IKAR/CISA 2004 Zakopane – Poland Kommission fur Bodenrettung Commission de Sauvetage Terrestre Terrestrial Rescue Commission Prepared By: Rick Lorenz Dan Hourihan Olympic Mountain Rescue Alaska Mountain Rescue Group Mountain Rescue Association Mountain Rescue Association 1410 South Mountain View Ave. 550 W. 7th Ave., Suite 1380 Tacoma WA 98465 Anchorage, AK 99501 [email protected] [email protected] INTRODUCTION The International Commission for Alpine Rescue (IKAR-CISA) met for its annual congress in Zakopane, Poland between 13 and 17 October 2004. Zakopane is a winter sports resort of 30,000 inhabitants at the foot of the Tatra Range of the Carpathian Mountains, the only alpine mountain range in Poland. The meeting was hosted at the Mecure Kasprowy Hotel by Tatranskie Ochotnicze Pogotowie Ratunkowe (TOPR), the Tatra Mountain Rescue Service. Poland is very proud of its tradition in Mountain Rescue. TOPR, founded in 1909, is the fourth such organization in history after Austria (1895), France (1897), and Switzerland (1902), discounting the activity of the monks from the cloisters in the Alps who conducted rescues even earlier. TOPR did a fine job in planning and organizing the IKAR Congress in Zakopane, the capital of Polish mountaineering. The theme of this years meeting was “Safety of the Rescuer” and presenters from around the world were required to submit proposals and papers in advance, with a standard 20 minute presentation period followed by 10 minutes of questions. Representing the United States at Zakopane were Dan Hourihan and Rick Lorenz (Terrestrial), Dale Atkins (Avalanche), and Ken Phillips (Air Rescue). Simultaneous translation was provided for most sessions in English, French, German and Tatra Range, Zakopane, Poland Polish with the latest equipment and headphones, as well as sound proof booths for the translators. United States delegate attendance was made possible by a grant from CMC Rescue, Inc., in addition to support from the MRA and NASAR. Background Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived around the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but Poland currently suffers low GDP growth and high unemployment. Solidarity suffered a major defeat in the 2001 parliamentary elections when it failed to elect a single deputy to the lower house of Parliament, and the new leaders of the Solidarity Trade Union subsequently pledged to reduce the Trade Union's political role. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. Poland is quickly transforming itself into a modern European country that has all the infrastructure to support tourism and visitors from around the world. Congress of Delegates Delegates arrived in Zakopane on the afternoon and evening of Wednesday, October 13, and the regular sessions began at 0830 Thursday morning with a grand opening and welcome lead by TOPR officials and IKAR President Toni Grab. Representatives from 29 of the 33 IKAR member organizations were in attendance, including 18 of 22 countries, and numerous international mountain rescue equipment vendors. Of particular note was the delegation from the Chinese Mountaineering Association (CMA) representing the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Their attendance, in an Observer’s role, resulted directly from discussions between IKAR officials and the CMA at the MRA June 2004 conference in Anchorage. The CMA stated their intent to apply for regular IKAR membership in 2005. IKAR Pres. Toni Grab, Switzerland Following the welcome and Toni Grab’s introductory remarks, the four Commissions broke into individual sessions to conduct business relative to their respective disciplines. Terrestrial Commission Issues Terrestrial Commission President Bruno Jelk, Switzerland, lead this session, which covered routine Commission business items including the approval of Commission minutes from the October 2003 IKAR Congress in Coylumbridge, Scotland and the joint Avalanche/Terrestrial Commission December 2003 workshop held in Diavolezza, Switzerland. One day of glacier rescue scenarios and two days of avalanche workshop activities framed the Diavolezza meeting. Go to Terrestrial Commission minutes at: http://www.ikar-cisa.org Louis Salzmann, Switzerland, coordinator of the IKAR “Project Futura 2010” gave a brief overview of the projects goals and objectives and described the language based group workshop approach to be used in this long range planning effort scheduled to take place during the Zakopane meeting. A full synopsis of the workshops will come later in this report. Commission Vice-President Gebhard Barbisch, Austria, detailed recent revisions to the IKAR website Bruno Jelk (L) and Toni Grab and presented an online navigational tutorial of the site. Much of the site is open to public access, however, the discussion page, as well as certain member contact listings do require access authorization. All current U.S. delegates have access to the entire site and will coordinate access for those without upon request. A discussion of the pros and cons of “standardization” took place and it was moved and adopted that the normal “European” values will be used in any standardization recommendations, rather than a separate IKAR standard language. Additionally, Dan Hourihan was named as the contact point for questions regarding mountain rescue standardization developments in the U.S. Bruno Jelk postponed a decision on scheduling a Terrestrial Commission working meeting later in the year pending the results of the Project Futura 2010 planning sessions. Croatia indicated a willingness to host such a workshop, if scheduled. Main Presentations For Thursday morning sessions Terrestrial Commission met separately. Presentation #1: Polish Mountain Rescue “Safe in the Mountains”, a current successful program aimed at Polish youth and teenagers to promote mountain safety. It involves primarily an interactive computer program that gives young people a mountain safety certificate through distance learning. Developed at no cost to the users by a commercial company, 1,800 young people completed the course with a 70% pass rate. The program has three modules including 1) education and prevention of danger for travel in the mountains 2) first aid and CPR and 3) education for mountain emergencies. The last module included a survival package and the building of emergency shelters. In the past year there were 14,000 registered users, indicating a large number of people gained some useful information. A demonstration version of the software was used to demonstrate the use of an interactive rescuer who provided both written and oral instructions. Comment: The major deficiency in the program seems to be its lack of practical application. The first aid and CPR module asks that the student conduct practical exercises with the local teacher or another institution, but there is no method of ensuring it will be done. On the other hand, the fact that the information is provided at all is a benefit, and there seems to be no expectation that a person with a “safe in the mountains” certificate can actually perform CPR. The main value in the program seems to be the success in getting basic mountain safety information to young people in a user friendly manner. The company that developed the program is anxious to market the program to other organizations, and they stated they would make a demonstration version of the program (in English) available at their website, see http://www.esynergia.pl Presentation #2: Swiss ZKGS “Rope Failure in High Line System”, an incident report with some lessons learned from an operation run by the Swiss military. A dual rope high line was constructed to transport fifty soldiers across a seventy meter gorge. Anchors were set at three points on each bank by drilling into the rock in classic European fashion. A patented double pulley wheel was used to transport one person at a time in a basket-like device. Chafing gear was used to cover a jagged rock at a point where the rope was most exposed to damage. But after twenty soldiers were transported across the gorge, one of the ropes failed at a point that was determined to be more than a meter beyond the jagged rock. No injuries were reported due the presence of the second rope. The failed rope is now undergoing tests at the Swiss standards lab to determine the cause of failure. A number of “lessons learned” were suggested by the presenter: 1) a double rope is necessary 2) the location of the anchors should be carefully planned 3) the “edgepro” should be carefully chosen and placed and 4) care should be taken to check the system after multiple repetitions. Comment: Although the actual cause of failure was stated to be “unknown,” a number of risks were present, including the apparent inexperience of the crew. From the photo of the anchor system, an unusually complex system of ropes seemed to contribute to some confusion at the scene, abrasion of the rope, and ultimate system failure. The suggestion for a thorough safety check after continued use was certainly valid. Presentation #3: Swiss Alpine Club “Occupational Safety for Rescuers.” Dominique Hunziker was the presenter, he stressed the need to maintain safety standards throughout the mission and that safety cannot be delegated to anyone.