ine _ by Michael Kelly The figure of Ron Orr looked small as he made his way up the face of the cliff. Halfway up he sat down on a narrow rock ledge next _t0 a scrawny pine tree and settled in, waiting to be rescued. ' The rest of the Terrace Search and Rescue team began making their way up the back of the rocky prominence in Thornhill, packing ropes, a rudimentary stretcher, hardware and all the other gear needed to pull an injured fall vic- _ tim up off the side of a sheer cliff. For the volunteer rescue group, it’s another Monday night practice. Under instructions from coordinator Gord Sweeting, experi- enced leaders in the group begin | anchoring a maze of ropes to the trunks of pine trees growing out of AND NOW FOR MY NEXT TRICK: R the exposed rock at the top of the cliff. Others, relative newcomers, watch and try to absorb the intri- cacies of the sailor's lexicon, knots. Bow-lines, hitches, figure- cights, knots that release instantly, knots that release gradually, knots - that make knots in your forehead ' trying to remember them, Another small knot of volunteers observes the climbers as they demonstrate the correct way to don harnesses made out of the same stuff as automobile seat belts. Sweeting discovers they’ve brought only one portable radio up, and sends one of the group back down to the truck to fetch another one. The day’s sunshine is abruptly sucked out of the sky by a black overcast, and it begins to rain, John Van De Velde, carpenter by day and rescuer by night, goes over the side after having his har- ness double-checked by another group member, and disappears quickly. By now ropes are strung in a seeming rigger’s nightmare over the rocks and through the trees in every direction. Two of them run to the cliff’s edge and vanish like a tiny railroad track to oblivion, tied somewhere below to the stretcher. Rodger Massey pre- pares for his descent. The portable radio being carried by Van De Velde, clipped onto his harness, has inexplicably gone dead, Clutching a tree, one of the group members hovers over the drop and relays shouted messages. The "victim" is comfortable. Massey backs over the edge and slowly disappears. Below, the group is told, he has to traverse a distance with the stretcher to reach the site. Sweeting double-checks all the rigging, pointing out details to the group. In the near-darkness, the sus- pended pair on the cliffside call up that they’re ready. Van De Velde has decided to rappel to the bottom and Massey will guide the stretcher up alone. Four of the cliff-top crew line up case... | ‘odger Massey, hanging over hundreds of feet of nothing, gets ready for the final lift that will rescue "victim" Ron Orr. The Terrace Search and Rescue volunteers recently staged a cliffside emergency in Thomhill as one of their regular practice sessions. on the end of the rope connected to the stretcher, preparing for a tug-of-war with gravity. With Massey wamed and ready, the lift begins, The four haul the line back sev-... eral meters and stop; two others run some other rigging forward, and with the line secured and another waming to Massey, they come forward on it and haul it back again. The process is repeat- ed several times, and after a few minutes Massey’s orange safety helmet peeks over an edge of rock just below the cliff top. Another lift and he’s nearly clear the over- | hang, but the stretcher, now bear- ing a discomforting resemblance to a miniature funeral boat with Orr smiling and recumbent inside, is giving him problems. The belaying line is too short, and the stretcher wants to tip. Sweeting sizes up the Situation and says, "Well, we learned something tonight." After a quick adjustment to the line, Massey, Orr and the stretcher are pulled onto horizontal ground. The group quickly demobilizes, relieving the trees of knotted web- bings and rope anchors, winding the rope into coils and Snapping caribiners (steel loops) and pulleys together into a weighty string. They descend single file in the dark. Riding back to the assembly point for a debriefing, Orr remarks about the night's exercise, "A guy could really do that, you know," It’s been a successful practice, and there are lot of cliffs around here for people to get stranded on. If it happens, search and rescue has been through the drill and they’re ready for the real thing, When asked what it was like coming up through the air in the stretcher, Orr replied, "Smooth. Like an elevator, you know, you could only feel the ropes hum- ming.” ee i coe rE Make — ~ Northern Drugs gq partof your wedding plans. Choose from our beautiful collection of contemporary wedding stationery and accessories. 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