It's here--it's finals week. The culmination point of eleven weeks of frenetic activity, yet I find that I don't want it to end.
Okay, so I want A&P to end, and it has been nice to have my EMT classes over...but rescue?
Why doesn't life have a rewind button?
Rescue has been the most awesome class I've taken this year--and it's probable it is the most awesome class I'll ever take at Chemeketa (although I am hugely excited about the EMT class this summer). Two weeks ago we covered HazMat and went rappelling for lab.
That was quite an experience!
I did fine by myself. We had a little contest in which we would rappel down the tower about halfway, tie off using the figure eight so we could have our hands free, then flip upside down. Turn over onto your stomach, against the wall, push off and clap as many times as you can before you hit the wall again.
I think I got 5 claps, and a lot of teasing because when my feet started to flip over my head it felt like falling, and a gurgling squeal escaped my throat.
That was fun.
Then we did "pick-offs".
So the deal is I rappel down to where one of my classmates is hanging (he's in his harness, hanging by webbing anchor of course) from the railing at the second story, attach him to the belay line and to me using a pick-off strap and then we rappel down to the ground/
Easy enough right?
I wish.
I got down to him okay, got him all attached and was ready to "pop" the rope out of the figure eight and make my descent. Except I couldn't pop the rope. It was stuck. All the extra weight...my limited physical abilities...bulky gloves...
We probably hung there for about 4 or 5 minutes, which felt like a small eternity. I was sweating, getting red in the face, and it had to have been a little awkward for my victim, since I was practically straddling him. The harness starts to cut into your legs after a while.
The final solution was to have someone (a tall someone) boost the victim up from underneath, while he and I both pulled on the rope.
That did the trick.
On the ground, I was still sweating, tired and I couldn't get the confounded carabiner off the ring on my back.
How humiliating.
And our final week--ah what a day. :) Our water rescue lab was conducted at the Santiam river, bout 45 minutes from the campus. Clad in all manner of unflattering wet suits, bulky life vests and climbing helmets, we practiced throwing rope bags, on the grass and then in the water, and had some time to paddle around and get used to swimming with a wet suit. It's harder than I thought, because your legs want to float up, and certainly my life vest wasn't helping much. It took two people yanking on the straps just to get my vest snugged up to the proper degree.
We practiced a couple different methods of moving across the river, against the current, as a group, using a pike pole, forming a triangle that moves against the current
or the "angry donut".
I'm not quite sure what makes it angry, but a donut we were; a tight little ring with your arms over (or, for we shorties, under) each others' shoulders. Maybe the angry part comes from having the people next to you stepping on you feet, or when the little guy (me) keeps falling over and you repeatedly have to drag them up by the collar. That might make me angry after a while.
But the best part was plunging into the river with your buddy and floating downstream. For us the goal was to practice the proper method of doing so-- face up, feet pointing downstream-- and then going into the "ferry angle" to get over to the bank. The other half of the class would be waiting for you downstream to toss you a throw bag--hopefully. I think our downstream safety instructor pulled more than his share of students out that day.
After doing this a couple times, we practiced the rescue swim, towing your buddy as you go.
And of course, the day would not be complete without someone getting hurt. One guy dislocated his knee out on the rocks, and had to be floated down to the boat ramp. After that, the learning portion of our lab was done, and we were turned loose with our buddies to go float downstream to the bridge.
And did I mention the rapids?
White-water rafting--without the raft. Awesome!
Aside from the rocks hitting your rear-end, the inevitable mouthful of river water when you don't time your breaths right, choking, thinking your going to drown and getting whacked in the face by an overhanging tree branch, it was a blast.
Okay, so I want A&P to end, and it has been nice to have my EMT classes over...but rescue?
Why doesn't life have a rewind button?
Rescue has been the most awesome class I've taken this year--and it's probable it is the most awesome class I'll ever take at Chemeketa (although I am hugely excited about the EMT class this summer). Two weeks ago we covered HazMat and went rappelling for lab.
That was quite an experience!
I did fine by myself. We had a little contest in which we would rappel down the tower about halfway, tie off using the figure eight so we could have our hands free, then flip upside down. Turn over onto your stomach, against the wall, push off and clap as many times as you can before you hit the wall again.
I think I got 5 claps, and a lot of teasing because when my feet started to flip over my head it felt like falling, and a gurgling squeal escaped my throat.
That was fun.
Then we did "pick-offs".
So the deal is I rappel down to where one of my classmates is hanging (he's in his harness, hanging by webbing anchor of course) from the railing at the second story, attach him to the belay line and to me using a pick-off strap and then we rappel down to the ground/
Easy enough right?
I wish.
I got down to him okay, got him all attached and was ready to "pop" the rope out of the figure eight and make my descent. Except I couldn't pop the rope. It was stuck. All the extra weight...my limited physical abilities...bulky gloves...
We probably hung there for about 4 or 5 minutes, which felt like a small eternity. I was sweating, getting red in the face, and it had to have been a little awkward for my victim, since I was practically straddling him. The harness starts to cut into your legs after a while.
The final solution was to have someone (a tall someone) boost the victim up from underneath, while he and I both pulled on the rope.
That did the trick.
On the ground, I was still sweating, tired and I couldn't get the confounded carabiner off the ring on my back.
How humiliating.
And our final week--ah what a day. :) Our water rescue lab was conducted at the Santiam river, bout 45 minutes from the campus. Clad in all manner of unflattering wet suits, bulky life vests and climbing helmets, we practiced throwing rope bags, on the grass and then in the water, and had some time to paddle around and get used to swimming with a wet suit. It's harder than I thought, because your legs want to float up, and certainly my life vest wasn't helping much. It took two people yanking on the straps just to get my vest snugged up to the proper degree.
We practiced a couple different methods of moving across the river, against the current, as a group, using a pike pole, forming a triangle that moves against the current
or the "angry donut".But the best part was plunging into the river with your buddy and floating downstream. For us the goal was to practice the proper method of doing so-- face up, feet pointing downstream-- and then going into the "ferry angle" to get over to the bank. The other half of the class would be waiting for you downstream to toss you a throw bag--hopefully. I think our downstream safety instructor pulled more than his share of students out that day.
After doing this a couple times, we practiced the rescue swim, towing your buddy as you go.
And did I mention the rapids?
White-water rafting--without the raft. Awesome!
Aside from the rocks hitting your rear-end, the inevitable mouthful of river water when you don't time your breaths right, choking, thinking your going to drown and getting whacked in the face by an overhanging tree branch, it was a blast.
2 comments:
You're still using illegal pictures. -_-
No, thank you, I am not. These pictures are made available to the general public.
Are you still downloading illegal music?
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