Quest – Climbing Rescue Training Manual

Eric Durante

July 2004


Quest – Climbing Rescue Training Manual

Purpose

This manual will describe a basic set of skills for performing rescues in any type of roped climbing situation. It will provide a standard set of material to be taught to Quest climbing Instructors and Course Coordinators to further prepare them for emergencies in the field. Staff members who have mastered these skills will be able to respond more competently and confidently to situations in which a climbing participant is stuck or injured on a climb and cannot help him/herself. These skills are perishable and are not usually required outside of rescue situations; therefore they should be practiced regularly to maintain a high degree of proficiency. This manual should be modified to incorporate new and better equipment and techniques as they develop.


Situation Assessment

An accident in the field can cause a great deal of stress and panic among everyone involved. As a rescuer, it is essential to stop and calm yourself down after an accident has occurred so that you can see the big picture of the situation and make sound decisions. Quick action may be necessary, but if it is too quick then bad decisions may be made.

After an accident has occurred, the accident site must be stabilized. To understand what actions need to be taken, ask:
1. What caused the accident? A fallen climber? A stuck climber? Rock fall? Weather? Some other environmental hazard?
2. Is the hazard still present?
3. Are other participants, leaders, and/or bystanders still in danger?

If the site is not safe, get everyone moved to a safe location before attempting to rescue victims. Do not put yourself or anyone else in additional danger in order to perform a rescue!

Once everyone is out of danger, begin to form a plan for rescue. Ask:
1. In general, what needs to be accomplished? Obtaining assistance? Evacuation? Giving the victim first-aid? Moving/Transporting the victim?
2. What are the options for accomplishing what needs to be done? Send someone for help? Stabilize the victim where they are and wait for help? Lower or raise the victim on a rope? Ascend the rope to give the victim assistance? Carry or assist the victim in a self-evacuation?
3. Which option is safest? Which is easiest? Which is quickest? Which is best overall? Consider the following factors:
- equipment available
- severity of victim’s injuries/victim’s first-aid needs
- terrain difficulty
- weather and time of day
- availability of help within the group and from outside
- distance and time necessary to reach help
- skill, knowledge, and fatigue level of rescuers and of other group
members

Once you have thought out your plan, put it into action:
- if help is available, assign tasks to others and organize your resources
- if a rescue system is needed, construct one and double-check it
- consider alternatives if the plan fails or the situation changes


Rescue Equipment

It is a good idea to carry some extra equipment on courses in case it is needed for a rescue. A lot can be done with a small amount of gear if it is used efficiently, and many of the items required for constructing rescue systems are things that climbers would normally carry for other uses.

- Prussik loop – approximately a 5-foot length of 5mm or 6mm diameter nylon accessory cord tied in a loop with a double fisherman’s knot – useful for tying a prussik friction knot
- Cordelette – approximately a 20-foot length of 6mm or 7mm nylon static rope tied in a loop with a double fisherman’s knot – useful for anchoring, tying a prussik knot, etc.
- Locking carabiners – (pear-shaped carabiners are useful for tying munter hitches)

- 24-inch slings – useful for tying friction knots, etc.
- 48-inch slings – useful for constructing raising systems, building anchors, etc.

- Rescue pulley – optional (can be used to reduce friction in raising systems)
- Folding knife or shears – used for cutting ropes or knots that cannot otherwise be freed – Extreme caution should be used with sharp blades near ropes that are under tension as they are very easily cut. For this reason, shears may be a safer option than a knife.
- Pliers – used for freeing stuck carabiner gates, etc.



Knots

Figure-eight on a bight – used in anchor building, etc.







Figure-eight follow-through – standard knot used to tie in to climbing rope


Double fisherman’s – used to tie two ropes together or to tie a single rope in a loop


Overhand – a knot used to tie webbing for anchor building, etc., or to join two rappel ropes



Munter hitch – a friction hitch that can be used in combination with a carabiner to belay/lower a climber












Mule knot – a knot that is releasable under load and can be used to lock off a belay device or munter hitch





Munter-mule combination with an overhand back-up – used in performing a releasable belay escape











Prussik – a friction knot tied with cord





Kleimheist – a friction knot tied with webbing or cord





Bachman – a friction knot tied with a sling and a carabiner




Auto-block – a friction knot tied with webbing or cord





Girth hitch – used to connect two loops of webbing together, etc.


