competent climbers

[treequip]

How's that work then?

 

The climber installs a line from the ground to the desired anchor point. The line terminates in a pulley (but a biner will do) which acts as the anchor point.

 

The tail end of the line with the pulley is tied off at the base of the tree. Should the climber become incapacitated the ground staff can lower the entire rig from the base of the tree.

 

The system has it's limitations but it is worth considering, it's what we used for the ISA kids tree (back in the day) when we had several set ups in a small tree for kids to try. There was a higher likelihood of having to retrieve "little Johnny" so any sprog that got Elvis knee could be lowered in a trice and it didn’t matter if they had their little fingers death gripped around the climbing hitch. (That only happened once)

[Amelanchier]

Not all rescues are life or death. I've gone up top to deal with cut/ jammed ropes, fatigue and broken MEWPs.

[1022]

The climber installs a line from the ground to the desired anchor point. The line terminates in a pulley (but a biner will do) which acts as the anchor point.

 

The tail end of the line with the pulley is tied off at the base of the tree. Should the climber become incapacitated the ground staff can lower the entire rig from the base of the tree.

 

The system has it's limitations but it is worth considering, it's what we used for the ISA kids tree (back in the day) when we had several set ups in a small tree for kids to try. There was a higher likelihood of having to retrieve "little Johnny" so any sprog that got Elvis knee could be lowered in a trice and it didn’t matter if they had their little fingers death gripped around the climbing hitch. (That only happened once)

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eM81nKkdRk&feature=feedlik[/ame]

[Mark Bolam]

Nice idea, but it falls down if the climber is stropped in.

 

Which we all know he should be, if he was cutting when the accident happened.

 

Which is the most likely time for an accident to happen!

[treequip]

Like I said it has its limitations. It works best in an open grown canopy.

 

If a climber takes a swing in and was unconscious they wouldn’t be stropped in and an injured climber could hopefully manage to undo a strop, the rest of the recovery could then be done from the ground.

[screwie]

when i did my 38 39 was told that 15 min was the cut off point however i timed the bloke who rescued me... 27min still passed him. after chatting with the trainer and acessor i said that the course wasnt hard enough and that there are too many people that gain these qulifications and think they are climbers! i was told that it is only ment to cover the basics and is ment to be a starting point to instill good working practice. how many people install a rescue line!

[matt.akers]

Hi every one, I'm new to the arb world and have only been in a tree a few times and have yet to do my CS38, at the age of 30 i'm trying to pick up the trade on my days off as i'm a firefighter.

At work i'm a line rescue firefighter, a weeks course is not enough to turn some one into a good climber let alone some one who can hold there nerve when performing a rescue. I think (in my limited time in the trees) would be to make the course slightly tougher and maybe a bit longer to give students more trees to climb with lots of different rescues. Then its down to the boss or the climber to maintain the skill level, if your not happy with some one on the ground then make them safe. I would think it's hard to try and fit in training with try to keep the cash coming in, at work we have the luxury of being able to do a few hours a day on line rescue, but if you all say 15min should be a cut off then why not squeeze in a few rescues once a month, more if you have the time.

Our course at work is about 2 weeks, but it is only with on going training and practise do you gain the skill set to become a good rescuer.

 

Maybe this could be put over to the Arb world, like I said i'm new so I can only comment on what i know from work.

[Heads up]

Making the course longer and harder won't work in my view, as it takes years to produce a GOOD climber.

Of the problems that steve listed on a tree of over 50 foot if you have 3 minutes for a bad cut, by the time you've got your kit on and less than half way they would be dead (thats if you weren't out front chipping for 5 minutes)

A badly chrushed climber would be in a terrible state and would take alot of time to comfort and get down on the deck. and extended periods of time upside down isn't healthy.

To put it bluntly unless you can get yourself down theres a good chance you will die.

What happens if you do get your climber down in 3 minutes, you then have to treat him and phone an ambulance (at the same time) another 7 minutes. Whilst treating the injured with sub par medical kit ( most seem to contain little plasters and nonsense kit whilst skimping on the large wound dressings and useful stuff)

 

Then theres the fact i don't believe many experienced people would be mentally able to proform when their mates claret is pouring out the tree and he's screaming. Having put this question to very experienced climbers before it has make ALL think.

 

Of course you can take all day if a climbers ropes trapped/cut if you wanted, as their only going to die of boredom.

So yeah....experienced or not its just not cut and dried, Cs38 and ariel rescue is a box ticker for H&S and a feel good factore for us climbers nowt else.

[James67]

Very interesting stuff here. I teach CS38, and the time limit is 20 minutes to perform a rescue. Having said that, if a climber has a serious arterial bleed, then after about 3 minutes it'll be ENDEX!

[Gollum]

Some good comments here.

How many think that aerial rescue should be a separate unit or as someone suggested part of cs39 or even cs41,

As for time limit for the assessment there is no set time limit