FOR THOSE WHO WON'T OR CAN'T TURN BACK

Category Archives: Search And Rescue

Helicopter Rescue Video – Now On YouTube

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This post was originally published on 4/14/12 but because of a gigantic Go Daddy foul up the pictures were lost when they shut down their Quik Blogcast platform.  I have found them, reinserted them, and restored the entry.  I am posting it again for review. 

Since I don’t have much new to talk about I am working on fixing all the effected posts so you will see this process repeat itself many times.  Sorry.

I have not done much rescue related material on this site yet but I thought you all might enjoy this video.  It is one of the last missions I did before retiring altogether from rescue work.  I had my fun, 14 years was enough.

I was actually off duty when I was special called to meet Fox 1, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Bell 407, at the Scottsdale Municipal Airport.  I got the page about 4:30pm.  This was not all that uncommon.  Not only was I the Division’s Rescue Training Coordinator, I was also it’s only SAR Tech-EMT.  Normally in these off duty situations I would get dressed and drive to wherever I was meeting the bird.  This time was a little different because my wife and kids wanted to drive me to the airport to save me some time and see me off.  Big mistake.

There are three stop lights between my house and the airport and my wife, the finest most law abiding person I know, blew through two bright red ones like we were going to a fire.  The kids were yelling, my radio was blaring, and I was trying to get my gear on all while my soccer mom wife was doing her best Danica Patrick impression in a Chevy Suburban.  Fortunately, we made it there in one piece.  A little frazzled, I was happy to climb inside the helicopter…where it was safe.

The crew had already been to the call which was in the Canyon Lake area but went back to the hangar for the short haul gear and to pick me up.  The Apache Junction Fire Department engine company on scene was not helo qualified and we had not trained with them so a decision was made to do the short haul aka long line aka sling load operation with just our people.  Two of AJ’s bravest had already hiked in to reach, treat and stabilize the patient, a woman who had gotten lost while rock hunting.  As you will see in the video, she was in a very bad place.  I have no idea how that woman ended up where she did.  It was late summer, hot, and there was a monsoon rolling in from the North.  She was not doing well at all.  In fact, the firefighters were unable to start an IV because she was so dehydrated and that’s not good.

My job was to rig the ship, ride the line into the scene, package the patient in a Bauman Bag and then “fly the load” back out to the landing zone where we would transfer the patient to a waiting ambulance.  The ambulance would deliver the patient to an air ambulance that was waiting at another landing zone down the road.

This is the Bauman Bag with me hanging, from the hoist in our hanger, in the attendant position.  It was our policy to attend all live loads. From this position, while hanging 50 to 125 feet below the helicopter, I could talk to the patient, monitor and manage their airway and “fly the load” with my arms to keep the whole package from spinning. The system works very well but it is high risk.

The duty crew on this mission was Pilot and CFI Josh Johnson and Flight Technician Observer Kevin Kraayenbrink.  Two of the nicest guys on the planet.  If you look closely on the video, you can see Kevin’s bare legs sticking out the side of the passenger compartment.  He is laying sideways and face down on the aft bench seat so he can see what I am doing and make rude hand gestures.  For some reason both he and Josh were wearing shorts instead of their Superman suits.  Task assignments are as follows:  Josh flys.  Kevin watches, talks to me on the radio, Josh on the intercom and directs the whole thing.  I make sure that one end of the load line is securely attached to the helicopter and the other to my harness and the patient then try to make it through the ride without soiling my skivvies.

The picture on the left is me looking around for somebody dumber than me that could be talked into doing this. On the right, I am trying to decide between mexican and chinese food afterwords.  Airborne SAR Techs travel pretty light (especially when you are as heavy as I am and work out of a light single engine helo that typically flies in high temps/low humidity conditions). That Tactical Tailor Utility Vest allowed me to carry two radios (VHF Motorola HT1000 to talk to our dispatchers and the ship and a UHF version to patch with my base hospital via the EMSCOM radio system), a sat phone (because I was often so far back in the boonies I couldn’t get anybody on either radio), 100oz of water, basic survival, and Emergency Medical Services gear.  The standard 27P NOMEX military flight suit has all kinds of pockets and I used all of them (pick off strap, let down rope, cut away knife, C-collar, hand saw, notebook, SAM Splint, 12 feet of 1 inch tubular webbing, carabiners, handcuffs, etc).  All told, in this configuration, I am carrying an addition 43 pounds of equipment.  Note the attachment point for the Petzl 8003 Harness under my flight suit.  Such a kind face.

As the “load” or “dope on the rope” for a whole bunch of these operations I can tell you that there are crews that are good at long line work and crews that are not.  These guys are very, very good.  Watch how smoothly they move me around, how gently they set me down, and how quickly they address then correct a pendulum swing before it becomes a problem while the rotor is 10 feet from the rock face.  That is finesse.  That is talent.

Long story short.  We got the patient.  She went to the hospital and lived.  Then we all went back to whatever it was that we were doing.

Another successful mission. Ha!  We cheated death again.  That is Fox 1, ace Pilot Josh Johnson, and me on the pad at (what was known then as station 700) our base of operations at the Central Arizona Project facility just North of Deer Valley Airport in Phoenix.  Kevin Kraayenbrink is behind the camera.  I miss working with those guys. I don’t miss smelling like jet fuel exhaust all the time.

The folks at TV3 were nice enough to give me the raw video and then we had it converted.  It’s a good video but the web process degrades the quality quite a bit and speeds it up.  Trust me, we weren’t flying that fast and Josh is a much smoother pilot than it seems on the web version of the video.  Click here for the YouTube video.

UPDATE – One of the items on my to do list was to convert this video footage again and upload it to my YouTube channel.  Today I finally got it done.  Not my best work, I see a couple of mistakes but it is still interesting to watch and marvel at just how good the guys in the bird are.  Foxrider out.

