Mountain search and rescue crews learn ropes
By Craig Koscho - Calaveras Enterprise

Getting a fall victim out of a high-country wilderness area isn't easy, but members of the Calaveras County Search and Rescue team are learning how to do it with a minimum amount of trauma for the patient.

Crews spent two days last week around the Highland Creek trailhead near Spicer Reservoir learning how to transport a non-ambulatory patient over rugged terrain, said Matt O'Donnell, an SAR volunteer and member of the Ebbetts Pass Fire District. "It's highly technical and there's a high level of consequence if you don't do it right," O'Donnell said.

The weekend drill drew about 12 participants, who learned how to perform a low-angle rescue on Saturday. That typically involves a hiker falling off a trail or a car over an embankment.

On Sunday, crews learned how to do a high-angle rescue for a rock climber or hiker who has fallen down more vertical terrain. It involves ropes and pulleys to get the patient up and down steep rock walls. It takes a lot of equipment and a lot of concentration, O'Donnell said.

The members used a 160-pound dummy to simulate a victim n carrying, lifting and lowering it around and over boulders and sheer rock faces. As if doing it in the daytime isn't difficult enough, the crews also practiced in the dead of night since emergencies aren't restricted to morning hours. A night-time rescue requires more radio communication than a daylight operation.

It also gives you a higher stress level and more realistic sense of handling an actual emergency, O'Donnell said. "There wasn't much down time except for sleeping," he added.

This was just one of several practices performed by the team of volunteers, which operates under authority of the Calaveras County Sheriff's Department. Last month they honed their skills at water rescue.

Upcoming drills include tracking, in which the team members will not only search a grid pattern on the ground, but also look for clues, such as footprints, to help them find a lost hiker. "We're practicing for anything we might encounter," O'Donnell said.