High Angle Rope Rescue: A Basic Operational Sequence

An example of a way to get your team organized & set up for success. Taking a few minutes on the front end to lay out the plan so that everyone has a clear understanding will save time in the long run & make for a smoother rescue. Includes the use of a winch & a "Remote Reset" on the 3:1 MA system.
Considerations:
1. Conducting a paradoxical movement of the load through the AHD requires a sharp eye on the resultant at the AHD head, as there is almost a guarantee that the resultant will shift significantly to the rear and may generate a "thrust" force on the rear compression member causing it to want to slide backwards... so secure the feet appropriately.
2. When operating a TTRS lower, you can consider omitting the AZTEK belay height adjustment component from the AHD. However, having it pre-rigged does give you more options to change on the fly between SMSB and TTRS for either a lower or a raise.
Corrections:
1. The height of the belay line should have dropped with the yoke through the transition instead of after it. We just didn't have another edge person to make it happen.
2. The head of the AHD could have been placed a little more forward so that it is at or slightly forward of the edge, making it an Easel-leg A-Frame instead of an Easel-Leg Tripod, but not critical in this case.
3. It's probably better to leave the Maestro in as the belay instead of the ASAP on the haul.
4. It may be easier and safer to have the litter tender transition through the edge first before bringing the litter in on a paradoxical path in order to reduce the forces in the system.

[@mikerck]

Use 99, thank you Reed! haha Awesome video

[@Propeller_Head]

Right on

[@hughwiddowson8326]

Great video thank you. We didn't see you do an ACHER check or Triple check prior to starting. I notice at 8:28 carabiner is unlocked on 3:1, at 12:20 Tom does it up when resetting.

[@Propeller_Head]

Thanks! Going through the pre-execution checks was purposely omitted for demonstration purposes. And yes great eye on the unlocked carabiner! .... but now take it one step further and ask the question "Does it matter if the carabiner is unlocked?" I would argue that you can get away just fine with a non-locking carabiner on that 3:1 haul Prusik. The only places, in my opinion, where a carabiner should be locked without question are on the terminal connections between devices and anchors, on any change of direction anchor, & all live load connections.

[@janico6]

Excellent video, very good details, I congratulate you and your team. I observed at 7:51 you placed tension on the top of the tripod. Although I see that the resulting force , As it goes up, it stays inside (of the triangle). I respectfully ask you, Don't you think, would be nice some tensión on the sides of the A-frame during up load? I hope to continue watching your videos, which I shared with my rescue group.

[@Propeller_Head]

For the haul up, I do not anticipate any lateral forces on the frame. My only anticipation is that the resultant force through the AHD will shift to the rear slightly, due to the inherent friction that exists within the pulley (about a 10-15% efficiency loss), and therefore a possibility of residual "thrust/shear" force on the easel leg that will want to push it back towards the anchor.
As far as guying the frame to the sides... Sure! If I had more time and this was a pre-staged setup for the possibility of a rescue, such as those seen in permit-required Confined Space applications... or if I had more time with nothing else to do because I was waiting on other teammates to finish their rigging tasks, then yes, I could consider guying it. In this application, I didn't see any absolute critical need to guy it laterally.

[@perryfire3006]

Have you considered shortening your litter bridle? I think it would help with your edge transition for a smoother flow.
Also, I thought the industry was getting away from the whole set of fours belay raise and lower. They are just leaving it high on a fixed pulley along with the main line as it keeps the forces constant especially when you are incorporating a twin tensioned system. The AHD is certainly strong enough.
And what cordage are you using for the anchor? Is it power cord?
Enough questions by me, haha, just curious. That was a good evolution by you and your team. Well done.

[@Propeller_Head]

I didn't pay too much attention to the length of the bridle during edge transition, as at short glance from a "Rescue Officer" perspective it seemed "doable"... The fine-tune adjustments of the bridle height typically I'll leave at the discretion of the litter tender & the edge.
On the Set-of-Fours: Great observation & I think with all things... It depends. Historically, why is it there in the 1st place? I believe is to protect against a significant free-fall caused by a failing AHD frame... but thats only applicable or perhaps remotely justifiable when operating Single-Main-Single/Separate-Belay after the edge transition during a lower, or before the edge transition during a raise. If a team decides to stick with TTRS for both lower & raise for the whole operation then yes I absolutely agree that the AZTEK does not need to be in the AHD. The likelihood of an AHD failing is always going to be higher during the edge transition because it is here where the force vectors really start to shift. After the edge transitions, you could argue that the AHD system, to include all the guying, has "proven" itself stable & therefore you could further argue that keeping the belay line high in the AHD for the rest of the evolution is perfectly fine and that there's no point in having the Set-of-Fours regardless of what mode you're running (TTRS or SMSB).
Then there's the "warm & fuzzy" aspect. We have a lot of people on our rescue team spread across 3 different shifts & 2 separate stations & not everyones attention gravitates to the rope-rescue discipline the same way. So takes time for the organization as a whole to adjust tactics & for deeper levels of understanding to sink in. As it stands now, pretty much everyone is familiar with having the AZTEK in the AHD and running strictly SMSB for the duration of an evolution. Personally, I feel like the AZTEK can be removed, but it's not one of my core rigging philosophies - I'm not going to die on that hill to argue one way over the other.
And yes - 5.9mm Power Cord on the anchors

[@perryfire3006]

@@Propeller_Head
Thanks for the lengthy response. There is no right or wrong answer as long as it is efficient enough and everyone's safe. And I hear you on getting everyone on board as far as tactics, much less new ones. It's like herding cats getting everyone trained to the same standard. Cheers