Escaping the Belay

This skill might be used if a climber becomes stuck or injured part-way through a climb and the belayer must free himself from the system to go for help or otherwise assist the climber. This skill is the basis for many other climbing rescue skills, so it must be learned well in order for it to be done quickly and efficiently.

Two types of belay escapes will be discussed here: one that is not releasable and one that is releasable. The releasable belay escape is the more advanced skill, but it is the preferred method since it can be undone very easily. The non-releasable method is somewhat easier to learn and will suffice in a situation where getting the belayer free from the system (to run for help, for example) is the primary concern.

Like all other aspects of climbing, it is important to make sure that every part of every rescue system is always redundant. This is especially important in a stressful rescue situation where mistakes can easily be made. If some part of the rescue system is constructed inadequately or incorrectly, there must always be a back-up.

Non-releasable system
1. Anchor
Any type of belay escape requires that the belayer be connected to a SERENE anchor that is oriented to the direction of pull from the climber (in a top rope situation, it will usually consist of trees and boulders on the ground). If you are belaying without an anchor and need to perform a belay escape, then you must attempt to move to the nearest anchor while keeping the climber on belay. If there are other climbers present, they could help with building an anchor. Ideally, however, the belayer should always be anchored in at the start of the climb.

2. Hands-free

3. Transferring the load

4. Escaping


5. Retransferring the load

Releasable system
1. Anchor
Any type of belay escape requires that the belayer be connected to a SERENE anchor that is oriented to the direction of pull from the climber (in a top rope situation, it will usually consist of trees and boulders on the ground). If you are belaying without an anchor and need to perform a belay escape, then you must attempt to move to the nearest anchor while keeping the climber on belay. If there are other climbers present, they could help with building an anchor. Ideally, however, the belayer should always be anchored in at the start of the climb.

2. Hands-free
Once you (the belayer) are connected to an anchor, you must free both of your hands.
a. If you are using a tube-style (or similar) belay device, then pull a large bight of the brake strand of the climbing rope through the carabiner attached to the belay device.
b. Pull this bight up parallel with the loaded strand and tie a mule knot in the brake strand around the loaded strand (make sure that the mule knot is as close as possible to the belay device so that it does not slip).
c. Finish the mule knot by pulling another large bight of the brake strand through the knot. With this bight, tie an overhand knot around the loaded strand above the mule knot as a back-up.
d. Both hands can now be freed from the belay, but make sure that your brake hand stays on the rope the whole time until you have finished tying off the brake!
e. Now, as an extra precaution, take out a few arm-lengths of slack in the brake strand and tie a figure-eight on a bight. Clip the figure-eight into the belay anchor. If the mule knot should fail, the climber will now fall only as far as the slack in the brake strand and come tight on the figure-eight.

3. Transferring the load
The next step in escaping the belay is transferring the climber’s weight to the belay anchor using a friction knot tied around the loaded strand of the climbing rope.
a. Using a sling, prussik loop, or cordelette, tie an appropriate friction knot (a prussik or kleimheist) around the loaded strand of the climbing rope. Make sure that this knot is no more than six inches above the mule knot, as it may otherwise move out of reach later.
b. Using accessory cord, extend the friction knot to reach the belay anchor.
c. Clip a carabiner into the anchor and tie a munter hitch – mule knot combination with and overhand back-up around the carabiner using the accessory cord strand from the friction knot. Make sure that there is no slack in this strand after the munter-mule knot is tied.
d. The initial mule knot that is above the belay device can now be undone. As you are untying this knot, keep a hand on the brake strand for redundancy. When the knot is untied, use the belay device to gently lower the climber’s weight on to the friction knot and belay anchor (When this is done well, the climber should not drop more than a couple of inches).

