1996, Gerald L. Findley

LIFE BASKET:

Description ---- A body harness made by combining a bowline on a bight and a french bowline.

Use ---- To lower a severally injured person when a life threatening situation exists.

Comments ---- The life basket is a secure harness that can be used to move an injured person that is weakened or unconscious. However, unless there is a life threatening situation, such as a burning building or immediate danger of avalanche, you should wait for a trained rescue team.

If you attempt to use the life basket, do not allow the rope to slide through your hands as you lower the injured person . The friction caused by the sliding rope can cause severe painful rope burns and loss of control of the rope. The rope must be let out in a hand over hand manner to insure a safe, controlled descent.

1.

Narration ---- (1) Tie a bowline on a bight. Place one loop of the bowline on a bight around each leg. [NOTE] (The bowline on a bight should be large enough so that when it is in place the knot should be close to the victims belt buckle. Be sure to leave the running part of the rope extending about 3 feet beyond the knot.)

2.

(2) Take a half hitch around the victims chest.

(3) Form a bight in the standing part by pulling it under the right hand part of the half hitch so that an underhand loop is formed around the cross point of the half hitch.

(4) Fold the bight around and reeve it through the eye of the underhand loop.

(5) Reeve the running part of the rope through the bight.

(6) Take the slack out of the running part of the rope and fold the it over to form interlocking bights.

(7) Pull on the standing part so that the bight in the running part of the rope is pulled through the eye of the underhand loop and the underhand loop flips over and tightens around the bight to form a French Bowline.