Park Ranger (Alpine Rescue and Mountaineering)

Park Ranger (Alpine Rescue and Mountaineering), Mount Rainier National Park, 

Ashford, WA, Longmire, WA

See vacancy posting for full requirements and to apply: 
USAJOBS - Job Announcement

Duties

This position requires the mastery of a broad array of special technical skills, as well as leadership attributes in high-risk operations, with less than weekly oversight provided by a GS-11 supervisor. Incumbents are expected to enter on duty with a professional level of climbing and winter mountaineering background and experience. Major duties include:

• Staffing high camps and performing climbing patrols on Mount Rainier
• Conducting training and teaching advanced mountaineering techniques
• Performing alpine rescues, conducting emergency medical services, as well as a broad array of aviation/helicopter insertion and extraction techniques including Human External Cargo (short haul) operations.
• Overseeing daily operations of up to 10 rangers and mentoring individual rangers.
• Duties related to visitor services and resource protection make up a third of the position. The incumbent makes visitor contacts and ensures that visitors are complying with park regulations.

A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR §575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Mount Rainier National Park is located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. It was established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States. The park encompasses 236,381 acres (369.35 sq mi; 956.60 km2) including all of Mount Rainier, a 14,411-foot (4,392 m) stratovolcano. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet to over 14,000 feet (490 - 4,300 m). The highest point in the Cascade Range, around it are valleys, waterfalls, subalpine meadows, old-growth forest and more than 25 glaciers. The volcano is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow on the peak every year and hide it from the crowds that head to the park on weekends. The Carbon Glacier is the largest glacier by volume in the contiguous United States, while Emmons Glacier is the largest glacier by area.

About 1.8 million people visit Mount Rainier National Park each year. Mount Rainier is a popular peak for mountaineering with some 11,500 attempts per year with approximately 50% making it to the summit. Work takes place at all levels in the park from low-country ranger stations to climbing and rescue activities at the summit. Work is extremely strenuous and often conducted in poor weather. Backcountry travel is required and subject to primitive conditions and composes up to several weeks each year.