Essentials Of Self-RescueSM

Students Per Instructor: 1 or 2
Course Length: 2 Days (approx. 8 hours per day)
Seasons Offered: Spring, Summer, Fall
Alpine Mastery Method: Rock Mastery - Level III
Prerequisites: Leading Skills Evaluation

Course Summary: This course will teach you how to handle basic emergencies in climbing situations. Primary focus is placed on the complex techniques required to transport an injured partner to a safe place for evacuation.

Reservations

Course Description:
If you were faced with the task of rescuing your injured climbing partner how would you react? All too often this question is not considered until the situation actually exists. This two-day course's primary purpose is to prepare you to cope with an emergency situation involving an injured climbing partner.

We’ll begin with a discussion of how to assess an emergency situation and how to plan a rescue based upon the resources available. When to go for help, and how to activate established rescue systems will be discussed, but the majority of this course deals with the techniques required to rescue your partner yourself, without any special equipment.

Starting with a brief review of fixed rope ascent with friction knots and escaping from a loaded belay, we'll introduce and practice the techniques needed to access an injured leader, or second, and free the climbing rope for rescue use. Descent via counter-balance lowering systems and two-person rappels will be introduced and then the entire sequence will be practiced in a rescue simulation.

Also covered will be how to interact with a rescue team (should one arrive) and how to belay a rescue litter on low-angle terrain. In an actual rescue situation, even the best first aid kit (and we’ll discuss these too) is no substitute for the skills you'll acquire from this course.

Our Leading Skills Evaluation is a prerequisite for this course and although first-aid instruction is not a part of this course, we suggest you have at least some first-aid training.