Evacuation device
Grand Distributors, Inc., 600 River St., Grand River, OH 44045, have developed a lift evacuation device called Evacu-Lift which avoids abnormal and unsafe wear or stress on ropes associated with the old method of throwing a rope over the unhaul cable, securing it to a victim and then belaying him to the ground.
The Evacu-Life consists of a block and tackle system supported by a unique hook, for the removal of personnel from a stalled aerial ski lift. The supporting hook is hoisted by means of a heaving line thrown over the uphaul rope from the ground and hooked over the uphaul rope of the ski lift. The block and tackle is then used to lower the personnel from the chair or gondola to the ground. When the evacuation of a chair or gondola is complete, the hook is released from the uphaul rope from the ground by a trip line and the tackle is lowered. Normally, between towers, it is not necessary to lower the entire heaving line to the ground to move on. Particularly in the case of a chair lift, the heaving line can be “flipped” over the chair and moved to the next position.
The standard system is for use when the uphaul rope is less than 40 feet off the ground and not more than 1¼ inches in diameter. Safe working load of the system is 1,000 lbs. (Safety factor is 3.5 to 1). Larger systems are also available.
“Slope Boss”
Bill Jenkins, with a background of 30 years of ski school directing, coaching and area operations, has been developing a vehicle for year-round area use that has as its starting point the White 4-150 articulated tractor, whose normal habitat is a Kansas wheat field.
Jenkins, together with technicians from the White Motor Corp’s Farm Equipment Division tested the “Slope Boss” this past winter at Pico Peak in Vermont. The machine was equipped with huge 66-inch high by 43 inch wide Terra-Tires. It was claimed that the vehicle successfully groomed about 40 percent of Pico’s terrain.
As explained by Jenkins, “The concept allows an area operator to reserve his steep-climbing, tracked vehicles for the upper-intermediate and expert terrain, while using the low-pressure, minimum-maintenance rubber-tired Slope Boss for fast grooming of the more gradual areas.”
For more information, contact Bill Jenkins, Pre-Season Ski Teaching Systems, 6 Thrall, Rutland, VT 05701.
Rescue transportation
Bio-Med International, 1005 12th St., Grand Junction, CO, 81501, has introduced a compact emergency rescue and transportation device called Bio-Pac Rescue Unit RU-100. It was designed for emergency evacuation of an injured victim under the most difficult rescue or transport situations.
Portable, and weighing only 10 pounds, the unit can be used as a litter, stretcher, rescue and transportation device.
It comes equipped with a disposable trauma unit, a 75-foot guideline and (optional) breakaway aluminum poles.
