Most of us have learned a lot of self-rescue stuff at some point. But the last time I personally practiced anything was last June. I think we could use some out-of-season Saturdays to gather in Finsbury Park and improve some manual skills. Surely, this will feel super awkward, but everything is less awkward in a large company of good people. Usually, during such exercises, I feel silly as well because I discover that my brain knows what to do, but my hands clearly don’t.
My main reference is the book by David Fasulo, which has wonderful pictures and is great generally (a bit America-oriented, but that’s not a bad thing).
Maybe Finsbury Park is not an ideal venue; I am open to suggestions. The perfect place is something like a 5m pull-up bar or a climbing gym. I’m not sure if the Castle will like such an event; I’ll ask them at some point.
I understand that this may be a short notice offer. I’ll try to repeat it later with more time to plan.
I would be keen to do this at some point in the near future, but unfortunately the next couple of weeks aren’t good timing for me. Could use some practice with prussiking especially.
I think I can make it. FP is a good place. I did it once there. A few good thick branches. Also, it used to be a meeting point for slack-liners.
Let me know what time. If I am free I will come to play
As someone who hasn’t had any formal self-rescue training, I’d be very keen to come along and soak up some knowledge/ask some basic questions. Can’t this Sat tho …
The Mile End ones have the advantage of running in the garden area over bouldering mats, which is psychologically helpfully if you’re worried about dropping yourself…
I think this was not a total failure! We climbed a rope several times using different methods (I learned how to do so with a guide plate, super useful), tried some load transfers, hauling, and crevasse rescue, maybe a bit chaotically
As expected, we rediscovered that all this is not rocket science and is probably easier than any other area of human knowledge.
I guess when we repeat this, a more precise timeframe and curriculum should be set. I am glad there is interest; please suggest which dates you’d like to meet.
This Saturday (which spilled over into Sunday) Lorenzo (@LorenzoPasqualetto), Manika ( @manika_patel), and I rehearsed some crevasse rescue!
These are the sources for various techniques. If you study them, you’ll discover that, surprise surprise, crevasse rescue techniques are a social construct, like everything else, and are defined by human culture, not objective merit. Who would’ve thought.
Alpin-Lehrplan 3: Hochtouren - Eisklettern, 2024 (9th edition). This is full of German wisdom! And it’s quite modern as well. I don’t think there’s an electronic version. You’re welcome to borrow my paper copy.
Freedom of the Hills, 2024 (10th edition). Be sure to get the 10th and not the 9th edition, as that one is ancient on the topic of crevasses. You can get the electronic version somewhere, or you can borrow my paper copy. Note that unlike most German sources, this suggests that the rear people walk forward and build the anchor, while the front person holds, which might be more comfortable than the other way around.
AMGA video series on Youtube, 2018. The most interesting thing here is the second knot after the coils, which is used for load transfer. This is not present elsewhere and is, in my opinion, extremely useful for teams of two. Note that Emily has no coils on, otherwise this technique won’t work for teams of two due to lack of rope.
Ortovox video series and the accompanying website, 2020. The website is great, pretty, and easy to read. If you watch the videos, the important ones are 11, 13, and 15 to 18.
