Oban Mountain Rescue Team

04/10/2026

Team called out yesterday afternoon to cragfast hillwalkers in low cloud on Ben Cruachan

By the time the team arrived at the location the cloud had lifted slightly and team members were able to extricate the hillwalkers from some really sketchy craggy ground and back to the safety of the path.

28/09/2026

After a busy weekend, Oban MRT are again deploying with Police Scotland Argyll & West Dunbartonshire and Police Scotland West MRT to assist in the search for Michal.

If anyone has any information, please contact Police on details in post below.

Police Scotland is appealing to the public to help trace Michal Jurkowski who has been reported missing on the Isle of Mull.

The 36-year-old was last seen around 9pm on Thursday, 24 September, 2026, in the Catchean Campsite in the Fionnphort area.

He is described as around 5ft 8 in height with long blonde hair and a beard. Michal also has distinctive tattoos on his neck.

When last seen, he was wearing a black anorak style jacket, light grey jogging bottoms, a black and white woollen hat and white trainers.

Inspector Andrew Barron said: “We are growing concerned for Michal’s welfare and our enquiries are ongoing to trace him.

“We are appealing to anyone who may have seen Michal or has any information on his whereabouts to contact us as soon as possible.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland via 101 quoting incident number 1670 of 25 September, 2026.

27/09/2026

On Saturday night we celebrated 25 years of Oban MRT with an evening of great food and some very enthusiastic ceilidh dancing 💃🕺

The evening brought together team members, both new and old (some considerably older than others now... 😂), along with their significant others and many of the people who have played an important part in the team's journey over the years.

We were particularly pleased to welcome some of our founding members and long-standing team members, several of who are still active team members today.

There was a lot of reminiscing about the early days of Oban MRT, how things have changed over the years and, of course some of our more memorable and interesting call outs.

Thanks to all of the organisers and here's to the next 25 years! 🥂⛰️🚁

Many of the team and their ceilidh legs were up early this morning to help with an ongoing search on the Isle of Mull. No rest day this weekend for our dedicated volunteer team members!

26/09/2026

Our IAM RoadSmart Advanced Driving Observers will be helping deliver the upcoming Road Safety hubs next month in partnership with Police Scotland Argyll & West Dunbartonshire and IAMRoadsmart (Glasgow North Group)

Winter Driving - https://orlo.uk/sgsCX

Night Driving - https://orlo.uk/AWcUN

06/09/2026

Today’s training was a joint exercise with the Scottish Cave Rescue Organisation in the Glen Creran area.
A simulated rescue of an injured caver in one of the local caves. Great fun and lots of skill transfer between us and Cave Rescue

Scottish Mountain Rescue
Scottish Cave Rescue Organisation

28/08/2026

Ever wondered how much it costs to kit out an Oban MRT volunteer team member?

The personal kit carried by each of our volunteer team members costs around £5,000. Equipment needs to be replaced approximately every 5 years due to wear and tear, that's £1,000, per team member, every year.

These photos show the essential personal equipment our team members carry, with additional specialist kit added during the winter months to keep us safe in Scotland's harsh conditions.

Our volunteers also provide their own:
• Base layers
• Fleece layers
• Underwear
• Food and drink for long days (and nights) on the hill

The £5,000 figure also doesn’t include the team equipment that we own collectively and carry on rescues. This includes medical equipment, technical rescue gear, stretchers, communications equipment and other rescue kit. The true cost of keeping a mountain rescue team operational is considerably higher.

As a charity, we rely on the generosity of our community to help keep our team equipped, trained and ready to respond whenever we're needed.

If you'd like to support the work of Oban Mountain Rescue Team, please consider making a donation. Every pound helps us replace essential equipment, maintain kit, and ensure our volunteers have what they need to respond safely when someone needs help in our hills.

08/08/2026

Worth a read

31/07/2026

⛰️⛑️ BEHIND THE SCENES OF MOUNTAIN RESCUE - PART 2 ⛑️⛰️

Oban Mountain Rescue team are supporting events across Argyll this summer, providing First Aid cover and marshalling across the region from Knapdale to Appin. In addition to generating funds and publicity for the team, it’s also a really good way of connecting with the communities in our area.