4. Escaping
The next step is to free your belay device and yourself from the system by replacing your belay device with a munter hitch on the belay anchor.
a. While keeping a hand on the brake strand, clip another carabiner to the anchor. Use a small amount of slack in the brake strand to tie a munter hitch around the carabiner.
b. Now, as you keep a hand on the brake strand of the munter hitch, you can remove your belay device from the climbing rope, as its place is now taken by the munter hitch on the anchor. You can also unclip yourself from the anchor if you are in no danger of falling.

5. Retransferring the load
The final step is to transfer the climber’s weight from the friction knot back to the climbing rope. This is important because the climbing rope is strong enough to hold the climber without a back-up line whereas a single friction knot should not be trusted to hold the climber.
a. Pull on the brake strand to take out all of the slack in the climbing rope.
b. Tie another mule knot with overhand back-up with the brake strand to lock off the munter hitch.
c. You can now untie the mule knot in the strand from the friction knot as it is releasable under load. Use the munter hitch in the friction knot strand to gently lower the climber’s weight back on to the climbing rope to the anchor (again, the climber should not drop more than a couple of inches).
d. Remove the friction knot from the climbing rope and any unused gear from the anchor.
e. You have now completely escaped the belay. If the climber needs to be lowered or raised later, the mule knot and original figure-eight back-up can be undone and the climber can be belayed with the munter hitch on the anchor. If you are in a top rope situation with a SERENE top rope anchor, you also now have a “fixed” line to ascend to the climber if needed, since one end of the rope is fixed to the belay anchor and the other end is held in place by the climber’s weight.


Ascending/Descending a Fixed Rope

There are a number of situations in which you may need to be able to ascend/descend a fixed rope. For instance, an accident may occur in which a climber becomes physically stuck partway up a climb that they are top-roping (i.e. a shoe jammed so hard in a crack that the climber cannot free it) and requires assistance to continue or get back down safely. In this case, if you have fixed the climbing rope by escaping the belay, you can then ascend the climbing rope to the point where the climber is stuck (again, this is only safe if there is a SERENE top-rope anchor above).

Ascending a rope is a fairly simple skill if you already know the knots involved.

To ascend a fixed rope:

1. Tie a friction knot around the rope with a short sling or cord and clip it into your harness. A Bachman knot works especially well for this since the carabiner helps to free the knot after it has been loaded, however, a prussik or kleimheist will also work if extra carabiners are not available. When the knot is tied and clipped in, it should be close enough that you can easily reach the knot when you are sitting down on it, and it should be long enough that it can be moved easily (approximately 1-2 feet).
2. Tie a second friction knot around the rope below the first (again a Bachman works best). Clip a long loop of cord or a long sling into this knot (you will use this loop to stand in). You will have to adjust the length of this loop for a comfortable fit. Clip another long sling into the second friction knot and clip or girth hitch this sling into your harness. You now have a redundant connection to the climbing rope if one friction knot fails.
3. Slide the first friction knot as far up the rope as you can reach and then sit down on it, weighting and stretching the rope. Now slide the second friction knot as high as you can while still being able to stand up in the foot loop. Stand all the way up in the foot loop and then slide the first friction knot as far up as you can reach. Sit back down on the first friction knot and repeat this process.
4. The process for descending the rope is the same, only in reverse. To descend, stand in the foot loop and slide the first friction knot down the rope. Sit down and slide the foot loop down. Stand up and slide the first knot down. Repeat this process.

