High Angle Rescue Training Course Held In Park

During the week from April 23rd to April 27th, 29 students and 12 instructors assembled daily in Shenandoah National Park for the 11th annual National Park Service eastern high-angle rescue training course. 

This five-day course, geared toward mountain rescue, takes students from learning basic rescue knots and technical gear on Monday through a safely conducted, multi-stage cliff rescue scenario on Friday.

Shenandoah National Park’s hosting instructors included technical rescue team leaders Bill Cardwell, Alan Williams and Joe Sargeant. Rangers Rob Turan, Kevin Moses, Matt Hudson, Dave Finch, Kevin Colley and retired ranger Ron Matthews each instructed segments of the course.  Special guest instructors included Kurt Parsons, Brent Prough, Loren Erickson, and William Araiza. Specially trained in Air Force and Navy rescue, these men brought cutting edge equipment, techniques, and a unique perspective to the mountain rescue class.

At the ascending sessions on Tuesday were top research and development engineers from Petzl, a French manufacturer of climbing gear. Michelle Goulet from Canada, Alex Bronnaz from France and US Petzl field representatives Brad and John Dorough manned various training stations.  They demonstrated and shared some of the finest rescue tools available.  A highlight of the course was the US Park Police Eagle I helicopter and its crew, who provided hands on experience with litter hoist operations and a jungle penetrator.  NPS search and rescue coordinator Dan Pontbriand both observed and assisted as students tried their hand at various skill stations laid out along Little Stonyman Cliffs on Thursdays multi-station training day.

Students attending the course ranged in experience from old sages to pure novices.  Included were 15 rangers from various parks around the east, two Park Police aviation flight medics, and four New Jersey state park rangers from Delaware Water Gap’s interagency high-angle rescue team. Local volunteers included three members of the Shenandoah Mountain Rescue Group and three members of Shenandoah Mountain Guides. These groups assist Shenandoah National Park rangers in their rescue program and this training will allow them to fully integrate into the park’s technical rescue team.  Several of the students were recent graduates of the ranger academy at Sylva, North Carolina, and were en route to their first NPS seasonal law enforcement jobs. As brand new rangers, these students will go armed not only with new law enforcement skills, but also with the knowledge and skills related to conducting a safe and effective rescue in mountain terrain.
This course, previously held at New River Gorge and Big South Fork NRRA, provided an opportunity to train local volunteers and park rescue personnel at Shenandoah in their home environment. The spring 2008 session of this course will be offered at Buffalo National River in Arkansas.