Thanks.

Wade Nelson
Editor

Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.

Hardcore Outdoor is dedicated to those who won’t or can’t turn back.

 

Dog Rescue – Bad Form

 

Normally I refrain from critiquing what other SAR Techs do in the field because I wasn’t there but for this video I am going to make an exception. 

I have done a few of these dog rescues.  While I don’t like the idea of risking the life of a person for the life of a pet I do realize that if we don’t do it somebody else is likely going to give it a try which will inevitably lead to us having to rescue that person so we might as well do it ourselves from the outset.  And, the media morons like it. 

So anyway, you need to handle these kinds of scenarios a particular kind of way.  You have to use a big duffle bag and you have to wear gloves to grab the dog and control it.  You will need to use both your hands, although chances are that you are going to get bit anyway, which is why it should be a team based lower. 

I would have positioned two teams above and on either side of the animal, set up two lowering systems, put a SAR Tech on each rope and lowered them down to the animal.  One guy grabs and controls the mutt, the other gets him into the bag and secures it, then make a decision as to whether you lower to the bottom or re-rig for a raise.  No muss, no fuss and its done.

That is not what this team did.  They sent one guy from the side (perpendicular to the fall line), payed out a bunch of line, and let him try to manage the dog while at the same time moving.  Bad idea all the way around and the result is what any experienced team leader should expect.  Did they not see the pendulum danger with all that slack?  What was the rope for anyway, it wasn’t going to be able to belay his fall or support him while he got the dog squared away.

The worst part about it for me, these guys are all wearing Mountain Rescue patches on their sleeves which means they are supposed to know something.  They should have known better.  Who did their certification?  I would suggest a Reed Thorne Ropes That Rescue course or two before somebody gets hurt.

German Airliner Crashes In French Alps

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french police helicopterA French Police EC-145 and crew shuttles resources into the scene of an airliner crash.  I have never flown in this type but I am told by knowledgeable sources that it is an excellent helicopter for public safety/emergency services work. 

Nice looking bird and that SAR Tech out on the skid has the best seat in the house.

From The Archive – Avalanche Safety Is One Thing – Sending A Distress Signal Is Something Else

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The slide has come to a stop, now what?  Time is of the essence and the clock is ticking.  You had better get the first responders started right now or the search and rescue operation is going to turn into a body recovery.

We have news today of another deadly avalanche, this time in Colorado.  I have been through enough avalanche training to know that accurate prediction is a dicey proposition at best but that is not the reason for this post.  My point is based on reports from the first responders that those who survived and were rescued were very lucky to get an emergency call out via cellphone because there is little to no coverage in that area.

The good thing is that they were all wearing avi beacons but it is astounding to me that in this day and age the survivors were left to rely on cellular and not satellite communications technology.  That tells me that we have done a much better job of educating people about avalanche transceivers than we have on satellite messengers and PLBs (Personal Locator Beacons) so we have some work to do.

Avalanche training and wearing transceivers are obviously important but so is the ability for survivors or witnesses to call for specialized emergency assistance when the worst happens.  The solution is get a SPOT, DeLorme inReach SE, or SPOT Global Phone then learn how to use it, make sure it is fully charged and carry it every single time you go out.  I repeat, carry it every single time you go out.  Seriously folks, this is an easy fix and I would say it is irresponsible or negligent if you don’t make this affordable preparation.

By the way, if you think that your satellite distress beacon will work when you are buried in the snow you better do some tests because if you are deep enough that you can’t dig yourself out you are too deep for the signal to get out.

For avalanche safety education start by going to the National Ski Patrol and Mountain Rescue Association websites then get some practical field training.  Ignorance is a condition that can be treated and cured.

Backpacker Magazine Survival Article

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backpacker survival article
Turn to page 41 of the December 2014 issue of Backpacker Magazine and you can read a story about survival.  Actually, I would say it is more about being ill-prepared and dumb luck than survival but I am not very sympathetic with these kinds of things.

33 y/o Dan Hein planned to do a solo trip of three or four days in Kings Canyon National Park including a loop of 13,563 foot Mt. Goddard.  He did tell his father where he was going and when he was supposed to be back but that was about all he did right in my opinion.

On the second day of his outing a two foot boulder rolled over his leg resulting in an open fracture of the tibia (shin bone).  Any significant injury in the backcountry is a problem.  A long bone poking out of the skin makes it more interesting.  Being by yourself complicates things even further.  Being way off trail and without reliable comms means you are not only stupid but pretty much totally screwed.  And by screwed I mean dead.

You can read the full story for yourself but the reason it is a story at all is because he ended up spending another five days in the Sierra Nevada with a level one injury, he was found, he survived, and even got to keep his leg.  That’s the dumb luck aspect.  The ill-prepared part is that an educated man would do such a thing without bringing along a DeLorme inReach, SPOT or ACR ResQLink.  Had Mr. Hein had one of these reasonably priced modern marvels he would have been in a hospital emergency room within hours of the incident.

To add insult to injury he let Backpacker tell his story.

Wonder what his degree is in?

UPDATE – No sooner had I hit the publish button on this post did I get a message from a reader with this link.  Thanks Bruce. 

Interesting and it reminds me of a few old SAR axioms I learned relatively early in my career.  First, never expect a victim to participate in his own rescue.  Second, you can’t save people from themselves.  Last, stupid is as stupid does.

Marmot Minimalist Jacket – Blaze Orange Color

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Marmots Minimalist Jacket has been a strong contender in the technical shell segment for a long time.  It has everything that a mountaineering jacket should have and as the name implies nothing extra.  And this year it is offered in a nice bright orange.   

