Ok, so you're out in the middle of nowhere, it's late in the day, and your partner has just taken a fall. Though it didn't look bad at first, repeated calls to your partner get no reply. Maybe they've climbed an overhang earlier, and you can't even see them. But now it's been 10 minutes, and you're still holding their full body weight on your belay device. What to do?

You will need to free your hands from the belay in order to set up the ascending system. The fastest, easiest way to do this is to wrap the brake strand around one leg 3-5 times.

For this scenario, you'll eventually need the entire length of rope to lower your partner, so do NOT anchor your end of the rope at your belay stance. What you're going to do instead is ascend the rope (unanchored) using your partner as a counterbalance*. Sounds scary, but what else are you going to do?

*Note on ascending the rope:The weight differential between climbers is rarely an issue as there is sufficient friction at the top piece. Only huge weight differences (more than 150 lbs.) would likely present problems. There is no way a lightweight leader will be raised by the counterweight of a heavier belayer--it would only be a super light belayer and very heavy leader that could present difficulties. If this is the case, the belayer could leave the rope anchored at its bottom before ascending the rope, but this means that the leader cannot be lowered. Still, the belayer could ascend to assess the status of the leader and provide first aid.

The rope is suspended from the highest piece of gear that held your partner's fall. Ascending the rope held by one piece of gear is nerve-wracking, but the situation might leave no other option. A person can bleed to death or have other complications from hanging unconscious in a harness even in a very short period of time. If they are not reached immediately in these types of scenarios, rescue could quickly turn into body recovery. Waiting for additional help is often an option; it just may not be quick enough to make a difference. It all depends on your location and timing.

If the highest piece of gear is suspect, stop ascending the rope when there are still a few pieces of gear left between you and your partner above. At this point, you can set up an anchor, then lower your partner to you. With your partner clipped into this new anchor, you can pull the rope, and set up a bomber lowering system or tandem rappel as discussed later.

With your hands free, you're ready to set up your ascending system.

Practice rope ascending with the minimum of gear and gadgets--all you need is one prussik, a double-length shoulder sling, and a couple of locking carabiners.

First create a "waist prussik". Tie a prussik or klemheist hitch to the rope above your belay device and clip the end into your belay loop with a locking biner.

Slowly feed rope through your brake hand and belay device to transfer the load onto the prussik cord.

Tie a back-up knot (figure-8 or overhand) on the brake line below the belay device in case the prussik slips or fails.

Now tie a double-length sling (using a prussik, klemheist, etc.) to the rope, below the first prussik and above the belay device. This sling you'll use as an "aider" for your foot, allowing you to step up. To back up your system (because right now the waist prussik is your only safety line), you can girth hitch an additional 2-foot runner to your belay loop and clip this into the second aider [not shown in photo].

Your movement upwards is more efficient if you keep both the waist prussik and aider relatively short. A shorter leg loop forces you to step higher, covering more ground with each move. People typically make their waist attachments too long and waste energy pushing the top prussik far up above their heads. When they transfer their weight to the top prussik and slide the "aider" (bottom) prussik up, the aider step ends up being too high to step into. If the upper prussik is below the height of your head, your upward progress will be more energy efficient.

Remember, the more wraps in the friction knot, the more holding power it has.

Prussik hitches work best in 6 or 7 mm nylon cord (photo: top) and klemheist knots work best with slings (bottom).

Once you reach your partner, build a new anchor and transfer both of you onto it.

At this point you can either lower your partner to the ground if you're only a rope length away, or tandem rappel down with him if you need to make multiple rappels or if your partner needs side-by-side assistance along the way.

Lowering

Lower directly off of the anchor. Clip your belay device directly into the anchor and put your partner on belay (step 1). Redirect the brake line through a biner located above the main anchor point in order to add friction to the system (step 2).

For a bomb-proof set up, attach a friction knot to this brake line and clip it into your belay loop (step 3). With this back-up in place, you will be able to manage the rope more easliy and safely, as well as to deal with other difficulties that will inevitably arise along the way (queue rumble of thunder and inevitable bad weather).

Once you have lowered your partner to the ground, create a single fixed line that you can rappel off of (tie a figure-8 at the end of the rope and clip it into your main anchor point). Remember, you will not be able to retrieve your rope from the ground. If making multiple rappels, set up a tandem rappel instead.

Tandem Rappel

For a tandem rappel, connect the rappel device with a locking biner to a 2-foot runner that is girth hitched around your belay loop.

Connect your injured partner to this same carabiner, but girth hitch a longer (or double) runner to his harness so that your partner is positioned slightly below you. Back up your brake hand with a friction knot on the brake line that is clipped into a leg loop.

These techniques are involved and require careful consideration and critique as you review each step. If you and a partner simulate this scenario, be smart and make sure your system is redundant, each step of the way. For example, do not rely on one piece of gear while ascending (you'd only do this in an actual, remote rescue)--instead, set up a bomb-proof anchor point. Also, attach the "injured partner" to a fixed line from the anchor to their harness tie in, just in case you make a mistake setting up your ascending system. You can leave a few inches of slack in the fixed line to gauge how effectively you ascend.

It is strongly recommended to work through these steps with a guide and to do a run-through on the ground first. Although we all hope that our safe climbing practices will keep us out of trouble, it is imperative to understand and review these skills, just in case....

We hope this short review of a remote rescue technique has got you thinking. Often times on the cliffs, the availability of timely, expert rescue assistance lulls us into a false sense of security that we can carry with us to remote destinations. Though many of us possess the skills mentioned in this piece, the ability to execute all of them deftly and in the correct sequence can be the difference between life and death.