When Was Your Last Practice Rescue?

30 Jul When Was Your Last Practice Rescue?

Attention: Climbers and Safety Managers

This needs to be taken as a serious point of discussion for both climbers and safety managers alike. How long has it been since you (or your employees) practiced a rescue?  I regularly ask students in my classes this question and about half of the students respond with “The last time I was in your class (or another company’s training)”.

Safety Requires Reinforcement

If it has been more than 3 or 4 months since you got out your rescue bag and practiced, now is the time.    Remember in class how long it took to perform a rescue, probably no more than 30 minutes to set it up and pick your buddy off the tower.  It doesn’t need to take that long to keep your rescue skills up to date if you practice regularly, but I guarantee you will be surprised at some of the things that you have forgotten since your last training session.

Practice, Practice Practice!

If you do regularly break out your rescue bag and practice, congratulations and keep it up!! If you don’t, now is the time to start. The skills taught in any climbing safety & rescue certification course require constant reinforcement and practice. If the time comes you are in need of these skills and you are out of practice, it just may be  too late.

Be safe out there!

Nick Bassarab