First up, back in May, we were in Jura supporting the fell race in partnership with Arrochar team. Events of this nature can only go ahead with the specialist mountain first aid that mountain rescue teams can provide, and it’s always a special event which team members are keen to be involved in.

We were at the Taynuilt Highland Games with a vehicle and supporters providing event first aid cover, and in August we will offer similar cover for the Appin Agricultural show, in addition to marshalling the gruelling hill race up Beinn Donn.

Finally in November we will be in the glorious surroundings of Taynish Nature Reserve in Knapdale, for the Taynish 10k and trail race (and of course the wonderful cakes…)

If you’re planning on attending, or competing, in any of the events then please come and find us. And any donations will be gratefully received!

If you want to support our work in another way, by possibly getting involved in some of this ‘behind the scenes’, non-operational work, we’d also LOVE to hear from you! Get in touch on Facebook or through this link: https://forms.office.com/e/69SS8N2mbS

Oban Mountain Rescue Team – Volunteers ready to respond to those in need, 24/7, 365.

20/07/2026

⛰️⛑️ BEHIND THE SCENES OF MOUNTAIN RESCUE - PART 1 ⛑️⛰️

Mountain rescue isn't all helicopters and adrenaline fuelled hikes up to mountain vistas! This is the first in a short series that we’ll be sharing, to give you an insight into the behind-the-scenes realities of Mountain Rescue.

Before we can even step out the door to a rescue – and even to training - we need to be equipped, have a means of getting on to the hill, and in general, be appropriately organised as a group of volunteers who use their own free time for team activities.

This means that first and foremost, we need to raise funds to support our training, operations, and procurement and maintenance of equipment, drones, vehicles and premises – as well as all the somewhat less glitzy aspects of a volunteer rescue organisation such as insurance and utilities.

Fundraising is the responsibility of the entire team, but we are lucky enough to have a committed fundraising sub-group who meet consistently, planning in order to ensure that the team will be able to continue our life-saving search and rescue operations well into the future.

This workload can be significantly alleviated by your support – whether you can donate a small amount once or perhaps may be able to contribute a monthly donation, it all makes a huge difference to the team.

Another often hidden but crucial part of our support network are our monthly supporters – those that give even a small amount regularly ensure that we are continuously rescue ready – they may often go unrecognised, but we want to take the time to thank them now for their vital support behind the scenes!

If you want to support our work in another way, by possibly getting involved in some of this ‘behind the scenes’, non-operational work, we’d also LOVE to hear from you! Get in touch on Facebook or through this link: https://forms.office.com/e/69SS8N2mbS

Oban Mountain Rescue Team – Volunteers ready to respond to those in need, 24/7, 365.

13/07/2026

It was a busy heatwave weekend for the team! ☀️

On Saturday morning we were tasked to assist with a search for a missing person on the Isle of Mull. Fortunately, as the team were boarding the ferry the missing person was located safe and well at a local hotel.

On Sunday we swapped hill kit for wetsuits to take part in the Rotary Club of Oban Raft Race. We had a great time splashing about in the bay, although there may have been a little friendly rivalry between land rescue and sea rescue... With Dave taking it upon himself to test the buoyancy of the RNLI Oban Lifeboat Station raft 🏴‍☠️

A huge thank you to everyone for cheering us on, we were chuffed to win the Fan Favourite award! 🏆

Our mascot, Lora, also made an appearance to say hello. She loved meeting everyone, but the heatwave wasn't the most comfortable weather for a giant dog made of foam and fleece, so she sensibly kept her wander around town quite short 🐾

After the race, the team got together for a well earned BBQ in the sunshine. It was cut a little short when we were called out following a report from a well meaning walker who had heard calls for help. The team deployed (with their sausage rolls and burgers) to investigate the reported location, but thankfully there was no sign of anyone in difficulty.

A big thank you to MacQueen Bros Ltd & MacQueen Self Store Ltd and The Rotary Club of Oban for another brilliant event, to and to everyone who came along to support the day. We hope to see you again next year... Although Oban RNLI might be keeping a closer eye on Pirate Dave! 😉

📷 1-5 Beth Chalmers Photography

Macqueen Bros