Torridon are hosting a mountainrescuescotland level 2 rigging course next weekend, so it made sense for some of us to revise the content of the level 1 course. We made our way to Ardheslaig, on the Applecross road, where we were most likely to get a breeze and so least likely to be bothered by midges. First task was selecting belays and placing gear, always bearing in mind that loads in a rescue situation can be far bigger than those usually encountered in climbing. Further familiarisation with the Petzl id and the rescuecender was particularly helpful for those of us who have lived through several incarnations of hoisting and lowering set ups. Next was a stretcher hoist of Ruth Lee, the local fire brigade’s 50 kilo dummy. Luckily, she didn’t seem to mind being used as a ladder by the “barrow boy”, in charge of man handling the stretcher over overhangs and rock lips. After an efficient lower, the midges and rain made a re-appearance and we felt that honour was satisfied. A very useful refresher.
by Andrew Johnston and photo by Ron Robertson