One of the most common questions I have gotten over the almost five years I have been this is about a good waterproof breathable shell jacket in blaze orange.  It is usually from search and rescue folks who for obvious reasons need to be seen in the backcountry but sometimes it is from a hunter or birder.

Anyway, as I know all too well myself, a good high end shell in orange is hard to find.  Well, here you go.  The Marmot Minimalist has been a strong performer for many years and it is a fine jacket with good features and design including extra long pit zips, Gore-Tex Paclite, and a helmet compatible hood.

If you are looking for a dependable shell for wilderness work but it has to be in high viz orange, this is what I would recommend.  However, you better act fast because if history tells us anything on this issue it is that this color will not be offered next season (a mistake in my opinion).  You have been warned.

Thanks.

Wade Nelson
Editor

Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.

We can be educated and persuaded but not bought, bullied or bs’d.

Hardcore Outdoor is dedicated to those who can’t or won’t turn back.

News – Texas Company To Replace RAF RN As SAR Helicopter Resource In UK

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The big yellow bird has been a welcome site to many.  It has often meant the difference between life and death but they are aging and progress is synonymous with change.

Privatization (the transferring of government run services to privately owned enterprizes) in the United Kingdom continues and the latest to go through the process are the search and rescue helicopters that serve the civilian population.  For 70 years military crews and their Royal Air force or Navy helicopters have been used to rescue those in need throughout the countries of Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and England.  They will now concentrate on military missions while civilian SAR calls are to be handled by a private company.
 

Royal Navy variant and paint scheme.

Texas based Bristow Group won the first ten year contract that will replace the familiar yellow (Royal Air Force) and orange slash grey (Royal Navy) Sea Knight helicopters operated by the military with red and white Sikorsky S-92 and AgustaWestland AW 189s.  Bristow will operate 22 aircraft spread across ten strategically located bases. 


This is the future of Search And Rescue services for civilians in the United Kingdom.  A Bristow owned and operated AW 189 helicopter.

Bristow is a strong player in the contract helo business and they are no stranger to this kind of job because they already provide SAR services in many parts of the world. 

In this country, the Forest Service already uses contract birds in places like Denali and Grand Canyon so I am sure it is only a matter of time before privatization happens here on a larger scale.  When and where in the United States will they begin providing these or maybe law enforcement aviation services for a major county, state or metropolitan area?  We will see.       

News – SAR Crews Find Lost Hikers – Cleveland National Forest

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I get news alerts on all search and rescue stories that hit the wire.  There is always something going on somewhere but I only share the interesting stuff with you.  However, if you are a little twisted and dig reading about this sort of thing then get the 2012 edition of Accidents in North American Mountaineering from the American Alpine Club.  

Multiple agencies and organizations spent the last four days combing a part of Cleveland National Forest in Southern California for an 18 year old girl and a 19 year old boy (I say girl and boy because as a father of three teenagers myself they are still kids to me).  Authorities were first made aware of a problem when one of the two hikers called 911.  However, shortly after that call their cell phones ran out of battery power. 

OK, you can read the article here but I want to highlight a number of things.

1.  Cellular telephones are wonderful things and can play a critical role in finding people who are in trouble but only if they have a signal and power.  Loss of contact with a reporting party because of dead batteries is a common problem that could be easily remedied by fully charging your batts before you leave your vehicle, carrying a fully charged spare battery, turning off all those battery draining features, or using a solar battery charger like the one I use from Goal Zero.

2.  Get familiar with your map apps.  Many smartphones have a map function and many work even without cell coverage (I am working on a story for a couple of magazines on that subject right now) so getting lost should be a lot tougher with all this fancy technology.  If you have power that is.  

3.  Carry more water than you think you will need.  If I had a dollar for every time I heard “but it was just a short hike and…” I would have enough money to buy some more gear.  These hikers were out of water when they made the phone call for help on day 1 so it is obvious that they didn’t have enough water and they came real close to dying from dehydration.  

4.  Stay together.  I don’t know the circumstances on how they got separated but it is usually a really bad idea to split up.

5.  Stay on the trail.  Unless you really know what you are doing and are properly equipped to handle it, stay on the marked trails.  

6.  Your actions impact others.  We have talked about this before.  If you are in trouble in the backcountry good people are going to work hard and put themselves in harms way to help you.  Accidents are one thing but being stupid, impaired, or ill-prepared is negligent.  A SAR Deputy was seriously injured on this mission, hope he fully recovers soon.

7.  Remember that TV shows like DUAL SURVIVAL are choreographed and supported by safety crews so don’t think that you are going to do what they do.  Besides, you ought to be better prepared than they are anyway.  And only an idiot ventures into the wilderness (on purpose) with bare feet.  Sorry Cody dude but that is just so silly that it ruins the show for me.

Lastly, to the SAR gods that found these folks, congratulations.  Well done.  Never ceases to amaze me how these things turn out.  I was always fascinated how my subjects looked after a few days in the bush.  Wet from from rain, perspiration, urine, blood or all of the above and so dirty that they blended in with the surrounding terrain like Coues Deer.  I called it SAR or search camo.  And both lost their shoes, go figure.

Ten bucks says that neither one of them had a flashlight.  Could have ended this thing the very first night and with a lot less drama if they had a good flashlight to signal the search helicopter.       

News – Alaska State Police “Helo 1” Crashes

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Alaska State Police Helicopter N911AA call sign HELO 1 went down with three aboard while conducting a SAR mission near Larson Lake in the South central part of the state.

Alaska State Troopers lost two of their own and a life saving piece of equipment Saturday night just after 10pm.  Pilot Mel Nading and Trooper Tage Toll had just rescued an injured snow mobiler and were headed back to meet Paramedics.  When the AS350 B3 did not arrive and could not be reached by radio or mobile telephone a search was launched.  The wreckage was located just 7 miles East of Talkeetna and USAF PJs were immediately deployed but all three on board the crashed helicopter were deceased.

