TECHNICALrescue ISSUE 50ISSUE 50 TECHNICALrescue

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Introduction: Evolution of the idea at RTR

The Seven Minimalist Rescue Archetypes (or 7MRA) has evolvedfrom several years of critical thinking in the field of rope rescue. Theyare basically "pick off" style rescues of minimalist origin employingeither one or two rescuers. The term came from what had come to becalled "The Six Rescue Archetypes". Earlier than that, in early 2003, asixth had been added to the then "Five Rescue Archetypes of thatday. You should get the picture. Late in 2006, a seventh "archetype"joined the grouping. Hence the name 'Seven' Minimalist RescueArchetypes. They are so named from a careful distillation of tech-niques precipitated by rescue practitioners having begun in recentyears to carry and use a seemingly "personal mechanical advantage",or jigger system as it were. [ED: in the UK this has been known formany years as a CPS or Casualty Pulley System]. A truly personalmechanical advantage in a bag or kit carried on the hip by the rescuepractitioner is a novel idea but certainly nothing new. There werehints in rescue literature way back 20 years ago that this was naturallyoccurring. The introduction of the 7MRA in this document is a reflec-tion of the so called AZTEK Kit which has been a staple of all RopesThat Rescue courses in the USA, Australia and New Zealand sincethe late 90's. After years of the evolution of the AZTEK from a simpleedge kit/travel restrict to truly having two ends (the PERSONALEND and the SYSTEM END) the kit uses began to escalate at afeverish pitch. It was after the including of the "system end" in RTRcourses during 1998-which we will call the mechanical advantage end-

that the solo and semi solo minimalist pick off rescues began to take shape.Subsequent to this date (being around 2001) during the time of develop-ment of the 2-ended AZTEK, RTR began taking steps with Sterling Ropeto develop stitched AZTEK accessory cords, ratchets and "Purcell-like"shock absorbing connections. Early drop testing of both ends of thestitched AZTEKs at Sterling Rope orchestrated by Sam Morton lead theway to a solid following at RTR by it's students. Today, according to Sam"90% of the sales of the Arizona AZTEK stitched products has originatedwith RTR". It then appears that RTR has been at the forefront of the intro-duction of the "personal mechanical advantage" idea.Confusion over exactly what the AZTEK is abounds. It is more than just anedge kit and more than just a personal MA. It is both in one. The personalend has a shock absorbing/travel restrict end useful for a so many things,and a system end where the bulk of the Seven Minimalist RescueArchetypes are found. (More information on the development of theAZTEK coming in TR magazine)

SIMPLE VERSUS COMPLEX RESCUESWhile rescuers of today seem to clamor around the more sophisticatedtechniques available to them, many times the ever so simple true roperescue techniques are overlooked-the proverbial cart before the horse. Itis certainly noted that many rescuers thriving to erect the long and highhighline over that canyon out there are not seriously going to use it anytime soon (Some may have trouble tying the knots needed to get it con-structed!) It seems to the casual observer of the stampede to more com-plicated rescue systems that perhaps we ought to mas-ter the simple ones first. They must be on the level ofbeing instinctual since they are performed with mini-mal personnel, if not completely "solo".

TEAM-BASED VERSUS RESCUER-BASEDRescue techniques or systems revolving around sever-al members of a team working together to pull themoff are what have come to be know as "team-based"rescue techniques. A team consists of half a dozen(or more, in some circumstances) rescuers. Highlinesin rescue require a team of highly trained people topull it off. The "stampede" mentioned earlier aremany times attributable to the team-based techniquessince this is the dominion where groups of trainedpersonnel can basically keep an eye on each othersactions, making the operation safer as a result. A slewof double checks and, in some cases, triple checks will

