Are rescue skills necessary?

BTD, we almost always did a test pull to make sure that rappel ropes could be retrieved.  I once paid a high price once for skipping this precaution.   Nowadays I think that step is a rarity.  One reason is that a lot of rappelling now is from bolted stations with rings installed for the purpose, and it is natural to assume that the pulls must be manageable. Another reason is that it is becoming much more common to pre-rig the entire party before anyone descends, which makes it impossible to test the pull.

If using two ropes tied together, a fact that might be underappreciated about the EDK knot is that it can jam in the rap ring and make the pull much harder, and maybe impossible, to initiate. Even if it isn't prudent to pull the knot over the lip, it is still a good idea to keep the knot a foot or so away from the rap rings.

James Mwrote:

IDoes anybody have examples where a partner-duo actually rescued each other while rock climbing the the US? Seems like 99% of all stories I've read are 1 person gets injured or dies and the other stabilizes them, rappels or rope solo's their way off the route, and then hauls ass to get cell service for a SAR team to come help out. 

You are describing rescue skills. Just for example, when someone falls climbing and breaks a leg, they rarely land exactly AT the belay. So one good rescue skill is knowing how to either LOWER your partner back to you, secure and stabilize them, and then go seek help. If they're more than half a pitch away or on wandering terrain you're going to need to figure out how to climb up to them, secure and stabilize them, and then go get help. "Rescue" does not mean carrying your partner on your back all the way to the hospital. 

Sam Mwrote:

Ahhh found them! From the depths of the climbing internet of the 2000s...

9-1 (z drag on top of a z-drag) that is more like 5-1 in reality with friction.

This is two 3:1 z-pulleys in series. With 50% carabiners it multiplies the force 1.75 * 1.75 = about 3x, so it can work. My biggest concern is how much rope and room (length) there is to build it. If it's short, the hauler will run out of "throw" stretching all the rope before the load starts moving. Even if it's long enough, the mechanical work of stretching all that rope every time can make the system very inefficient (depending on where one places the progress capture, which isn't shown in the diagram). So I can believe it's been used successfully, especially if built out of semi-static cord, but I can also believe it would be a disaster in most people's hands if built based on this diagram alone.

Anyone care to find the 10-15-yr old MP thread about hauling systems that actually work ?  I really liked the one where the hauler uses their own weight as counterbalance to the haulee (over a 1:1 redirect pulley) and pulls up with their hands on the haulee's strand.  It probably won't work with friction over a carabiner (unless the haulee is lighter), and there isn't always room for the hauler to move vertically, but with 1 good pulley, and a load similar in weight to the hauler, it's really good.  My shaky recollection is that the thread was started by one of { 20kn, bearbreeder, David Coley } and the 1:1 was described in detail by a username close to "ptkinst"

Serge Swrote:

….. Anyone care to find the 10-15-yr old MP thread about hauling systems that actually work ?  I really liked the one where the hauler uses their own weight as counterbalance to the haulee (over a 1:1 redirect pulley) and pulls up with their hands on the haulee's strand.  It probably won't work with friction over a carabiner (unless the haulee is lighter), and there isn't always room for the hauler to move vertically, but with 1 good pulley, and a load similar in weight to the hauler, it's really good.  My shaky recollection is that the thread was started by one of { 20kn, bearbreeder, David Coley } and the 1:1 was described in detail by a username close to "ptkinst"

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/109130468/self-rescue-hauling

Mark Websterwrote:

Read books and practice this stuff! Rainy days and rest days are great for self rescue practice. Find a tree.

True Story: Yosemite, July, 2010, 6 PM, mid nineties and hot, out of water for hours. No one around, no cell service, too high to call for help. Our party of 3 were bailing off the top of the first pitch of Sons of Yesterday. The rap goes down diagonally to the right to the top anchors on the 3 pitch Serenity Crack.

Our partner rapped off on our two 60 meter ropes, promising to swing climbers right to access the anchors.

15 minutes go by as we nod off in the heat. I look over at L., "She should be off by now, something is wrong."

L. : "Ropes are still loaded, I'll tie some slings together and short rope down to where I can see her."

A few minutes later: "She's straight below us hanging in mid air over the roof. She is at the knots. She can't prusik up."

Our partner told us later that she had read you can prusik up on skinny slings, but had not practiced it.

I looked at L. : "Do you remember how to do a Z pulley?"

"Maybe? But we don't have any rope, she's using it all on the rappel, and it's too tight to pull up due to friction over the domed roof."

I'll leave you to solve that self rescue situation. We got her up, but it took hours.

The "best" solution would likely be to down climb on prusiks on the loaded rope and teach the person how to prusik. I really make sure that the person going down first on a multipitch knows how to prusik. This type of thing will happen sooner or later. It also sucks to down climb the loaded rope since you cant simply back yourself up by tying into the rope. It gets important to clip the rope as well as the prusiks and sketchy stuff like that. 

Any interest in getting some groups together in person to practice stuff this season?

Not under a guide permit or insurance coverage. Just folks getting together to practice stuff.

( I usually am the one posting with the Desert Rock Sports acct )

rgoldwrote:

If using two ropes tied together, a fact that might be underappreciated about the EDK knot is that it can jam in the rap ring and make the pull much harder, and maybe impossible, to initiate. Even if it isn't prudent to pull the knot over the lip, it is still a good idea to keep the knot a foot or so away from the rap rings.

That's exactly what I had to do on Zowie. 

Good Example.

Another example. 

Link

I feel pretty confident that the person who spent the night hanging in a harness for 18 hours in the freezing cold never makes this same mistake again...

Another example. 

Link

I highly doubly someone spent 18 hours free hanging in their harness. Suspension trauma is real…

curt86irocwrote:

I highly doubly someone spent 18 hours free hanging in their harness. Suspension trauma is real…

Read carefully - they only said "...at the end of the rope..."; nothing about free hanging.

Marc801 Cwrote:

Read carefully - they only said "...at the end of the rope..."; nothing about free hanging.

This ^.

Even standing on a steep slab or tiny ledge overnight is going to really suck.

If they were literally free hanging they'd be dead or facing amputations. But they were at the end of the rope and unable to ascend. So we can assume it wasn't easy terrain. 

I was hoping someone would post up that recent story. I really want to know the detailed instructions SAR gave them over the phone that they couldn't mentally handle. In any case, it was good to call for help.