I post these stories either because I knew someone involved or I simply want to pay my respects to the public safety crews that perish but I also want to remind everyone how dangerous this kind of work is. It is not just a matter of sending a bird out to get someone.  First rate professional pilots and best in class well maintained machines crash all too often for a variety of reasons in the line of duty. I ask that you keep that in mind when you are out there doing your thing. Be prepared and don’t abuse the system just because you know that someone wearing a uniform will come and bail you out. Come hell or high water they will come so don’t waste their time or put them at risk needlessly.

Here is the full story.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Alaska State Police and the family and friends of those that died.  Thank you for your service and I am sorry for your loss.  

NEW GEAR ALERT – Elements Bibs (FR) – Massif Mountain Gear

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Waterproof, breathable, and fire resistant.  The Elements Bib from Massif.  An innovative solution to a unique problem.

Everyday is like Christmas around here because the Postal Service, FedEx, and UPS are always dropping something off for us to open up.  I only tell you guys about the good stuff.  Case in point, these fire resistant foul weather bibs from Massif Mountain Gear.

Over the course of fourteen years I used 4x4s, ATVs, snow skis, Snow Cats, snow shoes, snow mobiles, mules, horses, air boats, canoes, motor boats, inner tubes, motorcycles, Jetskis, bicycles, HUMMWVs, and deuce and a half trucks to get to more than 350 backcountry emergency scenes but most of the time it was done on foot or by helicopter.  

While the helicopter was always my favorite mode of ingress it is statistically the riskiest and the one most likely to kill me if a mishap did occur.  One of the things that was always in the back of my mind was fire.  Dying pretty much sucks no matter how it happens but I am pretty sure burning to death rates right up there as one of the worst ways to go.  

When I transferred to Aviation and became an Airborne SAR Tech it was something I actively tried to address with regard to my clothing for obvious reasons.  In my role as the third crew member not only was I on the aircraft more than anybody else I was almost always involved in refueling them.  It was almost always a hot refuel too which means the engine was running and the rotor was turning.  To make matters even more interesting my seat in both of our aircraft was perched on top of the main tanks.  Yikes!

My standard personal protective clothing was as follows – wool socks, leather boots, cotton bike shorts, cotton t-shirt, a customized 27P flightsuit, Nomex gloves, and once in a while a Nomex balaclava which all worked fine in moderate temps.  The problem came in the fall, winter, and early spring when the nights were cold and there was plenty of rain and snow.  My protective clothing wasn’t suited for doing mountain search and rescue work in those conditions.  That is an issue because my ability to survive and perform on the mountain was the very reason I was on the bird in the first place so that was my priority.  I wore polypro base, fleece or synthetic insulation, and Gore-Tex shell layers head to toe instead of my Nomex.  That’s a lot of nylon and nylon doesn’t do well in a flash fire.  If anything did happen and there was a fire I would have gone up like a Roman Candle.

Enter a little company that was started by a couple of Jenny Lake Rangers who had exactly the same problem I did but they decided to do something about it.  Massif Mountain Gear made fire resistant (FR) zip t-neck tops, long john bottoms, and fleece jackets that looked like they would be worn by a mountaineer not a race car driver which up until that point was our only alternative.  The new Massif products were game changers for me.  Quantum leaps forward in safety and performance for someone that did what I did in the environments and conditions I did it.

Fast forward a few years and Massif produces a full suit designed for military flight crews.  Now they are making an entire line of base and shell layers for all branches of the military in solid colors and service branch specific camouflage patterns.

The Elements Bibs are unique and perfect for the SAR Tech, Ski Patroller, or LEO that has to fly to the scene.  They are designed like a technical mountaineering bib but protect like a Nomex flight suit so you get the best of best worlds.  They are waterproof, windproof, vapor permeable (breathable), they stretch, are quiet, cut for layering and are highly abrasion resistant.  Pretty awesome if you ask me.

More on these after I have had a chance to use them in the field but expect to see big things from Massif in the near future.

Ski Racer Lindsey Vonn – Accident, Injury, Evacuation

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Olympic ski racer Lindsey Vonn evacuated off the mountain by helicopter short haul.  Note that this live load is attended by two SAR Techs.

US Ski Team Athlete Lindsey Vonn was injured on Tuesday while competing in the Alpine World Championship held in Schladming, Austria.  I am posting about this because I found the picture interesting.  I have spent a lot of time hanging below a helicopter taking care of an injured person.  What intrigues me about this is that the patient is being attended by two Search And Rescue Technicians.  Please don’t misunderstand, I am not at all second guessing the on scene crew, it just struck me because our SOGs dictated that live loads be attended by only one SAR Tech.  Putting three lives at risk on the bottom of the line would have been extraordinary for us, I am not sure we have ever done it.


I wish Ms. Vonn all the best and hope to see her up on skis again soon. 

GREAT GEAR RECOMMENDATION – Field Operations Guide – Edition 4 – UPDATE

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New and expanded.  Tom Pendleys Technical Rescue Field Operations Guide Edition 4 is a valuable tool for anyone in the search and rescue business.  Sized to fit in your BDU or bunker pockets there is no reason you shouldn’t have it with you on every call for reference. 

I would be trumpeting the newest version of the Technical Rescue Field Operations Guide or FOG even if it weren’t written by a good friend of mine because it is an outstanding tool for Rescue Techs in all genres.  Chief Tom Pendley is what the corporate community calls a luminary or subject matter expert and I can tell you from first hand, personal experience that his knowledge is based on the ideal combination of real world practical application and state of the art industry training.  Granted, I may be a little biased but from my qualified, professional perspective the FOG is the product of a 22 year career of not just teaching but doing and is the best of its kind on the market today.  Period.  Bar none.  No question.  End of discussion.

