Downed Plane Scenario and Highline Training

This weekend was a full weekend of CMRU-related training.  On Saturday with the Benton County Search and Rescue class I participated in a town-wide mock downed-plane search.  The teachers triggered an actual plane distress beacon
somewhere in Corvallis and we as teams of 4 had to triangulate the signal using what appeared to be large tv antenna's strapped to a stick (basically we looked ridiculous walking around with it). The strength of the signal determined the direction we were to move in which was coordinated by the base of operations for the scenario.  I'm happy to say that my team was able to locate the beacon most accurately at the fairgrounds.

On Sunday with CMRU we practiced highline rescue techniques.  We are one of the few rescue units in Oregon certified to use these techniques in a rescue scenario.  We use them when a victim is down in a ravine or similar area where they need to be
pulled up and out of.   This involves a very complicated rigging of ropes to elevated trees, the use of pulleys, belay lines, and a litter to haul the person out with.  It took us all afternoon and by the end of the day my back was killing me from all the pulling of the rope... it certainly didn't help heal it at all.  I took video for most of the day when it wasn't raining out (rained the whole weekend) and I really feel like I learned a lot from the scenario.

Upon getting back to campus I rushed off to our first softball game of the year with our team "Team Upwelling" where we dominated and the game was called by the mercy rule in the 5th inning when we were up by 10!

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