You know who else is green? Me.
I came from a triathlon and personal training background. Rigging, climbing and rescue gear: This is all new to me; fortunately, I love to learn and I adapt quickly. So when the CEO of Rescue Response Gear suggested I take the Rigging Physics class at the end of September, I agreed excitedly.
Monday morning, I walked into the classroom, coffee in hand, ready to go. Nine men looked over at me as I took a seat. Some smiled, others gave a doubtful eye. What is this chick doing here? Youngest in the room? Check. Least experienced in the room? Check. Only one without chest hair in the room? Double check.
"Alright, if all y'all had a theme song that played every time you entered a room, what would it be and why," I broke the silence. More silence was the response I received. "C'mon guys," I laughed. "It's eight AM! You should be awake by now!"
Frank, a paramedic from San Diego, played around on his phone nonchalantly. Suddenly, the theme music from Shaft flooded the room, followed by chuckles from the other men. "Who came up with this question," Jim Bolton asked as he set up the rigging physics powerpoint and passed out lengths of rope.
The Rigging Lab at Rescue Response Gear is a state of the art rope access and rope rescue training
facility. We aim to provide top quality, industry standard training taught by elite instructors. We brought
in one of the best instructors in the business, Jim Bolton, for this class. Jim has been in professional
service since 1987. Currently, he works in Nevada as an operator/paramedic for the Reno Fire
Department, but he was willing to take a week to come up and show our class the ropes! He has a vast
knowledge of the subject matter and presented it in a fun yet challenging manner.
"Alright," Jim addressed the class. "I want to see if everyone knows the basics. Tie a figure eight on a bite."
I awkwardly shaped the rope in my fingers, trying to remember what I learned while rock climbing in Wyoming. "Do the disco... the boy is trying to run away from the girl because she has cooties... that is not a figure eight..." Trying to hide my inexperience, my eyes glanced over at my neighbor's rope. A perfect figure eight on a bite met my gaze. In fact, everyone had perfectly dressed knots except for me. This is going to be a long week...
After spending the morning scribbling down notes about simple, compound and complex mechanical advantage systems, we made our way into the rigging lab. I watched as the eyes of the men lit up like little boys in a Star Wars Lego store. "Whoa! This is the spot where they filmed the clip about the CMC MPD!" "Look at all the lights! They could host raves in here!"
"Grab that, that, that and that," Jim pointed at gear and walked outside, waiting for us to follow him. He displayed how to set up multi- and single-point anchors. My head was nodding like I understood exactly what he was showing us, but my brain was desperately trying to grasp both the words Jim was speaking as well as the actions his hands were doing. Jim looked up at the class to confirm that everyone was following along. His gaze met mine. I nodded harder. Yeah, yeah! Totally following, Jim! "Now practice it yourself," he said. Aw shoot. He caught me.
The men grabbed webbing and carabiners and began creating perfect anchor systems. I stood behind and watched them work. The shadow of a man crept beside me and I could feel Jim's presence as he waited for me to explain why I was just standing around. "I'm just watching and learning," I told him.
He handed me some webbing and gestured toward a tree. "Go practice what I just showed. Ask me if you have any questions," he challenged me.
The rest of the week was spent with Jim and the other men challenging and teaching me. At times, it was a humbling experience. I am the type of girl who likes to be acknowledged for areas in which she excels, so being at the bottom of the totem pole, the only one in the class who did not know how to tie a figure eight on a bite, was humiliating at times. What encouraged me was the class participants' ability to teach me without making me feel inferior. Everyone in the class was supportive and encouraging of one another. It was refreshing and made for a positive atmosphere. Friendships were formed quickly, which led to some teasing and witty banter, but it also felt like everyone was on the same team.
One of the many wonderful perks about Rescue Response Gear's Rigging Lab being located in Sisters, Oregon, is the availability of natural resources for training. We spent most of the week outdoors surrounded by the beauty of Smith Rock State Park. After learning the multi-faceted training complex and practicing it in the rigging lab, we applied our new and existing knowledge in more practical situations. This allowed the students to negotiate an edge, practice pick-offs and work with the Vortex and artificial high directionals.
My first time working as an edge guy, I hooked myself up to the system, was safety checked and slowly backed up over the edge. Next thing I knew, my feet flew up over my head, my hands grabbed for the rock and a curse word escaped my lips. The deep laughter of nine men was all I could hear from the ledge. "Was that Ashlee?" No one expected the F-word to fly out of my mouth. I quickly readjusted myself and struggled to position myself on the rock.
Struggle. This class was definitely a struggle; it stretched my physical limits and my knowledge base. I was amazed by what these men are capable of doing. The demands placed on their body are great. After just one day of trying to lead a haul crew or set up a belay system, I was exhausted. I gained an incredible amount of respect for firemen and paramedics. Without taking this class, I never would have understood not only how these various products work, but also how much devotion, dedication and perseverance rescue situations require.
I recently heard a story about a master Kung Fu teacher who had earned multiple black belts and was one of the best Kung Fu artists of his time. Despite his hard work and accomplishments, he requested that upon his death, he be buried wearing a white belt, the sign of a beginner. This white belt would symbolize that the master still had more to learn and would always be in a state of learning.
As humans, we will always be learning. In fact, I strive to learn at least one new thing every single day. We may develop a vast amount of experience and knowledge, but there is always more to learn. Whether you have been working in the industry since you graduated high school or if you are green like me, I highly recommend taking a Rigging Physics class. Come into the class with an open mind and a desire to learn and I guarantee you will take a lot out of the experience!
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