We just returned from the annual International Technical Rescue Symposium (ITRS) held in Albuquerque, NM. Rigging for Rescue has been attending and presenting at this event since its infancy in 1986 (NATRS at that time). The symposium is a gathering of around 170 attendees to discuss, dissect, and debate all things rescue-related. Having personally attended every ITRS save for one over the past 18 years, I left the 2019 version feeling like it was the best I had witnessed for the past decade. There were many excellent presentations over a broad mix of topics. It was inspiring to see how much effort others are putting into both critical thinking and testing to better our collective understanding of the systems we tie into on a daily basis.
Rigging for Rescue principals Mike Gibbs and Kevin Koprek both presented:
- VT Prusiks for Rescue Belays (Gibbs)
- Human Factor Considerations: Rope Systems and Device Selection (Koprek)
The new research on the VT Prusik has been an ongoing project of Rigging for Rescue’s dating back to our initial testing on that device presented to ITRS in 2014. The ITRS 2019 research paper, abstract, and video clips are now viewable on our website at: https://staging4.riggingforrescue.com/vt-prusik-rescue-belays/