I continue to be impressed with Toms commitment to the continuous refinement and improvement of his work.  This fourth edition is not just a reprint with a new cover.  It is thoroughly updated, contains even better more detailed graphics and adds more than forty pages of new and expanded information.  Edition Four is his best FOG yet and I encourage you to get at least two copies.  One for the rig and one for the station “library”.

Innovative.  For those that want more information or further, more demonstrative explanation, Chief Pendley is building online multi-media tutorials to go with the procedures illustrated in the FOG.  They will be ready Fall of 2011 and can be accessed at www.DesertRescue.com

Now you know that price is not normally a consideration in our evaluations here at Hardcore Outdoor but we like a good deal as much as the next guy.  Even I am smart enough to recognize that a top notch Field Operations Guide and online training from one of the best SAR Techs in the business is a smoking deal at $24 bucks.  Get it?  Smoking?  He is a fireman.  Smoke fire firefighter.  Get it?  Oh man, I crack me up.

UPDATE – THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT.  EVER THE TECHY, CHEIF PENDLEY NOW HAS A FIELD OPERATIONS GUIDE APP FOR YOUR iPHONE AND iPAD SO NOW YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE TO NOT HAVE IT WITH YOU. 

Thanks.

Wade Nelson
Editor

Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.

We can be educated and persuaded but not bought, bullied or bs’d.

Hardcore Outdoor is dedicated to those who can’t or won’t turn back.

Leg Loops To Go With Your Instructor Belt

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Leg loops to go with your instructor belt.  It’s from CMC so you can count on it.

If your mission occasionally requires you to tie in to get the job done but it doesn’t happen enough to require a full harness rig then you might very well appreciate this product from CMC.  They been around for a long time and pay close attention to what their customers are doing and what they want so trust me, you can count on their stuff.  I certainly have.

This set of leg loops will fit into your pack without taking up much space or weight and it will go nicely with whatever you happen to be using for a swami as long as it is rated.

Here is the CMC catalog description.

“These quick attaching leg loops extend the versatility of the Uniform Rappel Belt. More comfortable than a hasty harness tied out of one-inch tubular web, the leg loops allow you to turn your belt into a comfortable harness for that unexpected rappel or helicopter evacuation. Connect the steel Half Moon Quick Link around the rappel belt to attach the leg loops in the front. Hook-and-loop straps provide waist attachment points for the adjusting straps at the back of the legs. Adjustable leg loops with leg pads provide superb comfort. Includes Quick Link connector combining the Rappel Belt and Leg Loops. When used together, the belt passes through the Quick Link, which becomes the primary attachment point for helicopter hoists or for emergency rappels.”

Thanks.

Wade Nelson
Editor

Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.

We can be educated and persuaded but not bought, bullied or bs’d.

Hardcore Outdoor is dedicated to those who can’t or won’t turn back.

PJs – United States Air Force Pararescue Insignia

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The top of the SAR family tree.  PJs are some of the most highly trained assets in the entire U.S. Military.  EMT-Paramedics, dive and free fall jump qualified, SERE, advanced small arms and tactical training, and all weather slash all terrain capable.  The Pipeline or “Superman School” runs about two years in total to mint a new PJ and has a wash out rate of 90%.  You don’t get any more elite than this.       

Rope Rescue Training With Chief Tom Pendley and Pinal County Sheriff’s Office

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I got to spend a day on the rock with one of my favorite people and a group of dedicated Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteers.  Former teammate and friend Chief Tom Pendley of Peoria Fire and Desert Rescue Research fame asked if I would like to join him for a Rope Rescue III class he was teaching.  I have been wanting to do more stories on SAR and opportunities to hang out with Tom are far and few between these days so I jumped at the offer.

This two day field class was the third of a three part series and it represented something of a graduation for this particular group.  Although, Tom would be the first to tell you the learning curve in technical rescue is a long one or maybe it isn’t a curve at all but a career long process that never really ends.  I agree completely.  Proficiency and mastery of techniques already learned is critical to safe, effective operations in the field but so is exposure, testing and adoption of new equipment and ways to solve old problems.  Good technical rope rescue technicians, rather they arrive in a BRT or a light helicopter, have to be and remain flexible to complete the mission tasked.  We have to be flexible not only in the field but in the classroom and anywhere else that new concepts are dreamt up and developed.  So, practice your skills, get more and varied training and be Semper Gumby!

Rope rescue in backcountry environments like Pinal county is, to say the least, unique.  It is like all TRT missions, just a practical engineering problem but complicated by the mere fact that it is located in an extreme wilderness setting.  Everything you need to effect a rescue has to come in with you and you are are subject to everything mother nature can throw at you in terms of environmental hazards.  Snow, rain, wind, blazing heat, lightning, snakes, scorpions, cactus, mountain lions, skunks, thick scrub brush, killer bees, dehydration, nutrition, sunburn, fatigue, personnel shortages, equipment failures, confined space, uneven terrain, lack of communications, darkness and so on and so on not to mention victim issues all come into play on every mission and it can be quite a challenge with deadly outcomes.  Training is the key to building a team that can adapt, improvise and overcome anything that gets in their way.  Considering his background and experience, this group could not have had a better instructor.  I may be biased but then again I know what I am talking about, I think Chief Pendley is the best training resource in the business.         

 

Every training day starts with a briefing to discuss what was done yesterday and the key lessons learned, todays objectives and assignments, and questions.  Every training day ends with a debrief meeting where we discuss what happened, lessons learned, things to work on, determine if there are any injuries or damaged gear to be addressed and then where everybody is meeting up for dinner.
 


Gear sort.  Everybody is responsible for carrying a piece of the team gear cache to the training site where it is all laid out on a tarp so it can be organized and accounted for.  An equipment manager is usually assigned to manage distribution of the gear and to keep the operation leader aware of what he has to work with.   



