My Name is STIP and I Am Here To Rescue You

A.
Many years back, ALIAS was my favorite TV series. The spy-action plot involving the lead character Sidney working as a double-agent mesmerized me over four seasons.

My favorite episode is when the lead, despite all her martial arts and pistol skills, gets cornered by her enemies and gets imprisoned. The heroine becomes the damsel-in-distress. And so, somebody needed to rescue her.

Back at her agency, the one identified to have the necessary skills for the rescue mission turned out to be their gadget-specialist. They needed someone with the know-how of all the high-tech safeguards which Sidney’s captors are using in their hide-out. The extraction plan was simple: get past through all the security safeguards, blast a hole through Sidney’s cell and extract her. So, Gadget-Specialist Guy gets the job of rescuing her.

Anyway, what made it my favorite episode is because Gadget-Specialist guy (I can’t remember his name) doesn’t have any action scenes throughout the season. He’s usually on his desk, speaking through a headphone set. But in this particular episode, he’s part of the action.

And when he was finally able to blast through the cell of Sidney, he calls out to Sidney, “Hi, my name is XXXXX and I am here to rescue you!”.

That was cool.

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B.
Last week, I was “nominated” to attend a 5-day Advanced Rescue course conducted by the Philippine National Red Cross. It was a Rope Rescue / Rope Technician Level 1 course.

It’s easy to describe: I got to learn how to rescue someone using rappelling skills.

I’ve done rappelling before back in my Boy Scout / Eagle Scout / Nature Badge days. It’s easy for me to get down on a rope by myself using various rappelling styles, but this course is 100% different from what I’ve been exposed to.

This time around, I need to rescue someone which can be accessed only using ropes, and bring myself and the victim down to a safe place. With NO belayer. The rescuer will have to belay both himself and the victim simultaneously.

Hence, it’s definitely a physically-demanding activity. Not to mention the mental pressure of trying to assure myself that I can do this life-risking activity. Nature also added some sense of realism on the course by striking us with sunny overcast mornings then drenching us with afternoon downpours every day. Rain-or-shine....

A rundown of the things unique to rope-rescue (and be able to be certified for it):

1) Be able to neatly tie 15 different kinds of knots and combinations of them with bulky leather gloves on. And that you have 15 seconds to tie each of those knots neatly.

2) Laying out your own rope and anchoring them securely by yourself.

3) “On-rope….rappelling!!!”. And performing your own test-jumps.

4) “Locking-up” – the skill of securing yourself on your own line by maneuvering your rope to lock itself on your descender. Requires split-second timing and hand+body coordination. Allows you to free both of your hands for other uses, such as trying to rescue someone else. If done wrong, either two things can happen: either the rescuer falls to the ground OR you end up with an injured hand because it got caught in the rope. (Note: one guy in our class ended up with his thumbnail torn off despite the leather glove protection). This is the skill which I had the hardest time figuring out how to execute it.

5) Making rope hitches and emergency harnesses, and using them as your leverage control when doing ascending. Ascending skills will demand good upper, lower and core body strength on the rescuer, not to mention flexibility.

6) “Unlock” – the opposite of “locking up”. Has the same consequences as “Locking-up” if done incorrectly.

7) Buddy checks are a requirement --- have at least two other people check your straps, carabiner gates, rescue-8 rings and harnesses.

8) Accident recovery --- Recover to the rappeller’s neutral position in case he finds himself face flat on the wall or hanging upside down.

9) Transfer – You’re currently rappelling on rope A. However, you need to go to rope B which is alongside rope A. How do you disengage yourself from rope A and secure yourself in rope B at a height of 25 meters with no belayers?

10) Evolution. Combining items 1 through 9 in order to perform the last required skill for certification.

11) Victim Rescue --- Recover a victim from an area accessible only by ropes. Don a harness on the victim. Secure victim onto your rope. Bring victim down to safe area. Note: You’re doing all of these by yourself, so you should be capable of rappelling both yourself and the victim at the same time.

During my “graduation exam” wherein I had to perform 3 victim rescues, I psyched myself by calling out to the victim before allowing direct contact between us: “Hi, my name is Stip and I am here to rescue you.”

Hahaha… it sounded as cool as how I remember it when I was watching ALIAS.

Lastly, a photo of our class, now officially my workplace's elite pool of rope rescuers.