Croatian Mountain Rescue at Paklencia National Park

We are just returning from an amazing visit to the Croatian mountain rescue brigades at Paklenica National Park. This is an area where visitors from all over the world come to rock and Mountain-climb. Even with the use of appropriate safety harnesses, ropes and helmets there are still multiple injuries that this team encounters every week. Unfortunately they even had a fatality in the last week.

This team has taken some standard EMS equipment and modified it for better use in the unique environment in which they practice. For example they have modified a Stokes basket by breaking into two distinct pieces each of which can be carried by a single rescue climber. After reaching the patient the two rescuers can combine each of their pieces to form a single Stokes basket which is then used either to lower the victim to the ground or to attach to a helicopter pulley system and lift the patient up. These advanced technical rescuers apply their medical knowledge in an environment which contains unique challenges and operational hurdles. Their innovative approaches to addressing these challenges were impressive and we think there are aspects of their extrication systems which may have a role in our (very vertically challenged) EMS operations in Minnesota.