A few weeks ago, during our autumn training at the Vadálló-kövek, we set up several fixed anchor points that could make stretcher transport smoother and safer during real rescues on difficult terrain. Today, we got to test the system in a real situation.

Our 24/7 emergency hotline received a call at 13:26. After the alert, we located the exact site of the accident — almost at the same place where, last summer, we rescued another hiker. Following the alert, the rescue network was set in motion: 24 cave rescuers headed to the site, while simultaneously, the Budaörs HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) helicopter also took off.

The on-duty chief physician of the Hungarian National Ambulance Service (HNAS - OMSZ) — who happens to be a caver himself and a doctor of the Cave Rescue Service — was familiar with the area and the operational procedures of all three organizations.

Cave gates serve a dual symbolic purpose: primarily, they protect caves from damage caused by  intruders; secondarily, they safeguard unprepared visitors from the potential dangers of entering a cave. As caving experience grows, a person not only develops the skills necessary for movement in the underground environment, but also expands their toolkit for solving practical technical problems.

Experienced cavers and guides know the unique secrets of certain cave gates: they know exactly which gate is hard to open, which one requires a shovel or small crowbar, which lock always needs WD-40, and which gate demands the strength of several people to open. However, last night a very different kind of problem occurred while trying to open the gate of the Ferenc-hegyi Cave.

On Monday evening, a groups of 8 cavers were on a caving trip in the Ferenc-hegyi Cave. At the end of the tour, around 9:30 PM, they tried to return to the surface but couldn’t open the gate—which is known to be particularly easy to operate—even while standing at the top of the entrance ladder. Despite multiple attempts, the special lock wouldn’t open with the key, as if something had been broken off inside.

Cave rescuers are human too: on long weekends, we also escape from the town - we go hiking with or families, or throw ourselves into ongoing cave exploration projects. On such weekends, our duty officers always has a harder time assembling the required number of rescuers than for an operation starting on a regular weekday evening.

Fortunately, we had no such difficulties on Pentecost Sunday. Around 2 PM, we received a report and a call for help about an accident at Vadálló-kövek and an injured hiker with a leg injury. In record time—within half an hour—the first of our team members reached the injured person. Luckily they had been camping nearby around Visegrád, attending the Adrenalin Caving Association's weekend event. Soon, 29 of us gathered, including four of our doctors. This was such a rare “summit” of medical presence that we can’t even recall the last drill with so many of them in one place. Two members of the Bakony Cave Rescue Service also participated in the rescue.

After last week’s Earth Day demo, we tried to look into the future with our newly joined cave rescue teammate — wondering whether the BMSz would be needed over the upcoming long weekend. As it turned out, yes — and more than once.

The long weekend began on Wednesday afternoon. A distress call came from near Vértesszőlős: a paraglider had landed in a tree, not too far from the site where a rescue operation turnded fatal few years before. This time, the help didn’t arrive with a military helicopter, but in the form of a volunteer from the Tree Rescue Group coordinated by BMSz – a team made up of rope access experts, arborists, and cave rescuers. The pilot was swaying about 7–8 meters above the ground and was lucky to be uninjured – but it was unfortunate that due to dry branches, it wasn’t possible to climb above him or build an anchor point for hoisting or lowering. To bring him down safely, a diagonally hauling system was rigged to secure him toward the trunk, and a few thicker dry branches had to be cut to free him. It took about 30 minutes to lower the pilot, and three times as long to retrieve the canopy.