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serena
Aug 7, 2006, 7:54 PM
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can anyone reccomend a good self-rescue book that includes things like esacping the belay and hauling. By good i mean the pictures are clear enough that one can actually follow the steps. Thanks!
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jammer
Aug 7, 2006, 8:15 PM
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I have only one book on this subject. It's called Self-Rescue by David J. Fasulo, part of the Falcon Guide "How to Rock Climb series". It covers many subjects, besides what you are looking for. The pictures are clear and simple to follow. I personally recommend this book.
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saxfiend
Aug 7, 2006, 8:43 PM
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I second jammer's recommendation on the excellent Fasulo book, it's very comprehensive. But I think you'd be wise to take a class as well; even the best book is no substitute for hands-on training with an instructor. I did this recently and it was a well-spent day at the crag.
JL
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joshy8200
Aug 7, 2006, 8:49 PM
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I 2nd Chris's suggestion. The videos are extremely helpful since you get to see the techniques in action rather than in an animation. I think the videos taken in conjunction with just a short session with someone that knows what they're doing would be extremely valuable and worthwile.
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rgold
Aug 8, 2006, 2:53 AM
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Fasulo is ok. I'm not convinced all of his approaches are practical, but at the moment he's one of the few games in town. The Mountaineers are publishing a book on self-rescue; perhaps it will add some useful different perspectives.
Edit: Here is a link to the description of this new book.
There is at least one practical self-rescue primer, on gunks.com by Eli Helmuth and Majka Burhardt. It uses a minimum of gear and special knots and the methods are fast enough to make sense in the field (although of course at the expense of some security). Learn this and I think you'll know most of what might be useful in a real rock-climbing emergency.
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veganboyjosh
Aug 8, 2006, 3:29 AM
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all the books and websites won't help you if you don't practice these situations in a real world environment...
i don't mean in a real rescue situation. i mean where you have on your harness what you carry when you climb, and where the rope you're belaying on is weighted with something/someone around a partner's weight.
i had a party at my house recently where i ran some ropes thru anchors in a tree in the yard, and i tied in while a partner "blayed" me, and someone else read thru the steps in the book as she recounted them aloud, and then did them in succession.
i was only about 3 or 4 feet off the ground, but i was weighting the rope, as i would have been in a real fall situation.
it was amazing the things that came up when we ran thru the process:
at one point in the changing of knots and ropes and slings, an integral piece of the system came to lie outside of her reach. someone offered to grab it and bring it back down, but her response was "no, i have to do this. if this is what happens on the rock, you're not gonna be there to reach up and grab it." which was true.
it was pretty eye opening going thru all the steps involved--and all the things necessary-- in getting someone(a fallen climber, in this case) tied to an anchor.
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j_ung
Aug 8, 2006, 3:11 PM
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Apologies to Mr. Fasulo if I'm incorrect about this, but I don't think he's ever updated his book. I bought mine in '92 and, IMO, it's a little outdated. There are newer, simpler and, I think, more effective techniques for much of what he covers. But as rgold mentioned, there aren't many games in town.
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mtn_geek
Aug 8, 2006, 3:37 PM
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I recently got the new self-rescue book by The Mountaineers, and so far I've been pretty pleased. I do think the photos could be expanded a bit more than combining "steps 3-5 (step 2 not shown)" in one photo. But like I said, it's pretty good overall with a lot of good info. I'd suggest heading down to your local climbing shop and look through them to see if it's what you want.
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dleighto
Aug 8, 2006, 3:46 PM
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I have just recently read through Fasulo's book and I am now reading "Climbing Self-Rescue" published by The Mountaineers Books and written by Andy Tyson and Molly Loomis. Although I am still in the process of reading the new "Climbing Self-Rescue", it is already apparent that it is more comprehensive and up-to-date and I recommend you pick it up.
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greenketch
Aug 8, 2006, 4:13 PM
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Word on Veganboys post. Read what you want and get a handle on it then go drill it a bit. This last spring a group of us had a climbing day scheduled and then it rained like mad. We borrowed a local barn and did self rescue drills.
Our experience was much like his. In one of the drills the "rescuer" got two blocked and then had to figure out a recovery. Took over an hour to get the "rescuee" down. Not too bad there but would have sucked in the real.
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cracklover
Aug 8, 2006, 6:09 PM
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I agree that the Fasulo book has a lot of good stuff in it, but I don't agree with all of his approach. Basically, I think it's a decent reference book, but I wouldn't take everything from it as best practices.
Marc Chauvin of Chauvin Guides Internation in NH teaches a self rescue class. For his students reference, he's put a few things online for reference. I find his method for rescuing a second simple and straightforward. It's certainly the best you'll find online.
You do need to be comfortable with a few basic techniques, like how to make a muenter, how to mule off a belay device (or a muenter), and how to tie a friction hitch. But that's about it.
Here's the link: http://www.chauvinguides.com/...rescue/selfstart.cfm
If you have any questions, it would certainly be interesting and worthwhile to discuss them here.
GO
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cracklover
Aug 8, 2006, 6:25 PM
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One other thing: it probably goes without saying, but reading a book or looking at a series of instructions online, then going out and trying it, is probably going to give you just enough information to get yourself or someone else into more trouble. You really should know what you're doing before jumping into an actual rescue situation.
Cheers!
GO
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fmd
Aug 9, 2006, 1:58 PM
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In reply to: can anyone reccomend a good self-rescue book that includes things like esacping the belay and hauling. By good i mean the pictures are clear enough that one can actually follow the steps. Thanks!
I would look at taking a class on this. Most guides offer a 2 day rescue class. Knot passing, belay escapes, rescuing seconds, pulley systems. What I learned in two days would had taken me months to figure out and be comfortable with, and thats if I didnt get flustered first. What I did was I had bought the Falcon self rescue book and I even bought a DVD from Alan Jollys (guidetricks for climbers) and learned all of the required knots and hitches that I didnt know at the time (munter/mule knots) releasable raps, tieing off a ATC, and read what I thought how the rescue should be done. I then took a two day class (and by the way, it was only 169.00) and damn, if I didnt learn a lot. But, like someone mentioned already, its all for not if you dont practice them every so often...
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climboard
Aug 9, 2006, 2:48 PM
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There is no substitute for being taught self-rescue by a qualified guide. That said, I wanted to add my support for Alan Jolley's DVD- "Avoiding the Touch - Self Rescue Part 1". It is far and away the best resource I have seen outside of a class.
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fmd
Aug 9, 2006, 2:52 PM
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In reply to: There is no substitute for being taught self-rescue by a qualified guide. That said, I wanted to add my support for Alan Jolley's DVD- "Avoiding the Touch - Self Rescue Part 1". It is far and away the best resource I have seen outside of a class.
I totally agree...He also has "moving faster" for newbie trad climber such as myself and a dvd on top roping....He is a super nice guy too boot...
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paulraphael
Aug 11, 2006, 1:31 AM
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Most of what's been said here seems right on ... get the Fasulo book, don't trust it completely, get some instruction, and practice once in a while.
Also, here's a great link to an article on self rescue, by a guide who advocates a more streamlined and practical approach:
http://www.gunks.com/index.php?pageid=195&pagenum=1&smGroup=2&smID=4
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