Technical Rescue Systems, Part II

Purpose: The Tech Skills I class trains Cal-ESAR members to use the Houdini kit and to be useful to a rope rescue team in a limited way. It includes many basic skills used again in this class, but is limited to single person loads and slopes less than 65 degrees. The purpose of this class is preparation to participate in the more difficult vertical, multi-person-load back-country rope rescues, under the supervision of rope rescue experts. Along the way, you will find that we'll have a fun time, and this is also a good way to meet and work with members of other local teams with an eye toward future mutual-aid situations.

Format: Two full-weekend course, with lectures and outdoor activities, total about 36 hours, plus the orientation night of 1.5 hrs.

   Runs about 0730 to 1700, each of the four field days.

Skills emphasized: 

• Safety!  Always, safety first.
• New knots,  load release hitches
• Brake bar racks   
• Manufactured harnesses 
  
• Edge protection
  
• Multipoint anchors         
• Mechanical Advantage
• Vertical litter rigging
• Steep Angle litter rigging
• Raise-to-lower and lower-to-raise
• Team communications and drills

Prerequisites: To take this class, you need to have the following:

• Your Houdini kit (other teams' members, see below)
• For those of you coming from other teams, see the beginning of the course manual handout for a list of basic skills you should know.
• Cal-ESAR members have to have completed Tech Skills I
• Some form of eye protection (e.g. sunglasses.  Industrial safety glasses are better). 
• Gloves tough enough for rope work, to protect againt rope burns.
• Proper clothing (your unit's uniform is best)
• Study footwear that supports the ankles (your SAR boots will do fine)
• A rope rescue harness.  (Cal-ESAR has one to borrow, but it is far better to bring your own. This can be an expensive item.)
• A suitable helmet (the unit has some helmets but it's best to bring your own)
• If not from Cal-ESAR, authorization from your team's training officer to take the class (required for liability insurance issues)
• California State Disaster Service Worker status
• Class Handouts for this class, which are downloadable below.
• Course Manual
• Course Pre-Test
• Yet More Knots

What's a Houdini kit?  For those not in Cal-ESAR, put together a small personal equipment kit of two 20-foot 1" webbing, three small locking carabiners (5000lb strenth minimum), a personal rappel device, three Prusiks made from 6mm cord, one 8mm rope (note: the usual accessory cord is barely adequate in strength; much better is CMC escape line or the 8mm version of New England Rope's KMIII rope series; both are actually the same thing, only the CMC line is orange and the "straight" New England rope is white) about 50-75 feet in length.  If you don't have such a kit, Cal-ESAR does have some that you can sign out and use during the class.

In addition to the three-part class handout, you may find some of the stuff from Cal-ESAR's first rope class (Tech Skills I) useful to reference.  Three of the downloadable files below have the Tech Skills I class handout, the Knots diagrams handout, and the More Knots diagrams handout.

When & Where: