Rigging for Rescue Blog

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 bluebirdweather.  The trip began in Iceland, where Rigging for Rescue has been fortunate enough to trainon 10 separate occasions over the past 15+ years.  This

Mike Gibbs and Kevin Koprek just wrapped up a great training session hosted by MDI SAR at Acadia National Park. The training included all of the MASAR teams that conduct high angle missions across the state of Maine. In attendance were members of: MDI SAR, Acadia NPS Rangers, Baxter State

The stoke was high this past week with RfR in Yosemite! Rocktober is perhaps the best month of the year to be in Yosemite Valley with cooler temps and reduced visitation. We had a great seminar with the Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) team under bluebird skies and on that

Last week we lost one of our finest with the unexpected passing of Leo Lloyd.  Leo exhibited the very best of human qualities – generous with his time and always a smile on his face.  We will miss him terribly. I had the good fortune to work with Leo at

We just wrapped up a great week of rope access training and evaluation in Ouray with eight dialed-in Beaver Creek Ski Area (Vail Resorts) employees.  The team made great strides throughout the week in polishing their rope access skills in preparation for the SPRAT Level 1 evaluation, yesterday.  And while

Summertime in the Tetons is about as good as it gets for Rigging for Rescue training scenarios.  Once again we recently had the privilege to work with the Jenny Lake climbing rangers at Grand Teton NPS on their rope rescue techniques and general ropework best practices.   The week consisted

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

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.

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

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,

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

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

The backcountry ice in the San Juan’s delivered in spades last week with an ascent of the classic Ingram Falls above Telluride. Ingram seems to form only once or twice a decade. It is a prize tic, when you can get it. Solid WI5 on the second pitch and some

These past two weeks have been busy with Waterfall Ice Rescue Workshops.  The workshops are a blend of ice climbing movement skills, partner rescue, and small teams rescue. All in the waterfall ice and alpine domains. An added bonus included the Ouray Ice Park opening up some of the first new

Every other year we have the pleasure of returning to Acadia National Park to train with personnel from across the Great State of Maine. The seminars are arranged as open enrollment events to teams across Maine who are responsible for rope rescue response in their respective jurisdictions. It ends up

Last week we hosted the first of two autumn SPRAT rope access training and evaluation sessions.  100% of the candidates passed their evals and are now certified SPRAT rope access technicians.  Our next offering is Nov 30-Dec 4, 2021. We are welcoming SPRAT upgrades, recerts, and new Level 1 candidates.

The weather gods took care of us last week with some rock solid high pressure and bluebird skies for our annual training event at Grand Teton National Park.  The highlight of the week was utilizing the contract helicopter to ingress personnel to the top of Peak 11,840 for a multi-pitch

This summer’s West Metro Fire training event followed an A,B,C shift rotation of 2-days each shift.  The focus was on swiftwater-related ropework and rescue solutions for both pickoffs and patient transport.  Our first scenario was a traditional Guiding Line through steep slope ground to a river crossing. At the river,

We recently finished a fantastic week with Rescue 1, Seattle Fire Department.  The commitment to excellence and dedication to the mission within this Company – and entire Department- is remarkable.  Our objective heading into the week was clear: deliver a set of experiences that challenged reliance on gadgetry; focus on

We wrapped up the second training workshop with ICE-SAR team members to include some volcanic rock crevasse rescue scenarios, utilizing an artificial high directional. My hosts took me out for a nice hike to the active volcano on the way to the airport. Getting that close to a fresh river