Park County Search and Rescue has been living up to its name this winter, but this past weekend was all about training.
On the invitation of Park County Search and Rescue, instructors from Black Fox Institute, Inc lead an Ice Rescue Workshop over the weekend. The curriculum came from Rescue 3 International, one of the world’s leading providers of technical rescue training. It attracted students from all over Wyoming, including search and rescue personnel from Park, Washakie, Hot Springs, Lincoln, and Fremont Counties.
The two-day workshop started on Saturday the 22nd with a classroom lesson on ice thickness and thawing, and successful techniques for rescuing people trapped in the ice. Sunday the 23rd was a bit more interactive, as everyone spent the day on the Buffalo Bill Reservoir putting theory into practice with staged scenarios. The weekend’s unusually warm weather provided an extra challenge – the sunny, 50+ degrees weather turned very sturdy ice into rather unstable ice by mid-afternoon.”
Park County Search and Rescue has some ice tips. If you’re out on the ice for whatever reason, wear a personal flotation device, have a pair of rescue axes ready, and always stay alert for changing conditions.
