Yosemite 2010: Rope Rescue Training

Building a monster anchor

As the climbing intern here in Yosemite National Park, I am lucky; I have the opportunity to take part in all kinds of cool training. The most recent one was AST-1 (All-risk Support Technician, Type 1) and also Rope rescue training.

Sorting gear for the Rope Rescue portion

This was 4 days of training, the first covering topics like chain of command during a rescue mission, radio communications, and also some case studies, presented by John Dill, YOSAR legend (Yosemite Search and Rescue). The next three were full days of hands-on rope rescue training.

Practicing mechanical advantage haul systems

We spent those three days on top of granite domes in Tuolumne Meadows lowering 2kn loads (1kn roughly equals 225lbs, so two of our team members plus a litter and rope).

A Mono County SAR member playing attendant for one of our LE Rangers, Bekky.

A technical rope rescue has many positions.

• Ops: The Operations command must synchronize the teams' movements so as to reduce the risk of endangering anyone on the team and reduce the chance of further injuring the party that must be rescued.
  
• Mainline: This team is responsible for lowering the attendant with the litter to the injured party. They then either haul or continue lowering the injured party to the ground.
• Belay: The belay is a secondary safety line in case the mainline fails. They must either feed out line or take it in as necessary.
• Edge attendants: This is one of the most difficult positions, as the edge attendants must watch undue abrasion on the rope and also assist the attendant and injured party up past the edge in case of a haul.
• Safety officer: When it comes to double-checking systems, the more brains the better. The safety officer makes sure all anchors are solid and every team member is managing risk properly.
• Litter attendant (or just attendant): Possibly the most difficult position, second to Ops. They must possess a high level of medical training and be able to move the litter efficiently so as to allow the rescue to progress quickly and also to prevent further injuring the patient.
  

Clay as Edge Attendant


Tamsen rocking Ops.

Cheers, y'all. I will try to post more often (and more pictures) but I am pretty darn busy.

Journey Westward - Ill-Wi-SoDa-Col and beyond

From the Last Chance Corral, I drove to Chicago to sleep in one Graham Haviland's new apartment. He lives in a sweet neighborhood, right by the University of Chicago campus, where he currently attends. Chicago in the summer has got to be one of my favorite cities.

Next stop was Madison, Wisconsin, to see my friend Hannah. This may seem repetitious, but Madison is also a beautiful city in the summer. There are two lakes within city limits and sitting down by their shores during the sunset, enjoying the company of good people and good Wisconsin beer, is truly a delight.


Hannah and her BF Jimmy^

I left early the next morning and drove through the plains of Wisconsin and South Dakota to a small town called Murdo, about 130 miles east of the Badlands. This was some of the most beautiful land I had seen so far:


The Missouri River from the Lewis and Clark Historical Museum^



More gorgeous grassland^


The last time I drove across the country and these relief-challenged places, I disliked them for their flatness. Presently my view has changed and I enjoy them for their tranquility.

More western beauty (this time Wyoming):



I stopped in Estes Park, CO to visit Jeanine, a good friend and one of the biggest influences early in my climbing career. I never realized exactly how spectacular this little mountain town was until I saw this:



Jeanine was busy working but she was able to connect me with a friend of hers who took me out climbing on Lumpy Ridge, the north side of the valley that houses the town. Lumpy's spectacular granite (have I mentioned how much I love granite) was just the thing I needed after sitting in a car for the last three days. Wes and I climbed Fat City Crack (5.10c) to Outlander (5.10c), for a total of 5 pitches, each one quality!

Next post: My final destination, the Big Yosemite...

Journey Westward 2010 - Last Chance Corral

I had the honor and pleasure of making my first stop on the way to Yosemite at the Last Chance Corral in Athens, OH. The corral is a cozy 2.6 acres, complete with a handful of barns and the animals to occupy them. I counted over 25 horses (a mixture of foals, mares, and stallions), 2 dogs, 3 cats, and some assorted humans (including myself) residing in close proximity to each other. In fact, the barn that partially houses the foals is also where us people sleep.