Technical rope rescue is equipment intensive, even for the best, most efficient teams.  Wilderness teams often have to hump their equipment in slash out on their backs (in addition to all their other gear) so weight and space is always a consideration or more accurately, a problem.  Lightweight, dependable, rescue load rated, multi-purpose are words that describe their chosen equipment.  That is Sterling half inch rope (red working line, blue belay line) and a focused, floating anchor plate with an MPD raise slash lower device from CMC Rescue (which was something I had not used before).

  

Manned tandem prusiks are used for the belay line.   



Rescuers slash litter attendants prepare to load the system prior to going over the edge.  Two edge attendants are in place on either side of the litter to minimize edge trauma.  The Arizona Vortex (developed by Reed Thorne, made by Rock Exotica, and sold by CMC) is used to create an artificially high directional which keeps the working and belay lines up off the ground and makes it easier for the attendants to negotiate the edge.  Note that everybody out in the hazard zone is travel restricted and tied into something.
 


Going out over the edge with the litter to do a mid-face litter scoop of an injured climber or to go all the way to the bottom to retrieve the victim of an over the side automobile accident.  This is technically complex and physically demanding work but there are times when it is the only way to get the job done.
 


The litter team has reached the bottom for this particular training evolution.  The top sector is directed to rig for raise while one of the attendants gets into the litter to play victim.



Edge attendants keep an eye on things from the top while Instructor Pendley talks the litter team through some of the finer points of the operation.



Attended litter being raised back up the face with victim.  You can see how difficult this procedure would be without the Arizona Vortex.  Note the belay line (blue) and main line (red) run over the edge separately and the attendant is attached to the load ring (not the litter) via a small adjustable mechanical advantage rig called a set of fours.

It was good to be on rock and rope again.  Helos will always be my medium of choice I guess but I had forgotten how much I thoroughly enjoy this very technical part of SAR.  I also forgot how long those days in the field could be and how physically demanding the work is. 

You should know that these folks do this work for free.  Actually, if you think about it, they pay for the privilege of serving the public by buying not only their personal gear but also team equipment like patient litters, ropes, carabiners, and pulleys.  They are classed as non-paid county employees and they perform a critical function that each county sheriff is statutorily required to provide yet they receive no funding from those offices or the state.  Until that changes these dedicated volunteers could use some help from you but the truth is that you may really be helping yourself. 

If you love spending time in the backcountry you need to sack up and make a tax deductable donation.  You want them to be there when you need them don’t you?  And when you need them, you want them to be properly trained and equipped don’t you?  You bet you do so find out who your local team is and send them some dough right now.  I did.

Support the Pinal County Sheriff’s team directly through this link. 

Thanks.

Wade Nelson
Editor

Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.

We can be educated and persuaded but not bought, bullied or bs’d.

Hardcore Outdoor is dedicated to those who can’t or won’t turn back.

Injured Personnel Carrier By Agilite

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Do you remember me telling you about carrying an injured hiker out of Siphon Draw in the Superstition Mountains?  The woman had a broken ankle and we figured that, because of the extreme terrain, the safest and quickest way to evac her was to use a climbing harness and two pick-off straps to secure her to my back then a modified running belay down to a mountain LZ.  Like good Mountain Rescue Technicians, we improvised that rig but the Injured Personnel Carrier from Agilite is engineered and made expressly for this purpose.  I really like it.

Here is a slick little video that illustrates a scoop and run by one person in a tactical scenario but it is pretty straight forward even if no one is shooting at you.  It’s packs small, is very strong and weighs less than a pound.  It won’t work for all carry-outs but it will work beautifully for some. 

If you are responsible for people in the field, you should consider this device for your kit.

Thanks.

Wade Nelson
Editor

Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.

We can be educated and persuaded but not bought, bullied or bs’d. Hardcore Outdoor is dedicated to those who can’t or won’t turn back.

News – Twin Engine Plane Crash – Superstition Mountains – Pinal County Arizona

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A good view of the Western face of legendary Superstition Mountain, the area of the crash.  It was hard to tell exactly where the plane hit from the night time news helicopter coverage but it was near the top.  This should give you an idea of the kind of terrain rescuers are working in. 

The Pinal County Sheriff is working a twin engine plane crash tonight up high on the Flatiron in the Superstition Mountains West of Phoenix.  Six people reportedly left Falcon Field in Mesa at about 1830 Wednesday night bound for Safford, Arizona and a Thanksgiving Day celebration with family and friends.

A surveillance camera caught the explosion and subsequent fires from miles away to the South and was posted here on YouTube shortly after the news broke.  Pinal County Deputies and SAR Techs were flown in by an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter and are looking for survivors amongst the strewn out wreckage and fuel fed fires.

I know this area very well.  I have been hiking the Sups since 1975 and been involved in many search and rescue missions on and around the Flatiron slash Siphon Draw area.  As the picture above clearly shows, it is incredibly steep and rugged terrain with shear cliffs all around.  It just doesn’t get much tougher than this folks.  Gods speed to the first responders and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those that were on board.  Always hard any time something like this happens but particularly poignant at Thanksgiving.

UPDATE – I have done several telephone interviews with local TV stations talking about what rescue crews are dealing with up there and the truth is that is is about as difficult as it gets.  Each SAR mission presents its own unique set of problems and challenges that have to be identified, assessed, negotiated and eventually overcome.  This one had just about all the bad boxes checked.  The only thing not going against Pinal last night was the weather but even that is expected to change late this afternoon.

It is daylight now and we can see exactly where the plane hit the mountain.  It is at the very top in the hoodoos just to the North of the Flatiron about a half mile as the crow flys.  Channel 10 News Helicopter pilot Rick Crabbs, a former MCSO pilot I have flown with many times, said that another 100 feet or so and they would have cleared the top and missed the mountain completely.

As far as we know, a father, his three young children, and two other adults were on board and now presumed dead.  Based on what I can see of the scene and the mechanism of injury it was all over in a millisecond.  No one suffered. 


A time lapse picture of DPS “Ranger” coming in to land on the Flatiron.  Note the still burning wreckage where it came to rest at the base of the hoodoos.


A shot from the top of the hoodoos looking South Southwest at the Flatiron (now being used as a mountain LZ to shuttle rescuers and investigators to and from the scene) and the town of Apache Junction down below.  The crash site is immediately below the tall rocks (hoodoos) in the center right foreground.         

Wade Nelson
Editor

Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.

We can be educated and persuaded but not bought, bullied or bs’d. Hardcore Outdoor is dedicated to those who can’t or won’t turn back.

News – Lost Hiker Rescued After Four Days Near Mount Hood Oregon

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Here is another search and rescue (SAR) story worth reading.  It contains an important lesson for all of us.  Also shows how easily these incidents can be avoided or mitigated.

Missing Oregon Hiker Found Alive After Four Days in the Forest


Published August 03, 2011


FoxNews.com


A woman who was missing for three nights in an Oregon forest after becoming separated from her boyfriend and tumbling off a cliff was found alive and rescued Tuesday after subsisting on berries and bugs to survive.


Pamela Salant of Portland says she ate berries, drank from a creek and also tried to scoot to safety on her bottom because she couldn’t walk.


Hood River County sheriff’s Detective Matt English says the 28-year-old Portland woman was in serious condition with a possible broken left leg after her rescue from Mount Hood National Forest.


“Everyone is just relieved,” Aric Essig, Pamela’s boyfriend, told Fox 12 “I’m really proud of her.”


An Oregon Army Guard helicopter crew spotted Salant sitting on a rock near a creek Tuesday afternoon, and returned to Salem to get a chopper equipped for hoisting her out of the forest. A UH-60 Blackhawk chopper made the actual rescue, carrying Salant to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.


She suffered injuries to her back, leg, and knee, but is expected to be fine, Essig said.


The Oregonian reported that Salant got lost Saturday when she and Essig dropped their gear near Bear Lake and went looking for a camping spot. After her fall, Salant began following a creek, trying to reach the Columbia River and get help, Hood River Country Sheriff’s Detective Matt English said. She ended up in a steep drainage, about a mile and a half from the lake.


“She had fallen off a cliff, a pretty high cliff,” Essig described. “She knew she had to get to water, so she scooted her way down this steep hill and found water and drank from a stream.”


Salant survived the four days and three nights wearing only shorts and a tank top.


“At night she was really cold, so she covered herself with moss,” Essig told Fox 12. “She ate berries and ate a caterpillar and a slug, anything she could do to survive.”


More than 25 people from the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office, plus multiple other agencies including the National Guard and U.S.Forest Service police, searched the rugged and densely wooded terrain.


Salant heard the helicopters and made her way to an open area, so she could be spotted, Essig said.


He says her adrenaline and will to survive helped save her.


“She thought she was going to die, so she knew she had to make it,” Essig told Fox 12. “She said she was surprisingly confident and not scared for a lot of it; she knew she had to do it.”


So, grasshopper, what can we gleam from this mission?  First and foremost, don’t let yourself get separated from your gear, especially your most important gear.  Unfortunately, this is a common problem.  It is something I talk to horseback trail riders about because they tend to strap their essentials to their saddles or use their saddlebags which means if they get thrown and the horse takes off they are left with nothing but a cowboy hat and a sore backside. 

This is also something we pound into the heads of new SAR trainees.  The admonition is to load the technical gear into the helicopter for the trip back to the Command Post but keep your pack with you, consider it a part of your body.  I can’t tell you how many times I have seen the helo depart the mountain LZ promising to come back but doesn’t for some reason leaving those up high to hump back down to the CP.  Depending on time, distance, weather, terrain and any number of other things you could be in a tough position for a while without your gear.  Not smart.  Not good.

Know what you really need and keep it with you, on your person.  Absolute minimum in this area, at this time of year would be a light jacket tied around your waist, a headlamp and a Bic lighter in your pockets, and a good whistle on a lanyard around your neck.  Add a fanny or lumbar pack with a strobe light, SPOT unit, water bottle and a couple of food bars and we would never have heard about this.

One other observation, hind sight being 20/20, splitting up wasn’t a good idea either.

Nobody ever expects to get lost so you have to be prepared all the time.  I am glad Ms. Salant is OK and congratulations to all the SAR gods that got her back home.  Well done.

Thanks.

Wade Nelson
Editor

Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.

We can be educated and persuaded but not bought, bullied or bs’d. Hardcore Outdoor is dedicated to those who can’t or won’t turn back.

News – Is A Fat Dog Heavy? – Misuse of Public Safety Assets

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Here is another news story that I can’t let pass without commenting.


“SAN DIMAS CALIFORNIA (CBS NEWS) — An afternoon hike turned into an overnight ordeal when a couple whose 80-pound dog joined them for the trek couldn’t make it back down the trail.


Officials said the dog, Baxter, a Labrador mix, suffered cuts to his paws from rocks on the trail at the Angeles National Forest, just north of San Dimas. The walk became too hard and he grew too tired, forcing his owners to call police for help.

The couple couldn’t’t carry the dog themselves so they waited overnight for help to arrive.
 
On Sunday morning, a rescue helicopter arrived and had to completely shut down to calm the frightened dog enough to board. The couple and the dog were eventually airlifted to safety.
 
The couple, who did not have clothing or camping supplies, was cold when they were picked up, but were said to be doing fine.


