Two weeks in the North Atlantic delivered an enthusiastic gathering of rope rescue practitioners,
generous hospitality from our hosts, incredible scenery, and an appreciated spell of bluebird
weather. The trip began in Iceland, where Rigging for Rescue has been fortunate enough to train
on 10 separate occasions over the past 15+ years. This year’s seminar was in the town of
Akureyri, in the north. Known as the banana belt of Iceland, Akureyri often produces excellent
weather despite the northerly latitude.
The participant mix included some local SAR members from the Sulur team as well as
representation from Reykjavik teams and the surrounding vicinity. ICE SAR is the parent
organization that all Icelandic search and rescue teams work under and they serve as the
administrative body for an array of annual training courses to serve their member teams ongoing
professional development.
We covered many of the typical rope rescue topics and techniques, with an emphasis towards the
specific mission profile of rope rescue response in Iceland. Example included lots of hedgehog
anchors (ground-based aluminum plates staked into the turf), litter exercises, and some artificial
high directional applications.
Week two took us to the Faroe Islands and the capital city of Torshavn. The team in Torshavn
was founded in around 2010 and works closely with ICE SAR for continuing education. Rigging
for Rescue first came to the Faroes in 2013 and this trip represented our return visit. The Faroes
are comprised of 18 islands, many of which are linked by undersea tunnels. Including a new one
that has the world’s first undersea roundabout where you can choose from two different islands
to travel towards! Remarkable engineering feats.
Apparently it rains a lot in the Faroes, but the first week of September seems to be a sweet spot
as this was the second consecutive early September trip where we scarcely experienced anything
other than bluebird conditions. The team in the Faroes has continued to progress since our last
trip in 2013. Lots of new dedicated team members, a new SAR cache, ongoing in-house training
events, and a committed approach to systems analysis and critical thinking.
We experienced more great hospitality from our hosts that included a number of excellent
extracurricular activities such as sea kayaking and hiking near the spectacular sea cliffs above the
North Atlantic. The scenery is truly stunning and the terrain for rope rescue is challenging and
dramatic. Thank you to our host teams and we look forward to future visits to both locations.