They are adorable. All legs, occasionally taking off into a fit of running and bucking, just for the fun of it. They are amazing to watch, as many of them are less than a month old (like this one)

I stayed for two nights, and put in about half a day's work, helping to build some new enclosures, do some cleaning, and feed the foals (that same day, they had received 10 new ones). The owner, Victoria, is a compassionate and capable individual, and her abundant hospitality is only outmatched by her love for horses.

I'm not taking it for granite

I spent most of the month of May in New Hampshire, climbing and graduating from college.

Some of the highlights of the trip:

-Introduced my friend Ana to the glory that is Cathedral Ledge. Here is a picture of her toproping A Room with a View (5.12a):



-Made another attempt at aid-soloing the Mordor Wall. On my previous attempt, I dropped my bathooks on the second pitch traverse, and was unable to continue upwards...this time, I reached the top of the third pitch and realized I was cold, hungry, and scared-just plain not having fun. I bailed for the second time...looks like it will have to wait.

-Graduation. Ceremony was fun but a bit hot. The university president chastised us for being too exuberant. I know there's a certain sense of decorum, but why be a killjoy, Sara Jayne Steen?

On the procession on the way down to the field:


-Came annoyingly close to onsighting Leafspring (5.11+) but slipped off the big jug at the top because I was too pumped. Overall really fun movement; similar to stuffing yourself into an overhanging broom closet that is trying to spit you out. Oh, and the closet is lined with 20-grit sandpaper.

-Made a possible first gear-only ascent of White Zombie, a 5.12d chimney. It took me about 6 tries over the last year to get this clean. A combination of strenuous chimneying and over-the-head handstacks and finger jams makes for a full-body thrashing...it's not the kind of route that you can try more than once in a day. Here's a video so you can get an idea of the madness.

I have spent the last three years in NH and I will miss the time shared in these majestic environments with truly wonderful people. Thank you all!

Tough Mudder - May 2010

As I mentioned a couple months ago, I had the opportunity to participate in the Tough Mudder, the "toughest one-day endurance race on the planet." I have limited experience with endurance races, but I still feel I can safely say that this race was pretty dang tough.

The race consisted of approximately 7 miles of running, with 16 obstacles strewn along its length, clustered mostly at the beginning and end. Among the obstacles were a mud pit:



...and a crawl under annoyingly low wire:



There was also the largest, steepest slip-n-slide I have ever seen...easily 100ft long, on a 45 degree slope! I should not forget to mention that we ran through FIRE right at the finish line. It was the most fun I have had in months! Even the monster hill runs were a blast; granted, they were Type II fun.

As for finishing times, I finished in 1:15, my friend Greg Dorsch finished in 1:03, and my friend Bill Kolaski finished in an amazing :57! Good job, all of you Mudders out there.

Stuff David Does on the radio!

I recently had the opportunity to be interviewed by David Gaffney-Rosenfeld of This Joyful Noise. David broadcasts live from WHCR 90.3 FM and streaming live at WHCR.org every Monday from 2 to 3pm.

We talked about music, fighting bears, and technology and the wilderness. At some later date, his broadcasts will be available in downloadable form for your listening pleasure.

David and I have known each other for a good portion of our lives and I can call him a close friend. Due to this, whatever I say about him is inherently biased, but I still think that I can say the following with some objectivity:

Keep a close eye on him, he will be doing amazing things before you know it.

In closing, some fun I had with a photo editor recently:

Paletas! (Spatula-things)

I made a run of 5-6 of these 5 years ago, and I loved how they turned out so much I made another 5. They are great for cooking.

I was given the wood by my dad when I saw him in Venezuela recently. He still had the template I made to cut them out last time. Here is the comparison of the older (left) to the newer (right):



The older one is slightly smaller than the new...not sure how this happened, considering I made them from the same template. Part of it may be that the edges of the older run were initially sanded with a belt sander, removing considerably more material. I had no belt sander on hand this time, and used a palm sander. Both were finished by hand sanding them to a nice finish.

A difference in color is also apparent; this is due to dryness/oils absorbed. The older one has been used for the past five years in the kitchen and thus has absorbed a good amount of oil. It also has shown surprisingly few signs of wear; no splitting, splintering, or cracking at all! This wood, red oak, is amazingly resistant to heat and wear.



That being said, remember to oil (mineral oil is best) your wooden kitchen tools regularly, if they don't come in contact with oil already, and never put them in the dishwasher.