Site Safety & Hazard Minimization.

The primary concerns in any rescue situation are to minimize the hazard to the rescue team and members of the public, and to avoid any further injury to the casualty. The principle hazards of rope rescues in a mountain rescue setting include:

An additional potential hazard in rope rescue is suspension trauma. Prior to embarking on rope rescue activities or training, participants must determine whether they have an inherent susceptibility to suspension trauma or a fundamental physical incompatibility with the harness design. If so, they should avoid being suspended.

If you experience discomfort during suspension, e.g. if stuck for some reason or if there is a delay in the raising or lowering process, then you can do one or more of the following:

·         Try to keep your feet on the wall, move your body position frequently, alternately tense and relax your leg muscles.

·         Take a short sling and pass it through the rope loop where it is attached to your harness. Adjust the length to form either one large loop for both feet or two smaller foot loops. Stand in the loops to help take the weight off your harness. (Under no circumstances untie the harness.) If you don’t have a sling, ask the Edge Person to clip one to the rope and drop it down to you. Alternatively, if you have both a prusik and a sling, attach the prusik to the rope above you then attach the sling to form an adjustable height leg loop.

·         If you have two slings, use the first one to make foot loops, then take the second sling and/or prusik loop and place it on the rope as high as you can above you before passing the loop over your head and under your arms (like a helicopter strop). You can then lean back and rest more easily sharing the weight between your feet, waist and shoulders

In all cases, act early – as soon as you start to feel uncomfortable. This will prevent the situation worsening and a potential loss of consciousness.

Principles of Fall Protection

Guard

Create a virtual or physical barrier stopping access to danger, e.g. an agreed exclusion zone stopping people entering a ‘hot zone’ (this being any point beyond which a slip, trip or fall could result in serious injury). The positioning of the perimeter of this zone will depend on multiple factors including Visibility, Slope Angle, Ice/Snow, Scree etc.

Travel Restraint

This is applicable to team members in the ‘hot zone’.  It requires the location to have a sound stable footing and team members to be attached to a safety line or lanyard that prohibits them from reaching the edge or falling such that they create a shock load or can’t simply stand up and walk back to safety.

Fall Arrest

This is applicable when team members are deliberately positioned on or over the edge, or in a place where a slip, trip or fall could result in not being able to walk easily to a safe location. It requires at least two points of attachment to a dual capacity Two Tension system which includes shock absorbing and/or force-limiting capability.

High-angle rope rescue is potentially one of the most hazardous mountain rescue activities. If at any point, you are not 100% confident in the system that is being used or your own ability to complete your allocated task, you must immediately stop work and notify the co-ordinator of the rescue. Every aspect of the system must be checked by at least one other competent person.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Helmets

Helmets are an essential piece of personal protective equipment and must always be worn correctly in any situation where there is a risk of head injury. This includes rope rescue, scrambling, helicopter operations, quarries, caves, ravines, snow and ice. 

The inner cradle of the helmet should be adjusted to provide a snug fit with the front of the helmet fully covering the forehead. If additional insulation is required, this should be a close-fitting helmet liner or balaclava which does not interfere with the coverage and protection provided by the helmet. Hoods should be worn over the helmet.

If required headlamps should be fitted to the outside of the helmet using the attachment points provided.

Helmets must be buddy-checked to ensure correct fit and that they are buckled correctly.

Correct fitting test?

Gloves

Rescue loads have the potential to cause severe rope burns and it is essential that gloves are always worn. Gloves should:

·         Have leather palms.

·         Ideally you should use gloves specifically designed for rope management. These have double-layer leather and heat protective padding in key areas.

·         Have a hole for clipping them to your harness.

Harnesses

LAMRT uses the DMM Alpine, Brenin and Renegade sit harnesses. The Alpine harness has fully releasable leg loops and can be fitted without the need to lift the feet off the floor. This means that the buckles need to be threaded back to lock them in place. The fastened buckle must look C-shaped. If it looks O-shaped it is still open and could slip. Correctly fitted harnesses must:

·         Be fitted over the top layer of clothing

·         Red leg loop on the right leg

·         Have the waist belt located above the hip bones

·         Be a snug fit i.e. allowing the flat of your hand to pass but not your fist

·         Have waist and leg loop buckles doubled back with the ends of the straps pointing toward the body with at least 8 cm of excess strap.

·         Harnesses must be buddy-checked prior to use.

·         Note. The Brenin harness has adjustable sewn leg loops, hence the buckles do not require rethreading. The Renegade harness in the Advanced Crag kit provides slightly better support and is suitable for lead climbing should this be required.

Method of Attachment

The manufacturer’s recommended tie-in method uses a rethreaded figure-of-eight knot with a stopper knot. In some circumstances, it may be permissible to clip in to the belay loop using a self-locking carabiner or preferably two opposed self-locking carabiners. The concern here is that, in the event of a fall, there is a potential to cross-load the carabiners. Where a prusik loop is used to maintain a tight rope, for example when placing edge protection during the lowering process, the end of the rope must be tied in to the harness as shown above and the prusik loop must be clipped in to the belay loop using a self-locking carabiner.

In addition, LAMRT carries two full body harnesses (XS-M and M-XL) for use with casualties who may be incapacitated or who have injuries where a sit harness can’t be used. These are attached as follows and tied in to the central chest loops:

Additional PPE

The above is the minimum level of PPE required for rope rescue in good weather. Additional PPE for poor weather, night or helicopter operations may include eye protection, ear plugs, crampons, ice axe, extra clothing, head torch, D max torch. Rescues involving water require the participation of Swift Water Rescue Technicians together with the appropriate water based PPE.

Continuous Dynamic Risk Assessment

Simply wearing PPE does not mean that you are fully prepared to participate in a rope rescue. You should have attended all of the required training sessions and been signed off as proficient in all of the skills required for the role you have been assigned. You should perform your own continuous dynamic risk assessment. If at any point you do not feel safe or are not 100% confident in your ability to correctly complete a task you should stop work and immediately inform the rescue leader.

Training Syllabus and Sign Off

LAMRT members are required to maintain a minimum standard of proficiency in rope rescue and have the option of obtaining additional more advanced qualifications.

Competency is assessed by authorised team members and recorded on the individual team members Rope Rescue Skills Log.