Self Rescue Scenarios

Since I witnessed someone passing out in the gym yesterday, just after they lowered someone from a climb, I figured this was a good time to think about this.

What would you do if your belayer became unconscious while you were climbing? I know there's alot of variables... are you leading, TR'ing, multipitch, sport/trad.., belayed by gri gri/ATC, etc.. etc..

I mostly climb single pitch sport, so the best thing I could think of is:

1. find the nearest good anchor in reach
2. clip into that and untie, pull the rope, rap down as far as i can to another protection pt. and repeat until I get to the ground.

Maybe this will only work if I was on TR or below my highest lead protection(and not hanging on it when the belayer passes out).

So if you have a better idea and want to spill it... sure! Or fell free to post other scenarios which you have been in and what you did, or even other hypothetical scenarios and how to handle them. Maybe recommendations on gear that you should always have on your harness for these events, maybe an autoblock, a rappell device, locking biner, and a few draws no matter what.

The first thing that comes to my mind is that falling is no longer an option.

I never leave the ground without the following self-rescue gear:

- 2 full sized locking carabiners
- 2 prusik cords
- 1 longer cordellette (12ft to 22ft)
- 1 daisy chain with a locking carabiner

I feel pretty confident that this small amount of gear can get you out of almost anything...if you know how to use it. Keep in mind, THIS IS EXTRA GEAR!!! This is not to be used when building an anchor when you forgot to bring other stuff. Plan ahead so this EXTRA stuff doesn't get used in the normal system.

Joseph, you bring up an interesting scenario with the passed out belayer. Kind of a scary prospect. I would have to agree with you on your way out of the situation. I would promptly get to the nearest available anchor and clip myself in. From here I would probably fix the rope and rap down as quickly as possible (given your scenario of a single pitch sport route with bomber bolts). If the bolts were somewhat suspect I might fix the line to the top bolt and rap to the next and secure the rope to that one with a clove hitch to act as a back up for the top piece.

Trad climbing gives you more options as you would hopefully have more gear at your dispoal and could build an appropriate anchor and get down to your belayer ASAP.

Good post by the way...I'm kinda into thinking about these kinds of things. My mind often wanders to, "what would i do if..." when belaying on a long lead.

The first time I went to Zion we drove from Michigan to Zion in one big push on red bull and mountain dew.(about 36 hours) when we got there we didn't want to waste any time in the 102 degree heat so we got on iron messiah with a liter of water. I threw a pack under a overhang and ripped my thumb nail back just as john was about to start up. He got 10' up and I felt faint. I lowered him to the ground just as I passed out. After I came to and john got a bloody nose on pitch 4 we turned around after pitch 6. We were very lucky, the whole situation could have been much worse.

Food for thought on multi-pitch routes.

Accessory Cord or Prusik loop:

A five-six foot loop of three to six millimeter cord, tied with a double fishermans knot.

On multi-pitch routes, climbers should carry three Cordelettes. 17-20 foot length of seven millimeter accessory cord tied with a double fishermans knot.

Slings:

On multi-pitch routes, 24inch slings or quick draws made with double length runners made from 9/16-inch nylon webbing can be used for various knots, including the
Mariner knot, Klemheist knot, and various friction knots as well as improvised harness, chest harness or aiders. One 44 inch sewn runner may replace one of the two cordelettes, however, this may complicate the rescue process.

Rope:

On multi-pitch climbs, a second rope, or tag line should be
incorporated, this makes the steps for self-rescue easier as well most rappel situations.

One should also have knowledge of the following knots and hitches:

Prusik
Klemheist
Autoblock
Garda Hitch
Improvised Chest Harness

Load transferring knots:

Mariner
Munter
mule knot
munter mule combination

be safe,

JF

Joseph, very good post. This is a scenario that most climbers, including myself, do not like to envision, but we still gotta know what to do.

