by CAMERON McPHERSON SMITH
copyright 1996
RESCUING AN IMMOBILIZED PARTNER
For a two-person party one of the worst scenarios is that of one climber becoming immobilized (unconscious or debilitated by injury) while actually climbing a roped pitch. The leader or second is climbing and takes a serious fall, or is hit by falling debris, and ends up hanging inert on the end of the rope. The belayer is left - mortified, probably - with a locked belay device. Having spent some time calling and hoping for their friend to respond, or at least regain consciousness, the belayer ends up wondering what to do next and realizing the gravity of the situation. Of course, circumstances will differ on each climb, and some rescues will be rather easy. Others - decidedly - won't be so simple. Whatever the case, the main questions the belayer will be asking themselves - perhaps simultaneously and frantically - will probably be 'is my partner OK,', 'just how good are these anchors ?'' and 'how much rope and equipment do I have, and is it enough to get them to my position ?'. These are the essential questions. It will become acutely obvious, in the following pages, why in alpine climbing the maxim the leader must not fall simply must be maintained. If the Leader is Immobilized
In the best case there's enough rope for the belayer to lower the leader down so that they can be treated. If there's enough rope but not enough ledge (as at a hanging belay) you may be wise to attach an ascender mechanism or knot to the active lead rope, as shown in Figure XX, so that once the leader is at the belay you can lock the rope and get to work. There is little you can do about the anchor on which the leader is hanging except hope that it'll hold until you can anchor the leader to the belay. Lower the leader, lock the rope you're lowering them on when they arrive at your position, then clip the leader to the anchors and immediately assess back injury. To do this you need to know something about back injury, and for this you need to learn via some first aid course. See the section on Injuries and Illness. On overhanging terrain you may have to lasso the leader with a spare rope, if it's available (or linked slings, aiders, whatever works), and pull them in to your position. Managing this while lowering the leader will be tricky, so it's best to lock the active rope when the leader is just above your position, hook them with the lasso, then draw them in as you lower them again. If you lower them past your position (for whatever reason) you're going to have to haul them up, which will be difficult. If the leader has fallen past your belay and is hanging below you, use the procedures suggested the next pages for If the Second is Immobilized. If the rope is paid out past the half-way mark (meaning you don't have enough rope to lower the leader to your position) you are in big trouble. Tie off the lead rope and start thinking. Is it possible to aid-climb up to the leader's position, perhaps leap-frogging your limited gear ? If the leader was aiding at least you'll be able to use their placements. You may have to climb up to the leader, self-belaying with an ascender device or knot on the lead rope (though it would do little good in a fall - think about it), and set up a new anchor station near the leader. To do this you would have to get some anchors from the leader's rack, place them and then anchor yourself and the leader to the new belay. After dealing with first aid, you could use the lead rope (now slack because the leader is hanging on the new anchors) to rappel to the lower belay station. You could then retrieve these anchors, climb or jumar back up the pitch, reinforce the anchors, and think about what to do next. Moving the anchors from your previous belay station to the leader's position is precarious but necessary in this awful situation; staying where you are while the leader is hanging unconscious above is pointless. If there's no way to get to your leader, you have a major problem and will have to do as the terrain allows. If the Second is Immobilized
After the belay is tied off with a hitch as shown in Figure XX, the first thing to do is review your anchors; it's little good to start a rescue and have the whole system rip out under hauling loads. Back everything up and apply the BERT system. If you do have some spare rope (that is, enough to rappel or lower down to your partner) you have to decide whether it's better to rig a haul system right away and get to work, or to descend to your partner to rig some other system (invoking the varied dangers of a rappel). The choice will be based on the condition of your partner. If they need immediate medical attention (this will be difficult to determine from your position) you must go down to them immediately. If their life is not in immediate danger it's probably better to set up a haul system immediately and get them off the anchors and onto your belay stance where you can treat them more effectively than while hanging on a rope. Hauling With the Aid of Your Partner
The best case is that in which your injured partner can help with the rescue, and you have enough rope to lower a loop to them to set up a hauling system as shown in Figure XX. Haul away. Once your partner is safely clipped in to the belay, administer first aid. If you have enough rope to reach your partner from your stance, but not enough to lower a loop as shown in Figure XX, you may as well let them be and set up a system as for hauling a haul bag (described below). Reassure your partner that you're working as fast (and safely) as you can, and do so. Hauling Without the Aid of Your Partner
If your partner is unconscious or so badly injured that they can do nothing to help in the rescue, you are in for some work. If you don't have any extra rope (e.g. the rope or ropes are more than half-way paid out), whether your partner can help or not, you'll have to set up a haul system as you would for a haul-bag. Hopefully you will have a pulley or two (remember, the small pulley rings are light and easy to carry; you don't always have to have a 'normal' pulley) and an ascender knot or device, and can set up the system as shown in Figure XX. Otherwise, improvise. Remember to check for the rope running over a sharp edge. If you do have enough rope to set up the rig in Figure XX, but your partner can't help you with the rescue , you must first try to set up some separate anchors for your rappel, as you will be bouncing down and then ascending up again in a few minutes. Now, get a pulley and some ascender knots or devices (so you can get back up the rope), take the proper rappel cautions, and go down to your partner. Assess their injuries and attach a chest-harness if it's appropriate to keep them from flipping over (they may be inverted already). Arrange the loop of rope such that it can be used as shown in Figure XX (if you have a pulley, all the better), and then swarm back up to your belay station. Now haul up your partner and administer first aid. All of the previous are desperate measures for a desperate situation. Let's hope you never have to use them. Memorize them so that you can if you do.
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