Raising Systems

Once you know how to escape the belay and ascend/descend a rope, learning how to build a mechanical raising system will allow you to effectively deal with many different rescue scenarios. For example, you may encounter a situation where it is safer to raise an injured climber a short distance to a ledge where they can be treated rather than to lower them a long distance to the bottom of a climb. Normally, a single person cannot provide enough force to lift a climber who is hanging on a rope with all of his weight. If many people are available to help, it is possible that they could raise a fallen climber simply by pulling on the rope all at once. However, if there are not enough people to help, a single person can raise a fallen climber by using a mechanical raising system. It is possible to construct systems with many different force ratios. Two different systems will be described here, one with a 3:1 force ratio and one with a 5:1 force ratio. Generally, a higher force ratio means that the system will be more complex and require more equipment. It also means that it will take longer to raise the climber. The advantage of a higher force ratio is that it will take a less concentrated effort to raise a climber. For example, if a person can raise a maximum of 50 pounds by simply pulling on a rope without a raising system, a 3:1 system will allow him to raise approximately 150 pounds, and a 5:1 system will allow him to raise approximately 250 pounds.

3:1 Mechanical Advantage Raising System
This force ratio is usually adequate for raising any climber if there are at least two people available to help pull on the rope.

1. This system is easiest to construct after the belayer has escaped the belay and secured the climber to the belay anchor (this system cannot be constructed without a SERENE belay anchor). The knots used in the belay escape must also be releasable. To escape the belay, follow the procedures given in this manual for the releasable belay escape system.
2. Once you have completely escaped the belay and the climber is connected to the belay anchor with a munter-mule knot combination and overhand back-up, begin constructing the raising system by tying a friction knot (a prussik or kleimheist) around the loaded strand of the climbing rope as far away from the belay anchor as you can reach. The tail of this knot should only be a few inches long. Now, clip a carabiner into the friction knot. This carabiner will act as the pulley that provides mechanical advantage when the system is complete.
3. Tie a second friction knot on the loaded strand of the climbing rope about half-way between the first friction knot and the anchor. Connect this friction knot to the anchor with a locking carabiner. This knot acts as a ratchet which holds the climber in place while you are resetting the pulley.
4. Clip another carabiner into the anchor and clip the brake strand of the climbing rope through both this carabiner and the carabiner that is on the first friction knot.
5. Make sure that the ratcheting friction knot is tight to the anchor and ready to take the climber’s weight. While keeping a hand on the brake strand of the climbing rope, you can unlock the munter hitch that is holding the climber by untying the mule knot and overhand back-up.
6. Using the munter, lower the climber’s weight onto the ratcheting friction knot.
7. With one hand, grab the brake strand of the climbing rope after the point where it passes through the pulley. With your other hand you can now remove the munter hitch and its carabiner from the anchor, leaving only the ratcheting friction knot and pulley system in place.
8. You can now pull on the brake strand of the climbing rope to raise the climber. When you pull on this strand it will put slack in the ratcheting friction knot.
9. Move the ratcheting friction knot up the climbing rope until it is tight again (preferably right up against the pulley friction knot).
10. Allow the climber’s weight to rest on the ratcheting friction knot again and slide the pulley friction knot as far away from the anchor as you can reach.
11. Repeat this process until the climber has been raised to the desired point. Make sure that you keep a hand on the brake/raising strand at all times for redundancy.


5:1 Mechanical Advantage Raising System
This force ratio is usually adequate for raising any climber if only one person (i.e. the belayer) is available to pull on the rope. The construction of this system is the same as the construction of the 3:1 system except that there are a few additional steps.

1. Follow steps 1 through 3 for the 3:1 system
2. Clip a carabiner into either end of a 48-inch sling
3. Clip one end of the 48-inch sling into the belay anchor, then clip the whole 48-inch sling (both sides of it) through the pulley friction knot from step 2.
4. Clip another carabiner into the anchor and clip the brake strand of the climbing rope through both this carabiner and the carabiner that is on the free end of the 48-inch runner after it runs through the pulley friction knot.
5. Now follow steps 5 through 11 for the 3:1 system.

If rescue pulleys are available, they can be clipped to any of the carabiners that act as pulleys in either the 3:1 or 5:1 system and used in place of the carabiners alone. Though they are not necessary, pulleys will greatly reduce the amount of friction in the system and the force required to raise the climber.

References

Quest Lead Climbing Manual

Quest Climbing Anchor Manual