Thread by @snowset

I went on a 17 hour Search and Rescue op in the rain yesterday.

12 hours in, the team was complaining about being "gassed" discussing giving up and I was just like 🤷🏼‍♂️ I'm at like 95% and I've been up since 0230.

Could not relate at all.

Couple thoughts here... 🧵

1) If you're going to do something very hard, come prepared.

Team all had lightweight hiking shoes. I had on 11" tall sturdy waterproof boots. Feet never got wet. Takes a great deal of strain off the ankles in extreme terrain. Hard rubber and stiff soles sidehill 👌🏻

2) I wore waterproof atlas gloves. And know how to hook grip. Vastly less grip fatigue than those with expensive fancy tactical or mountaineering gloves. Carried a litter for 3 hours straight with my left (weak side). They're like $8

3) Haribo is the 🐐 for doing hard stuff. High glycemic index stops a bonk immediately. Keeping the pockets stuffed is highly, HIGHLY underrated

4) Most people will grossly underestimate how long something like this will take. We headed out at 0530. Another "experienced" rescuer "planned" to be back that afternoon. Lol. Got home at 2230.

Pretty safe bet to always double your time estimates. Shit happens.

5). Training matters. Being a good climber or fast hiker doesn't help all that much when you have no rotational strength & endurance or strength moving across the sagittal plane. Beefy weightlifters suffer here too because they don't do asymmetrical exercises.

🧳 carries 👌🏻

6) The more you worry or fight the environment the faster you fatigue.

Literally everything should be done in as relaxed a state as possible, including & especially falling down, which happens a lot.

Fast is slow. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. And it's sustainable.

7) Jokes help. Not everyone can embrace the suck.

Some people just need you to distract them a little bit from their suffering.

Bitching is contagious and enervating. Worst use of your breath.

8) Play to your strengths. If you're good at doing a task volunteer for it. It won't tax your body or nervous system a fraction as much as it would a non expert.

Also do the opposite and back off when someone else is better. Emergencies are a poor time for training.

We lucked out in this case and rescue succeeded with no additional folks injured, but there wasn't a super comfortable margin of error. I know a few of you do or will do similar ops so probably worth sharing what I've learned after 20+ years solving problems in the Wilderness.

@Ferret1248 Team was strong and capable and excellent with patient care (I suck at that part). But they learned some hard lessons too. Trying to help others avoid the same growing pains.