Blog Test

The recent SPRAT rope access training and evaluation session included six Level 1 candidates and one Level 2 upgrade.  All candidates passed their respective evaluations and are now certified and/or upgraded rope access technicians per SPRAT.  Rigging for Rescue is proud to report that our SPRAT candidate passing rate is over 90% since we began offering rope access courses in 2020.  Our next open enrollment offering is in October.  Please check our course calendar for details at riggingforrescue.com.      

It is now official.  Rock Gibbs is the youngest certified SPRAT technician having passed his Level 1 evaluation this morning on his 18th birthday, June 30, 2022.  Rigging for Rescue principal, Mike Gibbs, hatched the plan with Rock several months ago and a SPRAT training and evaluation was scheduled accordingly. You have to be 18 years of age to be evaluated for a SPRAT certification, so Rock now has the novelty of being at worst tied for the youngest certified SPRAT rope access technician ever. Happy birthday, son. And congrats!    

The month of May had Rigging for Rescue visiting numerous ports of call around the country including Bend, Oregon to work with Deschutes County SAR (DCSAR). Our first seminar on contract with DCSAR was 2005 and we have been back every 2-3 years since that time. DCSAR covers Smith Rock State Park, as well as the high alpine Cascade peaks in the vicinity, including the Three Sisters and Broken Top. The geology around Deschutes County includes a lot of columnar basalt, which tends to present with abrupt 90-degree edge transitions. On our pickoff day we covered seated edge transitions, similar in principle to how you would transition over the parapet wall of a building. There is little to be gained (and much to be risked) with a standing edge transition, given the abruptness of the transition and little to no high directional help at the edge. Pike ‘n Pivot technique is also a staple of any Rigging for Rescue training with DCSAR. It is the right technique for the abrupt edge transitions that are so abundant to the area. Dual tension systems, Main/Belay systems, the Petzl Maestro, CMC Clutch, Arizona Vortex, and VT Prusiks were all included in the seminar content.  

Last week we were living right with a welcome high-pressure system in the Tetons and dry rock under foot for the annual Jackson Hole Mountain Patrol (JHMP) training event. JHMP wears many hats for rescue operations on the Jackson Hole resort ski mountain during high summer visitation – bike park, hikers accessing the high country via the tram/gondola, and the via ferrata. The Jackson Hole via ferrata opened in 2018 and RfR has been privileged to be able to work/train the JHMP in rope rescue techniques germane to the via ferrata course every since the grand opening. The upside of via ferrata rescue is you know where the patient will be located – somewhere on the via ferrata. LOL. Additionally, anchoring options are abundant. The primary challenge is the ground to be covered after the patient is moved off of the geological terrain –lots of low angle scree, talus, and steep forested slopes. So we commonly focus on pickoffs followed by Guiding Line aerial suspension systems. Another great week in the Tetons! Thanks, JHMP!          

Earlier this spring we had an opportunity to train with our local team – the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team (OMRT). OMRT is responsible for a broad cross-section of technical rescue scenarios that include: OHV/ATV accidents on the 4×4 Ouray County roads MVAs off of the precipitous Highway 550 between Ouray and Silverton Hikers/Scramblers on the numerous trails and peaks in the area Ice climbers and rock climbers in and around the Uncompahgre Gorge And recently Via Ferrata recreationalists on the newly erected via ferrata course in the Ice Park gorge Following some review of the fundamentals, we delved into the nuances of artificial high directional construction and use, climber pickoffs, and upper attendant litter attending technique. OMRT recently settled on the Petzl Maestro as their mechanical rescue device of choice for their front-country rescue response. We spent a good segment of the training focusing on Maestro mastery. Additionally, we also cracked out the 9.5mm rescue ropes for our climber pickoff day and the VT Prusik combined with a climbing DCD (i.e. Reverso or ATC) was the system for both descent control and fall arrest. Our last exercise was a Deflection Line aerial suspension system for accessing a specific component of the via ferrata course in the Ice Park gorge. One of the components is an angled suspension bridge that we wanted to develop a pre-plan for in the event of a rescue call. The Deflection Line was the right tool for the job. Somewhat similar to a Cross-Haul, it includes four ropes-in-motion. The technique lends itself to an offset in height from one end station to another. A Kootenay Carriage is utilized to pull in or let out in order to focus the Y-axis of the attendant/patient package on a specific pathway in free space. A Deflection Line offers similar control of live load positioning as a reeving variation of a Kootenay Highline System. Included below is a video of the Deflection Line in action.

What a treat to be back up in Alaska for a technical ropework seminar with the Denali NPS climbing ranger cadre! Rigging for Rescue has had the privilege to work with the Denali rangers for over 20 years running. The Denali climbing rangers marshal together a quiver of highly specialized skills in order to capably perform their jobs effectively – backcountry skiing, glacier travel, crevasse rescue, ice climbing, helicopter short haul, winter survival, and rope rescue in an inhospitable environment. There may not be more remote and austere mountain rescue terrain anywhere in the country. New to the Denali program this season is the acquisition of an Arizona Vortex artificial high directional device. The Vortex was a high priority for briefing and training on at RfR 2022. The rangers perform crevasse rescue on a regular basis in their mission profile, but some of the call-outs can prove to be quite involved. A couple of seasons ago they had to go so far as to fly in a generator and pneumatic chisel from Talkeetna Fire Department in order to free the wedged crevasse fall survivor.  The Vortex will likely prove to be a game-changer for certain future crevasse fall missions.  We added some customization for snow applications by employing three 18” square ¾” plywood segments as foot platforms to prevent sinking into the snowpack. The raptor feet proved to be quite stable in a carefully notched slot in the center of the plywood footers. Rigging for Carpentry! Our final project was a multi-pitch ascent and 2-rope rescue descent of the mighty Mitre Mite ice climb near the toe of the Eklutna Glacier in Chugach State Park.  The Mitre is a true plumb of an ice climb and it was in phat conditions. We ascended as three parties of three spread out across the very wide ice flow. At the base of pitch 4 we gathered as one team and began the litter-based egress, multi-pitch off of ice screws and v-threads.  It was a great challenge to weave together the entire week’s worth of movement and ropework skills into a realistic scenario on superb terrain.  Thank you Denali climbing rangers for a great week and we look forward to next season. Berg heil!