Winter Alpine Twin Tensioned Rope System San Bernardino Cave and Technical Rescue Team Updated January 13th, 2013

COMPONENTS Snow Litter Rig / Patient Packaging: - Cascade Rescue Specialist Litter - Backboard w/ Straps, Head Immobilizer Blocks and Duct Tape - C-Collar (carried with Hasty Team Medic) - Goggles - Helmet - Patient Harness - Yellow Top Patient V-Strap w/ Steel Locking Biner - (2) Lower Patient Purcell Straps - Red and Blue Patient Z-Straps - Tarp - Wiggys Hypothermia Bag - (2) 8mm x 10m Cordelettes for top and bottom litter taglines - (2) 8mm Green Prusiks for litter bridle - (1) Maillon Rapide 10mm Delta Quick-Link - (2) 11mm Ropes (preferably 100m, to minimize # of Raising/Lowering Stations) Anchor/Mainline/Belay Kits (two complete sets per Raising/Lowering Station, typically utilizing 2 or more Stations to move the Subject/Attendant up or down the slope): - Anchor System appropriate to conditions. Natural anchors (trees, rocks) are preferred over snow anchors, as snow anchors are always considered marginal and take longer to build: - Typically (2) or (3) 24” MSR Coyote Snow Pickets, each w/ (1) 48” 20kN> runner and (1) or (2) 20kN> locking carabiner(s). Webbing or 7-8mm cordelette to create loadsharing anchor. - Mainline/Belay Kit: - (1) Lowering Device (Micro Rack w/ 1-2 hyperbars) - (4) 8mm Red Prusiks - (2) Rock Exotica Large Prusik-Minding Pulleys - (1) Pulley (preferable small; used if passing a knot during raise) - (6) 20kN> Locking Carabiners - (1) 8mm x 10m Cordelette PATIENT PACKAGING If spinal injury is suspected, apply c-collar and strap Subject to backboard; attach head immobilizer blocks to minimize head movement. Place Subject inside hypothermia bag, which is wrapped with the tarp, and all inside the litter. Utilize patient harness and primary and secondary strapping systems to secure Subject to litter. The patient should have a helmet if they do not have a spinal injury. Goggles should be placed on the Subject. LITTER RIGGING

Two ropes should be attached to the litter utilizing the 10mm delta quick-link and two 8mm prusiks for a bridle at the head of the litter. Ropes should be attached using either interlocking or interwoven long-tailed bowlines, with one long tail attach to the litter and then to Subject’s harness, and the other long tail attach to the litter and then to the Litter Attendant’s harness. The long tail for the Attendant should be long enough for the Attendant to move below the litter. Both ropes will both be tensioned to share the Load (usually made up of the litter, patient packaging, Subject, and Litter Attendant). RAISING/LOWERING STATION For each Raising/Lowering Station, there will be two duplicate anchor/mainline/belay systems built adjacent to each other at the same elevation, approximately 5-7m apart, depending on footprint of anchor systems. Anchor System: All individual snow anchor points should be considered marginal, and therefore, should always be built as part of a load-sharing anchor system, with a minimum of two anchor points. More anchor points may be necessary, depending on snow conditions. Pickets, deadmen, and bollards should be used for the anchor points. Mainline/Belay Kit: Each of the two adjacent anchor/mainline/belay systems at a Raising/Lowering Station will control the movement of one of the two tensioned ropes attached to the litter, generally sharing the Load as equally as possible, whether raising or lowering the Load. Leap-Frogging: As the Load (Subject/Attendant/Litter) are being moved by one Raising/Lowering Station, another team of 2-4 individuals will setup another Raising/Lowering Station within the rescue ropes’ reach of the current Station. On lower, the Load will need to pass the next Station down the slope, then that Station will deflect the ropes and rig into them. Once this is done, the upper Station can disconnect the ropes, break-down their systems and anchors, then “leap-frog down the slope to build the next Station to receive the Load as it is moving down the slope. Raising the Load is similar, in that a second Station is build above the first Station which is raising the Load, in anticipation of receiving the ropes as the Load arrives at the first Station. Care should be taken to ensure that the distance between the Stations is within the reach of the rescue ropes being utilized, including taking into account the rope that is out of play, due to tying into the litter. Three Raising/Lowering Station teams would be more efficient than two teams.

RIGGING AND OPERATION Rigging and Operating a Lower: Attach lowering device (Micro Rack) to focal point of load-sharing snow anchor. Rig 11mm rope through rack. The number of bars rigged depends on snow surface friction and slope angle. Conditions vary, but if slope angle is less than 30 degrees, and the surface is not icy, the rack may provide good control rigged with two bars plus one hyperbar. Remember, there are two mainline/belay operators at each Raising/Lowering Station. Each anchor system is seeing approximately half of the total Load, if both operators are working cooperatively.

Attach an 8mm prusik and a large prusik-minding pulley below the rack, extended with a second 8mm prusik. This prusik will act as a Belay Prusik for the Load if either operator should lose control of the load, is incapacitated, or one of the anchor systems should fail and suddenly transfer the entire Load onto the other anchor system; this satisfies the “whistle test.” Only one prusik per rope is necessary instead of two, as each prusik only regularly holds ½ the Load, and if one prusik should experience the whole Load (anchor/operator failure on one side), it should be a minimally-dynamic event, due to the load-sharing and pre-tensioning of the two tensioned rope system.

Lower the Load while tending the prusik. If the load starts to get out of control, stop tending the prusik, and let it engage.

Passing a Knot on Lower: To pass a knot going down, stop lowering when the knot is about two feet from the rack, allowing for a soft-tie.

Rig a Load-Releasing Hitch (LRH) and prusik beyond the belay prusik.

Engage this “bypass prusik” by lowering onto it with the rack.

Once the bypass prusik is holding the Load, re-rig the rack with the knot past the rack and pulley/belay prusik, then soft-tie the rack.

Untie the LRH and lower on it until the rack is holding the Load.

Disconnect the bypass prusik/LRH, untie the rack, and continue lowering.

Change-Over from Lower to Raise: To change-over from a lower to a raise, engage the belay prusik to hold the Load.

Disconnect the rack.

Attach a haul cam prusik and pulley, rigging a 3:1 mechanical advantage system. The belay prusik/pulley now become a Progress Capture Device (PCD). On most slope angles of 30 degrees or less, a second person assisting with the haul on one side will be all that is needed. That side will see two-thirds of the Load, and the other side with a single hauler will see onethird of the Load.

Passing a Knot on Raise: To pass a knot while raising, reconnect the haul cam prusik beyond the knot, then raise until the knot is just beyond the PCD.

Rig a second PCD beyond the knot, extended with the LRH, utilizing the fourth 8mm prusik, and the second PMP from the haul cam (replace it with a smaller pulley or just a carabiner).

Engage the lower PCD, raise Load until you can unload and disconnect the original PCD, swap the large pulley for the smaller pulley at the haul cam, then continue with the raise.

Change-Over from Raise to Lower: To change-over from raise to lower, engage the PCD, pull back a bight of rope from the back side of the PCD pulley, rig the rack behind it, and do a soft-tie.

Pull up on the still-connected haul cam, creating a 2:1 MA, until the PCD is unloaded, then break the PCD prusik and lower back the 2:1 haul system to load the rack.

Disconnect the haul cam prusik and pulley, untie the rack, tend the belay prusik/PCD, and lower Load.