Technical Rope Rescue
Wherever a fall is the hazard, the answer is rope. Our technical rescue team works the full spectrum of steep ground — near-vertical slopes and scree, sheer high-angle cliffs, and the vertical shafts of caves and abandoned mines — building the systems that lower a rescuer to a stranded subject and raise a packaged patient back to safe ground.
One skill set, every angle.
Cochise County's terrain runs the gamut from loose desert slopes to the sheer faces of the Huachucas and Chiricahuas, and from slot canyons to the vertical shafts of its caves and old mine workings. What ties those missions together is rope: anchors, mechanical-advantage haul systems, belays, and a litter rigged to travel safely down a cliff or up a shaft. The team trains so the same disciplined system works whether the pitch is a 30-degree scree slope or a clean 200-foot drop.
Every rig starts with the anchor. In friable desert rock and rotten mine timber, anchors are vetted and backed up, loads are shared, and a separate belay line protects the main system — because there's rarely a second chance to test it once a rescuer is committed over the edge. The litter attendant moves with the patient the whole way, managing the line, the terrain, and the person inside it.
From steep slopes to vertical shafts
Near-vertical to vertical
Low- and steep-angle evacuations on slopes where a slip turns serious, scaling up to full high-angle work on cliff faces and canyon walls. The team builds raise-and-lower systems with a litter attendant on the line, so a subject pinned anywhere on a face can be brought to safe ground under control.
Cave & mine
The same rope discipline, underground and in the dark. Single-rope technique on shaft drops, confined-space movement through tight passages, and continuous air monitoring in old mines that can hold bad air — slow, deliberate work where radios go dead and a rescue is measured in hours, not minutes.
Litter rigging & haul
A subject who can't self-rescue is secured into a litter that can be lowered, raised, tilted, and guided through terrain that fights every inch. We rig mechanical-advantage haul systems and protect the patient through edges, squeezes, and loose ground from the pick to the trailhead.
Abandoned mines: Stay Out, Stay Alive
The fastest rope rescue is the one we never have to run. Cochise County's old mine workings look like an adventure and behave like a trap — rotten timbers, vertical winzes hidden under debris, flooded levels, and unbreathable air that gives no warning. Respect the warning signs, stay out of abandoned mines and unfamiliar caves, and learn how to plan a backcountry trip that keeps you on safe ground.