OK, I don’t have a Captain or an elected Sheriff to answer to any more and I could care less what PETA thinks of me so I will say what needs to be said.  It is a misuse of public safety assets to rescue animals.  This is not a new position for me.  I have been dispatched to rescue animals, I have seen numerous operations to rescue animals and I thought it was a problem then.  Don’t get me wrong, I love(d) my dogs and horses and would do almost anything for them except…ask another man and his crew to risk their lives saving them, especially when it was my fault that they got in that situation in the first place.  

Look, you don’t spend taxpayer money, risk very expensive rescue apparatus meant to save human beings and put highly trained personnel in harms way to save an animal.  As cold and hard hearted as that may sound to some that is the way it should be.  Besides there are myriad private volunteer rescue organizations willing to step up and help and that is the way this case should have been handled.  

Now on a different aspect of this, how about the couple that brought their precious Baxter with them on this little adventure but weren’t prepared to spend the night on the mountain when the dog bonked.  Hey John Q public, your dog belongs at home and if you absolutely positively must bring it, how about making sure that it is up to the challenge physically because sure as shootin if he isn’t you are going to feel compelled to turn to the public safety system for help which in turn spreads the turd and puts somebody else in a very tough position.  If that somebody else answers to an elected official then you can bet SAR assets will be launched because political advisors and PR consultants won’t allow said elected official to pass up an opportunity to look kind, sensitive and magnanimous to his ever more vocal pet loving constituents. 

Think I am all wrong about this?  What if this helicopter crashed during this non-emergency operation and killed everyone on board.  Now you have a dead crew, dead dog, dead passengers (whose family will of course sue), a balled up helicopter that is no longer available to respond to real emergencies involving actual people.  Not to mention the fact that California doesn’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of financially and has no business rescuing a fat, out of shape, ill prepared fido. 

Was it worth all that risk for a dog?  Was there a better, less risky, less expensive, more responsible way to pull this off and achieve the same results?  How about a manned litter or a wheeled litter carry out.  Hey, call me and I will hump the damn dog out on my back but leave the public safety guys to more important work.  Come on folks.  Be smart about this stuff and let’s not totally abandon what little common sense seems to be left in this part of the world. 

Lastly, why did the reporter reveal the dogs name and not the humans?  Clearly biased and not cool.  After all, Baxter didn’t have a choice in this.  Baxter “joined them for the trek”?  Yea, like Baxter decided to drive up separately and meet them at the trailhead.  No.  Those people took, coerced is more like it, Baxter with them even though I’ll bet that if Baxter had been given a choice he would have said (Wilfred) are you nuts I am in no shape to go on a hike.  Just goes to show you that many times pets are smarter than their owners.

Thanks.

Wade Nelson
Editor

Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.

We can be educated and persuaded but not bought, bullied or bs’d. Hardcore Outdoor is dedicated to those who can’t or won’t turn back.

News – SPOT Satellite Messenger Saves Arizona Climber Rescued From Colorado Peak

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I was checking the Arizona news on my Verizon Netbook this morning when I came across this little story.  A number of things immediately leapt to mind.  First, the locator beacon was a SPOT unit.  Second, why didn’t the injured climber, who was running solo, have his own SPOT unit.  And third, he is incredibly lucky somebody stumbled upon him at all and that they had the good sense to have a SPOT of their own with them.

Come on people.  In this day and age of amazing, affordable life saving technology there really is no excuse not to be properly equipped.  If you are going to be doing this kind of thing, especially by yourself, do it it right…or suffer the consequences.  Relying on luck is a very poor strategy.
  

TELLURIDE, Colo. (AP) — A helicopter-borne search team rescued an injured Arizona climber from a Colorado mountain in poor weather on Sunday after he spent a night on the mountainside with a badly injured leg.
 
Joe Yearm, 28, of Mesa, Ariz., was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction with a lower leg fracture, San Miguel County Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Westcott said.
 
A supervisor at the hospital said she could not release any information.
 
Yearm was descending 14,159-foot El Diente Peak alone and in the dark late Saturday when he fell 20 feet onto a snowfield, Westcott said.
 
In the morning, Yearm crawled to a slope where two other climbers found him.
 
One of the climbers, Kenneth Nolan of Buena Vista, Colo., activated a personal locator beacon because the site had no cellphone service, Westcott said.
 
The beacon sent a signal with a GPS locator to the International Emergency Response Coordination Center, and the center notified San Miguel County.
 
Westcott said he didn’t know the other climber’s name.
 
Deputies from San Miguel and Dolores counties organized the search. Heli-Dunn of Medford, Ore., which had a helicopter working on a construction contract in the area, agreed to fly the rescue team to the scene.
 
Rescuers spotted the climbers on a steep slope at the 12,200-foot level, and the pilot made a tricky “toe-in landing” with a helicopter skid touching the ground and the rotor still turning to keep the craft level, Westcott said.
 
Westcott said storm clouds were descending, and some mountaintops were obscured, nearly scrubbing the rescue.
 
San Miguel Sheriff’s Cmdr. Eric Berg, a paramedic, got off the helicopter and fashioned a splint on Yearm’s leg with hiking poles and duct tape.
 
Berg and the two uninjured climbers then dug a short ledge for a safer landing site, and Yearm was taken aboard and flown to the Telluride airport.
 
He was then transferred to an ambulance and taken to Grand Junction.


Glad the guy is gonna be alright and an “atta boy, well done” goes out to SPOT, the pilot and SAR team…that others may live.

Thanks.

Wade Nelson
Editor

Sorting through the fads and fashion of the outdoor equipment industry to identify and promote the very best wilderness gear for high end recreational users, backcountry professionals and government agencies.

We can be educated and persuaded but not bought, bullied or bs’d. Hardcore Outdoor is dedicated to those who can’t or won’t turn back.