be performed before anyone enters the hazard zone in most cases. Ifsomeone on that team is slightly behind the eight ball or somehow hin-dered by lack of understanding or personal skills, they can easily beassimilated into the group, and still feel like they can contribute substan-tially to the team's efforts in the rescue. It is no wonder then that this iswhere most rescuers today begin the process of learning the discipline.Rescue techniques revolving around only one, two or possibly three res-cue practitioners are what we have come to know as "rescuer-based" res-cue techniques. Some of these techniques (as is the case with #1 in the7MRA) do not have a rescuer in any over the edge exposure in perform-ing the rescue of the victim hanging over the edge. This is still "rescuer-based" as really only one or two rescuers are needed here.In sharp contrast to team-based rescue techniques, rescuer-based tech-niques are not a place for the average skill level. The reason may be obvi-ous here as there is not a set of checks and balances-no place for doubleor triple checks as previously mentioned. Mistakes in rigging may go

unnoticed and can then consequently lead to there being two who needrescue rather then one. Rescuers who are intent on performing theseminimalist style pick off rescues need to have all their ducks in a row, soto speak. Hence, I think you can see that while RISK for the team as awhole goes down due to less people being exposed, the RISK for theactual individual rescuer over the edge in #1 of the 7MRA goes up! Ifthey make a mistake, there is no one to catch it high in the air.T h i s c l a s s i c d i f f e r e n c e c a n n o t b e u n d e r s t a t e d .

The Seven MinimalistRReessccuuee AArrcchheettyyppeess

bbyy RReeeedd TThhoorrnneeof Ropes that Rescue (RtR)

www.ropethatrescue.com

The AZTEKcomplete in itsdouble zipperhip packwhere eachcompartmenthas SOF's andtravel restrict

Both ends of anAZTEK kit withthe SOF’s on theleft and the shockabsorbing travelrestrict/fall arrestend on the right

AZTEKpersonal

MA system

Part 1

ISSUE 50 TECHNICALrescue

ROPE RESCUE www.t-rescue.comneed for a belay. This is of course a team call. In all cases, the belay isshown in association with all the 7MRA. Whether each technique isbelayed by whatever means (true belay or self belay) the practitionersshould understand and know the consequences of not having this insur-ance against failure.

How many Rescuers are needed for a top-down pick off ?Generally, with a simple pick off-style rope rescue, only one competentrescuer is needed to make contact with, and address, the victim. Most ofthe time, the best direction to approach the victim is from above and,hence, why this direction is the only one covered in the 7MRA. Thesetechniques are all "top down" in nature-the rescuer descends by whatevermeans via a fixed brake or on a traveling brake on a fixed line (obviously,there are considerable advantages and disadvantages to each that we willaddress later). There is considerable time expended in getting a rescuerover the edge, and if time is off the essence, this may be bypassed alto-gether. In the first of the 7MRA, you will notice that the rescue takesplace without the rescuer entering the vertical realm at all. The rescueuses the extant system in place suspending the victim and uses it to enactthe rescue.In other of the 7MRA, you will notice that some of the rescue pick offmovement is shared between that rescuer over the edge and the secondteam member on top. If this is the case, then these are referred to in ourcamp as "semi-solo" rescues (or, NOT "solo" in nature, yet in close simi-larity with it).The 7MRA are then built upon a foundation of simple to more complex.Not only are the systems such, but the number of rescuers needed alsobuilds from the first to the seventh. The reason for this is to give asmuch latitude as possible in the decision making of HOW to make thetop-down pick off given the circumstances. The analogy comes to mindof a master carpenter who has a myriad

THE SEVEN MINIMALIST RESCUE ARCHETYPESThe current list is as follows:#1 No rescuer over the edge

Dynamic fixed brakeVictim hanging in harness

#2 Solo rescuer Clinging "gecko" victim -No harness Rescuer/victim descend together