I agree with Mark (falling is no longer an option), and you, in that you must build a bomber anchor immediately, clip in, and untie. Much of the climbing I do is multi-pitch, and thus complicates things. From here, though, you would have to hard tie the rope to the anchor instead of pulling the rope, as this would be next to impossible with the rope still going through your partner's belay device. Rap down the single line, clip into the lower anchor, and immediately start a patient assessment on your partner, and give treatment if necessary. Depending on his condition, there are now a lot of options, many of which involve bailing. The first that comes to mind is a partner assisted rappel.

j fassett - good on ya', that's a great list, and everybody climbing higher than one pitch ought to have that gear and knowledge with them.
But again, it all depends on the situation (how high up are you?, how remote?), the condition of your partner, the resources available (other climbers, SAR crews, helicopter, etc.).

The list I submitted are some things to think about before taking on bigger routes, however, education and knowledge of tools and techniques for self rescue are a must!
What good is a bunch of gear if you don't if you don't know how to use it?

JF

Very true indeed. I am reminded of a friend who went climbing with a guy who had little to no knowledge of these things. my friend, at one point, needed to ascend after following on a traverse and falling. sure, he was given a couple of prusiks, but he had no idea how to use them. in the end, educating oneself and the ability to improvise are the best tools.

Very good info!

Assuming you are above your last pro and can succesfully downclimb or secure an anchor with enough slack to tie off your end of the rope, to the belay side and have enough slack to fit your rappell device into the line going down to the belayer and rap down like that. Of course this wouldn't work on a multipitch as it leaves the rope stuck. If that makes sense to anyone.

Now these are the types of posts we should see on this site!(that's another (off)topic though...)

Good point, it leaves the rope stuck...temporarily. The first priority in that situation is your partner. One would have to downclimb in order to gain the slack necessary to do what i described above. Once you've assessed and treated your partner, and released the rope from his belay device, you could jug back up your line, rap down proper, and pull the rope.

First off, out of curiosity, why did the person pass out at the gym?

Anyway, All good responses here.

One valuable tool in my arsenal is the cinch. This tool can help you escape this situation in a few ways.

#1 and 2, the belayer is using an auto-block device, and therefore you cannot feed rope to yourself.

#1. You can set an anchor where you are, and need to rappel down to your partner. Now you can tie your line off to the anchor, and rappel on one line, and since the cinch is auto-blocking, you can more easily pull out your gear as you go.

#2. It is safer to downclimb to help them. Get to your last piece of pro without falling. figure-8 into that piece, and then hook yourself on the cinch. Start downclimbing, and every time you reach another piece of gear, tie it into the rope. This way you have the protection of all of your pieces, making a safer anchor as you go. This would be valuable in a situation where you were climbing above a bunch of suspect gear.

#3 climbing up to an anchor poses the safest escape, and the belayer has freed the rope in their unconsciousness. (least likely). Climb to a place where you can get gear, and hook into it. Tie the rope to your gear and then connect to the rope with the cinch. Pull up as much rope as you think it will take to finish the pitch and start climbing, placing pro as you go. Hey, a cinch is not recommended for leading in this manner, but it's safer then soloing, right? When you get to your anchor, rappel down to the friend that you just knocked out with that big rock.

Now, these solutions are based on the fact that a) you have a cinch b) you know the limitations of the device and c) getting to your partner the safest/quickest manner is the key to his/her survival. I do not condone the use of a cinch in a solo-manner in any way. These solutions offer one possible way to escape your situation and are generally based on the phrase "it depends" Sometimes they will be the best, sometimes you will have to use a variety of other skills discussed in various places in books, on the internet, or from the word of mouth advice provided by a knowledgeable guide. In other words: YMMV.

-chris

The story sparking the post:

Don't know why the person passed out. From what I heard, he told the climber that he need to lower him down because his arm hurt, like pins and needles. Then (I beleive after the climber was on the ground) he(the belayer) just fell to the ground and luckily didn't hit anything. He was belaying with a grigri, so I figure that was good, so if the climber was still up and fell, he would not hit the ground(assuming nothing makes the device fail). He was out laying down for a minute or two. He was able to get up and sat on the ground for a while; 20min or so. Trying to stand several times but couldn't. He actually passed out again once or twice. I belive the gym personel instructed him that they had no choice but to call 911. The paramedics came and did a little to help him.

I beleive he walked out of the gym with his friends later(not 100% sure though, thought I saw him).

