So the team was searching for the second day in the Wind River ravine for a fisherman who'd fallen in, and
presumed drowned.
As if that werent enough, a 60-year-old woman found herself stuck on a cliff above the river; classic rappel and pick-off situation.
I was actually at work when the initial reports started to come in, and the Sheriff asked me to drift that way to help organize the rescue, as our team was in the ravine and unavailable.
A neighboring team was assigned to the rescue, but when I arrived they asked if I would do the pick-off
Crap; having just gotten back from the Washington State SAR Conference, all my gear was in serious disarray (my bad!)
I did have my harness kit, helmet, gloves and PFD (life jacket) in my work truck, and was wearing the Siegle SAR-4 on my riggers belt. I threw a water bottle in a stuff sack and clipped it to the harness, crammed a radio in a PFD pocket, grabbed their
victim harness and
pick-off strap and scampered down the trail to a spot above where she was stuck.
The other team anchored a 300 static rope, I rigged for rappel, threw the rope bag on my back and started down
the forested ravine wall is cluttered with loose rocks, moss, underbrush and debris. It ranges from really steep to vertical.
Ambling past the SAR Sgt. at the end of his 100 rope I got better info on just where this gal was, and the best route down. Some teammates were searching the other side of the river and also gave solid directions.
I was getting really worried the 300 of rope would not be enough as I slipped over a ledge and spotted her below and to my left. Dropping level with her and explaining what was going to happen, I threw the rope bag down and was relieved to see it made it all the way; one less worry (less than 20 left!).
She was in a really bad spot, loose footing and unable to even sit down; her legs were numb and wobbly. Easing over to her, I secured the victim harness around her and adjusted the pick-off strap to keep her by my side for the 40-50 foot descent.
Fortunately three of my teammates were perched on the rocky riverbank below us, and were able to pull the rope over to keep us out of the water when we landed.
It took us a couple of hours to escort her over the rocks and downed tree of the riverbank, in the rain, about a half mile to the base of a steep, slippery trail where the other team helped us rope her up to the main, more level trail above. A great team effort!!
While the Siegle SAR-4 was never envisioned as a chopper, I was able to clear a ton of brush on the way out with this little powerhouse; VERY impressive!!
Sorry no pics; camera's in the shop
Cheers,
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