Rock climbing self rescue is a vital skill for any climber and should be practiced routinely. Whether you need to lower an injured climber safely off of a route, escape a lead belay to call for help, or simply help your partner through a difficult section of climbing – self rescue skills are one of the absolute best tools you can have at your disposal as a rock climber.

Our Rock Rescue essentials course is a condensed version of our 2 day rock rescue course. You will learn the basic skills needed for a rescue including knots and anchors, techniques for rappelling and ascending ropes in a rescue, self and team rescue techniques, and plenty on hands on practice.

Various types of friction hitches, the munter mule with overhand backup, mechanical advantage hauling systems, and rappelling with an injured climber are all covered in depth. With these skills, you will be able to escape a belay, ascend a rope, transfer loads, assist partners, and safely rappel as a team.

This course is the final curriculum for our Wilderness First Aid for climbers WFR recertification and will encompass and focus more on wilderness first aid scenarios utilizing rock rescue techniques.

Prerequisites:

Participants should be able to comfortably climb 5.7 outdoors on a top rope as well as have experience with basic climbing systems such as belaying and tying friction hitches.  Previous leading experience and multipitch climbing experience is strongly recommended, but not required.