Rescue & Rigging Field Guide Series: Operations

The class covered multiple ways to complete various rope applications. I thought it was informative and up to date.

Very good course. There was a nice blend of techniques that I didn't know and others that I did. Very illustrative and easy to understand.

Very concise course, not just a "click to win" certificate. I appreciated their was different instructors as well.

Having just worked through the Rescue & Rigging Field Guide Series: Operations course, I was generally impressed with course content. Extensive video tutorials cover a lot of ground: basic personal skills; equipment; anchor theory; mechanical advantage; and litter operation. The tutorial videos are generally well shot with good explanation of skills. As a relatively experienced Mountain Rescue rigger based in the UK, it was also interesting to compare and contrast North American / Non-European operations with methods I am used to. I also enjoyed the Richard Delaney videos covering the effect of significant forces on knots, and thought the mechanical advantage theory was well explained through the tutorials. The accompanying pdf text is also useful. My observations for improvement would likely focus on strengthening the through-line of the curriculum in each area. While the progression in some sections was clear and well laid out, in others it felt like the consecutive tutorials jumped about without logical focus; at one point we went from discussion of V-anchor systems and equalisation to two tutorials on the specifics of SLCD placement, and then returned to general V-anchors. I would have expected the discussion of SLCDs to come within a section on placing man-made passive and active protection. I also felt that, while vectors and force multiplication are discussed, there are a number of tutorials which focus on high angle high-line operations. In my mind the judgement and experience required to rig these systems is significant, and I was surprised to see them within what I understand is a mid-level course. I'd also flag that there are a number of duplicate videos within the course - section 5 in particular. In addition, I was surprised that, given how long the course took me to complete watching all the videos etc. the course credit is only 4 hours. I think I comfortably spent 8 or more working through it. Overall, a good course with some excellent content, text and tutorials. Some logical focus in some areas and a check for duplicate tutorials would help. Craig W