10th SFG in Ouray
It was our honor and privilege this past week to host military mountaineers from the 10th SFG out of Fort Carson at our home base in Ouray. The 10th Group has a long and prestigious history dating back to WWII. The 10th Group’s members are often some of the American military’s subject matter experts for mountain travel and ropework. Suffice it to say it is humbling to have them seek out Rigging for Rescue for their training needs in rigging and ropework. We have been fortunate to have been able to work with their cadre for the better part of 15 years. We had a great week of weather and enjoyed the cliffs and crags around Ouray. A lot of the focus was on use of the SKED stretcher in cliff rescue as well as pickoffs of stranded climbers. We also got a chance to rig and operate a highline system across the raging Uncompahgre River.
April SPRAT Evaluations Complete
Last week we hosted a SPRAT Training and Evaluation with four Level 1 candidates and three Level 3 candidates. After a quick week of training we are please to say that everyone passed their evaluations and are now certified SPRAT Rope Access Technicians. RfR will be hosting more training and evaluation sessions starting back up this coming September. Get yourself registered for your Level 1, Recertification, or Upgrade before they fill up.
Rope Access in Ouray – SPRAT Training and Evaluation
Last week, we hosted our first SPRAT training/certification for calendar year 2021. We had a nice mix of welders, construction trade personnel, a firefighter, curious rope rescue practitioners exploring SPRAT certification, and a Level 3 recertification candidate. All of the Level 1 candidates successfully passed their SPRAT evaluation and are now newly minted SPRAT rope access technicians. And our man Chris from Rope Partner successfully passed his Level 3 recert with flying colors. Zero discrepancies issued for the day. Congrats to all! Our next SPRAT offering is scheduled for April.
Amphitheater Adventure Ice
Just prior to the big dump of snow we got this weekend, Jared and I squeezed in a day of adventure climbing high in the Amphitheater overlooking Ouray. The route was first put up nearly 25 years ago. This was my fifth trip up the face and it never disappoints. Very sweet to have fresh sticks into sticky blue ice and no evidence of previous climbing traffic – a rarity in the San Juans. Get some!
Ice Conditions are Outstanding
The consistently cold start to winter has created optimal conditions for both Ouray Ice Park ice-farming as well as backcountry ice formation. The Ice Park opened for the season on Dec 19th and we have been climbing backcountry ice since before Thanksgiving. We have two open enrollment Waterfall Ice Climbing & Rescue workshops scheduled for this winter. The first available is the week of Jan 11-15, 2021: https://staging4.riggingforrescue.com/upcoming-programs/waterfall-ice-and-rescue-workshop/ The Waterfall Ice Workshop focuses on ice climbing movement skills, companion rescue, as well as lightweight, small team rescue in the winter alpine setting. Please consider joining us in 2021! Happy New Year
SPRAT Training and Evaluation Dates 2021
We have just posted new SPRAT Training and Evaluation dates on the calendar. Our next training and evaluation sessions are February 2-6, 2021 and April 20-24, 2021 in Ouray, Colorado. The February session is filling up fast. If you are interested, please do not hesitate to get registered. We will be adding more sessions to our 2021 calendar soon. Check back after the new year for Spring and Summer dates.
