Alberta search and rescue (SAR) responders helped a cave explorer extricate himself from a tight spot in the Rocky Mountains last weekend with special help from underground radio technology. SAR says crews were called to the Rats Nest Cave in Canmore at about 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 15 after a caver had descended and gotten stuck in the “psych squeeze” — a difficult vertical squeeze that is not traversed by tourists. The rescue agency says members of its Alberta/BC Cave Rescue team it was called to respond by RCMP and the Kananaskis Mountain Rescue, and a larger than normal initial response team was deployed to help with rock removal and to coach the caver out of the crevasse. Canmore Fire Rescue provided in-cave paramedics, while the team used hammer drills to remove rock projects and the other cavers helped from the top and bottom of the person trapped. They say they placed bolts in the rock to help with provide “upward traction” on the caver. “Progress was measured in ‘inches per hour’ as the subject was moved upwards towards the exit of the squeeze,” SAR said in a news release. The rescue agency says a new volunteer-built underground radio technology was also in use to help with the extraction. “Being able to communicate is both critical and lifesaving to any rescue but developing tools that can communicate underground in the backcountry has been a technical and logistical challenge,” the agency wrote. “Alberta/BC Cave Rescue has been fortunate to have cave rescue team members who are now pioneers in cave radio using specialized electronics that can send signals through rock. “Through their expertise and efforts, the team has been developing and testing the new technology, QDX-M, since 2023, and have now deployed it on this rescue live for the first time.” The agency added the QDX-M-based cave radios are especially helpful, as they function in places where cell phone signals, radios, satellite messengers and GPS signals do not. Responders helped manage the caver’s exhaustion, risk of hypothermia and compression of the body while the rescue was ongoing. SAR says the caver was freed from the squeeze at about 10 p.m. that day. He moved out of the cave on at 11:46 p.m. after he had some time to recuperate. All other rescuers exited the cave by midnight. SAR determined the caver needed no further medical attention. The rescue involved 13 cave rescuers, as well as 10 firefighters and two Kananaskis Mountain Rescue members.