#3 Solo rescuer Clinging "gecko" victimNo harness- Mid-face lower on fixed brake

Quick LookTEAM-BASED versus RESCUER-BASED RESCUES

No Rescuer, Solo Rescue or Semi Solo Rescue?The question is: How many rescuers are needed? This would certainlydepend on the victim's condition while hanging in their harness. A criti-cally injured victim is not a candidate for minimalist rescue involving apick off (However, it should be noted that in pole top rescue for line-men, minimalist hand line rescue of critically injured or burned cowork-ers is permitted and, of course, encouraged). Pick off rescues are reallymeant for getting a non-injured, or slightly injured victim to the groundbefore the injury is increased due to a number of factors (like hang timeand harness-induced pathology). So, depending on the circumstances, aquick patient assessment will need to be done first BEFORE rescuetechnique will be decided upon. Location of victim is also a huge factor.Are they in a harness, hanging from the posterior D ring? Or, are they upon something without a harness at all? These items are summed up inthe list below:

To Belay-or-Not to Belay?The decision to belay evolutions within the vertical realm is assumes inmost cases. A teams established belay protocol should be strictly adheredto in all cases. All techniques shown here in the 7MRA should at alltimes be belayed during training while the practitioners are concentratingon mastery of the skills needed. In that, there can be no doubt. Ofcourse, there should also be the ability to remain flexible when mitigatingcircumstances present themselves during an actual rescue. In some cases,there may be times where speed of rescue is paramount, offsetting the

EARLY CRITERIA in DETERMINING RESCUE STYLE

1 . Scene assessment : Is the scene safe?2. Patient assessment :

a. ABC’sb. Length of t ime hanging? (H.I .P. )c. ill, non-injured, slightly injured, critically injured, dead?d. Li fe threatening situation?e. Panicked?

3. Position of rescue team members (how soon do you need to act?)4. Location of v ict im5. Harness or no6. Connection location on vict im’s harness (rear or elsewhere?)7. Can you get above vict im?

TEAM-BBASED RESCUER-BBASED

Advantages Disadvantages Advantages Disadvantages

Collective effort withentire team involved

No collective effortRescuer is on his own

More eyes on safety:Double/triple checks

Less eyes on safetyEasier for critical error

Better environment forlesser trained on team

Not good environmentfor lesser trained

Risk for team as awhole goes DOWN

Risk for individualrescuer goes UP

Does not require personal MA or AZTEK

Must have AZTEK orsimilar personal MA

More options on widervariety of circumstances

Affords less options -Standard pickoff only

Can be harder to getteam on same page

Easier to get rescueoff the ground

More specializedequipment needed

Less specializedequipment needed

Can increase patienthang time

Can get patient toground much quicker

TECHNICALrescue ISSUE 50T ISSUE 50 TECHNICALrescue

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Next Issue: The first of Reed’s detailed diagramatic representations of the 7 Minimalist Rescue Archetypes.

#4 Solo rescueTraveling brake- Mid-face AZTEK pick-off.Victim hanging in harness

#5 Semi-solo rescueTop fixed brake. Mid-face AZTEK pick-off.Victim hanging in harness

#6 Semi-solo rescueDynamic traveling brakeVictim hanging in harness

#7 Semi-solo rescueDynamic fixed brakeVictim hanging in harness

As one can see, there is one(#1) that has no rescuer over the edge, threethat are solo "pick off" style rescues (#2, #3 and #4) and another threethat are semi-solo rescues (#5, #6 and #7). This diversity will afford thegreat variety of rescue options for the circumstances encountered. Again,as long as the rescuers (at least two) have a personal mechanical advan-tage like the AZTEK, ropes, friction appliance and some other incidentalequipment, they can begin to deal with the situation early on. The beau-ty of these techniques is that they are not equipment intensive. Much ofthe systems in any of the 7MRA are constructed from what the normalteam member would carry on their harness in most situations.In the next few issues we will look in detail at the 7 Archetypes. Each ofthe 7MRA’s will be presented with a sequence of five diagrams and an‘at’ a glance’ list of MUST HAVE items for each style of rescue.