So there is some fuzzyness to my take on it, but that is the basics. My partner saw it and alerted the gym staff. I was tying in to climb and didn't see him actually fall.

There was this guy Roger the electrician that worked on a charity show I also volunteered for. He got loopy one night during the show and had trouble speaking. The paramedics came and they fed him some candy bars. Seems he just had low blood sugar problems. I would definitely inquire about that sort of thing with a climbing partner. It was pretty nutty watching this vibrant, funny, loud guy be reduced to the functioning level of an infant for a few minutes.

Joseph Stover wrote:What would you do if your belayer became unconscious while you were climbing?

Well, obviously your first priority is to protect yourself from falling, which probably means slinging yourself to the closest anchor. From there, it seems that the only thing to do is anchor the top of your rope and rappel.

However, I thought about this a little, and if your belayer isn't using a self blocking belay device, it might be possible to pull slack up the rope through his device, depending on the position that your belayer fell and/or is hanging, and how the rope is stacked / coiled. If you could pull up any slack, and are less than a half rope out, you could always lower yourself by attaching your ATC to the strand coming from the belay and using your top pro as a pulley point to lower yourself down. Of course, if you can't pull slack up, or are more than a half rope up, this isn't an option.

All that being said, although it wouldn't be useful in this situation, every climber should understand the construction and use of PMMO hitches for passing knots and escaping belays. Although knowing many techniques and knots is useful in a rescue situation, if you're only going to learn one, learn the Prusik Munter Mule Overhand combination well. The correct use of a PMMO is the fundamental skill in many self-rescue situations.

some good insights here for all kinds o stuff.

The first thing that came to my mind is don't fall;

The second thing is get into an anchor point, clip to a bolt/draw;

The third thing is to think. I am now in a safe point, what can I do not to make this situation worse? I'd probably just call out for help at the crag. Sporty crags usually have people; having your belayer suddenly go down I think is well justified to call out for help.

Then, I'd start planning & executing technical systems. A quick take and lower by a climber-bystander is the quickest safety solution, I think; but these other ideas work -- I just want to keep myself in the system until terra firma.

Then, consider what are the medical needs & assistance for my partner.

I actually lost a belayer when he "went away for a while" as he put it. I observed him unclip from the belay and run into the woods. The scenario played out well as I was standing on a little ledge with a small but stout tree. Sling tree, rap off, since I was less than 1/2 rope length up the pitch.

I was contemplating the harder moves above the stance. If I had not seen my belayer depart it might have been very hairy.

It turns out the guy had brain damage from a skiing injury. Once in a while he would "go away". I didn't climb with him much after that.

I'm planning on getting this amazon.com/Climbing-Self-Re… at some point

Peter Kananen wrote:I'm planning on getting this amazon.com/Climbing-Self-Re… at some point

That's a really good book, highly recommended. Plenty of nice pictures and step by step explanations of escaping belays, passing knots, and rescue rappel techniques.

I have been reading Accidents in American Mountaineering old issues lately. I have seen references to a "Z Pulley" system often in successful rescues. Can someone tell me where I can find a description of this system?

The Mountaineering Handbook by Craig Connally has a good description in Chapter 25 (all about self rescue).

Freedom of the Hills also discusses Z pullies.

http://www.highpeaksclimbing.com/Training/ZPulley.htm

This site describes a mechanical 3:1 configuration using ascenders & focus on crevasse type scenario. You could simplify this with a mini-traxion at the anchor. You can also accomplish this configuration with biners & cord if you didn't have ascenders & pulleys.

One thing you will note with z pulley systems, the uphaul goes to the load line; in a 3:1 it's easy to see the configuration; when you go with 5:1, 6:1, and greater - you will have multiple points of contact, however they always go to the load line.

Uphauls are a time consuming endeavor. I look to a 5:1 as a more effective buddy rescue tool. In rescue situations you read about, the rescue team has several squads that focus on various aspects of a haul & lower system; in essence you may have 30+ people working a system each with a specific task (also, including medical personnel). When you are climbing with just you and your partner; you don't have this resource.

So, more than not, I would try to forgo uphauls if I could & build anchors & go down with some type of assisted rappel.