Crevasse Rescue – Swiss Technique
A teammate fell into a crevasse? 
Here’s how the Swiss rescue method works – 3 simple but vital steps:
Here’s how the Swiss rescue method works – 3 simple but vital steps:
Stop the fall – The rope must be tight! Otherwise, the shock might pull another person into the crevasse.
Transfer the load – Shift the tension from the rope into a solid anchor. Without this, you can’t move on.
Rescue – You need a rope-blocking system. If you lift the victim 50 cm, they must stay there – not slide back 
The VIDEO starts directly with step 3 – the victim is… a chair 
Sec. 1:
Red carabiner + mini traxion + blue cord = hand loop
Your hand sits in the blue cord. Tension has been transferred to the anchor – in this case, a tree 
Sec. 14: The wooden board = the edge of the crevasse
The “victim” is hanging there
Sec. 18: Approach the edge Set a tibloc (or prusik), pass the rope through a carabiner, and pull as hard as you can
You’ve just made a basic pulley!
Sec. 37: Let go of the rope – the mini traxion locks when the victim tries to fall back
Repeat: pull lock move tibloc back pull again
You can replace the mini traxion with a munter hitch or anything that blocks the rope in one direction
Want to make it easier? Add one more pulley: Sec. 45: Add white carabiner + tie green cord to it Sec. 58: Green cord goes into the yellow carabiner Yellow rope into the white carabiner PULL again – it’s easier!
Want it even easier? Add another pulley: Sec. 1:33 : Tie a new (blue) cord to the white carabiner Sec. 1:45 : Repeat the setup from sec. 58 – double the force, half the effort! 
WARNING:
In 80% of cases, this won’t work – especially for beginners
Call 1414 (Rega – Swiss mountain rescue) and hope they can come
If the weather’s bad… they might not make it 
Note: The “hand loop” is a whole other story – some don’t use it, which changes the entire system. But that’s a topic for another day 
Watch the clip and practice – this knowledge could save a life!
