Ruby Walls – Red Mountain Pass- Final nets in place
Wow. It is kind of a surreal feeling to be on the backside of the helicopter-based net laying. What a push it was to get that completed during this favorable stretch of high pressure. With 36 nets in place over the talus and considerable scaling completed at the top of the north gulley, the 'heavy [...]
Ruby Walls – scaling bonanza
Great progress has been made each and every day, and today was no exception. It was the culmination of a lot of prep work, some favorable flying conditions, and a general 'get it done' enthusiasm that resulted in 15 additional panels being laid over the talus field. We are steadily progressing towards the highway and [...]
Red Mountain Pass – Laying Net
Finally after a challenging week of work, we started laying mesh mats over the talus slopes below the Ruby Walls. It was another day of high pressure. The favorable weather has really made the project achievable. We got in another 9 mats today giving us 17 in total. We could use just ONE MORE good [...]
Ruby Walls rockfall mitigation- Red Mountain Pass
Yesterday, the team psyche was very, very high. We were well positioned to lay down some panels. This was on the heels of a very challenging and pretty hazardous week of scaling rock, drilling anchor holes, and prepping the site. We managed to get 8 of the approximately 40'ish panels draped on the talus field. [...]
Rigging for Rockfall – the Ruby Walls project ; Red Mountain Pass
So there I was last Saturday afternoon having a restful weekend when I get a call. That call changed the complexion of that day and all the days since. And the entire odyssey has been an amazing adventure. Every day brings a new challenge and different set of complex dynamics. The problem solving and risk [...]
Mount Desert Island, Maine
The Rigging for Rescue tour of beautiful training venues on the Atlantic Ocean continued with a visit to Mount Desert Island, Maine. The federal government opened up in the nick of time for us to enjoy a day of training out at Otter Cliffs in Acadia National Park. The geology at Otter Cliffs offers very [...]
Self Rescue and Small Team Workshop
We recently hosted the Self Rescue and Small Team Response Workshop at our base of operations in Ouray, Colorado. This was the second time ever that we have offered this training on an open enrollment basis. The participant mix was a diverse group consisting of previous RfR attendees as well as some folks new to [...]
Westman Islands, Iceland
The high pressure in the North Atlantic continued unabated for another RfR seminar. This one was hosted by Ice Sar and held in Vestmannaeyjar (aka Westman Islands) off the SW coast of Iceland. The training sites were abundant and diverse. Exercises included stretcher work, pickoffs, specialty techniques like the Pike 'n Pivot, a long Guiding Line, [...]
Faroe Islands – Rigging for Rescue Seminar
What a fantastic experience I recently had conducting an RfR training on the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic. The Faroes are located pretty well equidistant between Iceland and Scotland. I was anticipating ‘full battle conditions’ with the weather, but it turned out to be an incredibly benign week with almost no wind, sunny skies, and mild temps. Quite [...]
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