If you were looking for a quality Monday through Friday workshop which teaches all these essentials for flat, low and steep angle rudimentary rescue below high angle (<60 deg) this is your opportunity. There are no high directionals, no rigging pods or unnecessary rigging. It is all similar to what we do in slot canyons—all improvisation from anchors built from available features and flora on site. Thinking outside the box is a key element here. The TWRW then seeks to explore solution for a safe and efficient minimalist wilderness rescue. It is designed for the serious wilderness SAR practitioner wishing to improve their personal rigging skill and capability in the backcountry, off the beaten path and definitely out of bounds. And it is made to be quickly accomplished with no huge systems.
We will be using smaller diameter “hybrid” ropes in the TWRW with exceptional strength with abrasion and cutting resistance. The option of using larger ropes up to 11.1mm (7/16”) diameter in this program is certainly acceptable but this program is trying to decrease the amount of gear and rope needed to pull off a rope rescue quickly. We use a break-apart titanium litter which is perfect for this due to its light weight.
We will build the ever popular and light weight Purcell prusiks (from one piece of 6mm accessory cord) for use on our smaller ropes where traditional ascenders will have limited applications. We will opt to leave behind all the heavy metallic gear but some students will still be welcome to use their MPD and Clutches if they so choose. We can use many different options to apply friction to the particular diameter rope we are using for lowering a litter + 1, 2 or 3 bearers down an embankment. That is part of thinking outside the box. The TWRW will eventually move into the field for the last part of this program hanging on improvised anchor systems students build and knots students tie. That is the fun of it! Students in this program learn to work as a cohesive team, working together towards the successful retrieval of an injured casualty in a non-threatening environment.