CASPER, Wyo. — This past weekend, teams from across the globe took part in Grimpday, a prestigious international technical rescue competition. When all was said and done, Casper’s own Peak Rescue had earned the top spot on the winners’ podium.
The competition is held in different countries each year. This year, teams traveled to Marseille, France, for the event.
In the competition, teams must execute high-angle rope rescues in various situations. Among the tasks are making cliff-side, rooftop and treetop rescues, founder Micah Rush said. Some challenges also involve delivering medical aid. In total, teams competed in 11 events over the course of four days.
Going into the event, Rush said he was unsure how Peak Rescue would stack up against the competition.
“We knew a lot of past champions were going to be there,” he said. “Honestly, we would’ve been happy to make the top 10. If we made podium, we were going to be thrilled.”
As the competition unfolded, the members of Peak Rescue knew they were doing well.
“As we did each event, we could tell we were doing a good job, but we really didn’t know how we were stacking up,” Rush said.
During the awards ceremony, Rush was bestowed the leadership award. Rush deferred credit for the honor to his teammates, however.
“They make me look good,” he said. “It’s easy to lead when you’ve got a great team.”
As the top teams were counted down, the members of Peak Rescue quickly realized that they hadn’t just done well — they’d done exceptionally. When the second-place team’s name was called, indicating that Peak Rescue had finished atop the pack, they burst into celebration.
And with the win, Peak Rescue became the first U.S. team to win the international competition.
“It was an amazing feeling,” Rush said. “And it was such a great experience. All the teams there are wonderful people, so we were celebrating with our friends from Spain and Hungary. … It was awesome.”
In addition to Rush, Peak Rescue’s team featured Tye Herron, Eric Christensen, Chris Steinhoff, Keith Luscinski, Terry Lam and Jon Bertsch.
