Do your Aerial Rescue training!

Ski Patrol had us do "cut out" training quite a bit. Scenario a lift mechanic injured and suspended by a declaration lanyard. Goal is to secure him to our gear then cut his. Lower entire package safely. Oh yeah ... Administer First Aid as well.
 
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For 2 of our guys this was their first time practicing rescue. We didn't do any cut rope rescues. Next time though...


love
nick
 
Why cut ropes in a panic situation?

Safety in SRT with a rope bag to prevent the rope getting trapped by ground objects, etc.


I always unweight a tested system, fully weighting the new system and testing it. This also means you can unclip, rather than cut your old system, and your old system is intact in case you need it.

If you cut it without fully testing it, you're hoping that you only cut the intended system's rope, and the new, yet to be fully loaded system will work without adjustment.
 
Has anyone here had to actually rescue somebody out of a tree?

Or is aerial rescue just something that the competition climbers would like us to believe has a place in real life.
 
My manager had to be rescued at the end of last year as he slipped and put the saw in his arm trying to rush. He couldn't get himself down as he was keeping pressure on the wound.As part of our contract we have to complete 1 rescue every month just to keep it fresh in your mind.
 
Ropes or Lanyards are cut when it is impossible to hoist or somehow relieve line tension , at that point they are part of the the problem.
 
Has anyone here had to actually rescue somebody out of a tree?

Or is aerial rescue just something that the competition climbers would like us to believe has a place in real life.

I had to go up and get a guy down back in 1988. He had tied into one tree and trimmed it, then traversed into an adjacent small tree to cut the top out. When the top snapped free, the rebound "threw" him more than he anticipated and for some unknown reason, he decided to throw his hand into the chain. It chewed his hand up pretty good. Wasn't that bad, but he freaked out and started screaming, so I went up and belayed him back to the TIP tree, then untied his tautline hitch and the guys lowered him to the ground.
 
Been involved in a rescue when a large gin point lead popped off a tree landing on the climbers line and pushing him toward the primaries. Threw him a tag line to pull him back away and sent Two climbers after him as his system was under too much pressure to operate.
 
Not a bad thing to practice. We're starting to do a deal where I show up sometime and say "you, you just cut your leg", and let it play out. Real life
 
Good, Willie!



Naturally, there are times where you have an overloaded/ compromised climbing system.

I saw one trick of putting a small snap on top of the climber's hitch, clipped on the rope. This is tether to the AR'er. As the AR'er descends on his//her system, it releases the victim's hitch a bit lowering both.




Review steps/ judgment calls to Avoid an incident, then how to practice how to Self-Rescue (including resetting climbing systems as needed, in advance), then AR.
 
I read this thread just before leaving to go camping this weekend and got a refresher rescue Saturday. I set a srt system up to let the kids climb a bit and one got gear locked with the foot ascender. I had the others time me as I set another line, made a rope saddle, and ascended. Just under 3 minutes till he was free. I could've lowered him from the base tie but he was calm and said he would rather I come up and help him figure it out.
I know it probably wasn't a record time but I also went pretty old school on getting there. Throw line, one rope, and one caribiner.
 
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...I saw one trick of putting a small snap on top of the climber's hitch, clipped on the rope. This is tether to the AR'er. As the AR'er descends on his//her system, it releases the victim's hitch a bit lowering both...

That's the technique I use. It frees up another hand for steadying the victim.

Did you practice a spar rescue Nick?

Nope. But that sounds freakin tough.

We started with a straight open descent. Then in the middle of the tree with branches in the way and the climber lanyarded in, then the same with the climbers leg stuck in a crotch.


love
nick
 
I have a few questions regarding the aerial rescue operations and possible solutions.

1. Is using the GRCS and a rigging line an acceptable method of lifting a victim out of a crotch?
2. If no GRCS, would a Port-a-wrap serve as a suitable lowering device for the victim?
3. Is it ever wise to use ANY rigging gear as a rescue tool? Are there exceptions made for such events as life-saving?
4. When a person's life is in jeopardy and these tools are available for use, it just seems to me that if we have an instant solution, we should use what we've got. Set me straight if I'm wrong.

I have never attended an aerial rescue class, but I always consider these possible solutions when I'm planning for such an event. Should I not consider any rigging gear as being available for rescues?

Many thanks for any input.

Joel
 
As far as our British training and certification goes, the answer to all 4 is yes.

Lowering equipment can and should be used when the climbers own line is damaged or unusable. On the first question, you could use the grcs but keep the casualty attached to their climbing line. Changeovers have been identified as a high risk part of the process, so avoid as much as possible.
 
Mick,

I understand. We all know that we are taking a risk each time we enter a tree. It's a risk that we are willing to take. This is something that fascinates me about man and his daredevil attitude.

But on the other side of this coin, we have people who are willing to risk their lives in order to save another person. They, too, are daredevils.

When thinking about how I would go about rescuing a person from a tree, I think about all of the tools I have available to me at that very moment. I often see a winch, GRCS, port-a-wrap, etc....as not only great rigging devices, but also as possible aerial rescue solutions.

All of these tools are immediately available to me on most jobs. I often think about installing the GRCS for rescue purposes only.....even if the job I'm doing doesn't require the use of the GRCS.

I was just wondering if any of these options are frowned upon by the industry rescue professionals. I honestly don't know.

Joel
 
Joel, not being a daredevil, or saying its a good thing.

Many of us go out with a groundy (or two) who would only be able to phone the emergency services.
 
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