Street Brewery-Rufina, 2920 Rufina Street, Santa Fe, NM, 87507

When: Saturday, September 30, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Why you should go: Enjoy great local music and Atalaya Altbier, baby! Plus, community engagement booths, a silent auction, a raffle with great prizes, and the chance to help out these fine folks. Also, Second Street is donating 30 percent of their beer and food revenue as well, so just going and eating, imbibing, and enjoying yourself will help support the cause.

To RescueFest! And to great local beer supporting great local causes, cheers!

— Luke

For more craft beer news and @darksidebc stories follow me on Twitter or whatever it’s called now, @SantaFeCraftBro. Join me on Untappd: SantaFeLuke