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Hi,

does anyone have picture-illustrations or a verbal description of the Swiss-hoist crevasse rescue technique?
I don't know if this is the official name of this type of hoist, and cannot seem te find information about it.

It is a hauling system that can overcome knots you have put between you and your partner to arrest the fall, without it being necessary to drop a loop of rope into the crevasse to the victim (this technique requires a lot of rope).
With the C- or Z- pulleys you are limited by stopping-knots you have them put in, so I am looking for an alternative.

thanks if someone can explain how it works!

Not sure this is what you want as it is not a "true haul system."

I've seen this crevasse rescue system described in several books. The person down in the crevasse must be uninjuried and able to assist himself. It is sometimes called a Stirrup Hoist; there are several variations. Here is one of them:

The free end of the rope with a foot loop in it is lowered to the victim. Both ropes are secured through prussiks at the top. The victim stands up in the foot loop and the other rope is pulled up through the prusik until tight and the victim sits back on this. The foot loop is then raised for the next step and repeat as necessary.

Dropping only a single strand versus a loop of rope obviously means you don't need as much rope. As to the knots tied in the main line, these can be passed as necessary when encountered by just untieing them when the rope is unweighted.

MartyC wrote:Not sure this is what you want as it is not a "true haul system."

I've seen this crevasse rescue system described in several books. The person down in the crevasse must be uninjuried and able to assist himself. It is sometimes called a Stirrup Hoist; there are several variations. Here is one of them:

The free end of the rope with a foot loop in it is lowered to the victim. Both ropes are secured through prussiks at the top. The victim stands up in the foot loop and the other rope is pulled up through the prusik until tight and the victim sits back on this. The foot loop is then raised for the next step and repeat as necessary.

Dropping only a single strand versus a loop of rope obviously means you don't need as much rope. As to the knots tied in the main line, these can be passed as necessary when encountered by just untieing them when the rope is unweighted.

Untying knots in a wet/icy rope while hanging in a crevasse doesn't sound like my idea of a good time.

MartyC wrote:Not sure this is what you want as it is not a "true haul system."

I've seen this crevasse rescue system described in several books. The person down in the crevasse must be uninjuried and able to assist himself. It is sometimes called a Stirrup Hoist; there are several variations.

this seems quite complicated indeed. Thanks for the reply though, I'l think some more about it...