ITRA Technical Rope Rescue
Are you looking for a certification in technical rope rescue that prepares you for real interventions in heights, confined spaces or extreme environments?
ITRA (International Technical Rescue Association) – International Technical Rescue Association. Improve your ability to respond to real rescues in industrial, urban or natural environments.
If you already work in technical rescue, you know that it’s not just about rope skills, it’s about making decisions under pressure, leading teams and protecting lives.
The ITRA certification is designed to improve your skills in complex rescue manoeuvres, giving priority to the victim, both at the medical level and stretcher transport. With a 100% practical approach, designed by international emergency professionals.
Why choose ITRA certification?
✔️ 100% practical training oriented to real rescue
✔️ Focus on the victim: medical care and stretcher transport
✔️ Valid in urban, industrial, natural and tactical environments
✔️ Direct access to higher levels if you already have previous experience
✔️ Certification recognised by NGOs, brigades, official bodies and private sector
✔️ Compatible with other systems like IRATA, GWO and SPRAT
What will you learn in the ITRA course?
You will learn how to solve real technical rescue situations, not just how to perform rope manoeuvres. Depending on the level at which you enter, you will work on:
- Personal and team techniques at height (high and low angle)
- Assembly and management of lifting systems, mechanical advantage, performance, etc.
- Risk assessment and leadership in technical operations
- Physics applied to rescue: why what you do works
- Procedures adapted to urban, industrial or emergency environments
- Communication, patient safety and decision making under pressure
- And many other techniques depending on the level (Level 1, 2, 3 – we explain them below).
Also, you don’t repeat what you already know: if you are experienced, you can go straight to level 2 and progress from there.
Benefits of ITRA certification for your career
ITRA certification is an international credential that enhances your professional profile and opens up new opportunities within and outside your organisation:
✔️ Master technical rescue techniques with precision and safety, learning under an international standard recognised by rescue professionals worldwide.
✔️ Real recognition of your technical rescue experience at an international level.
✔️ Access to international opportunities (NGOs, specialised brigades, training).
✔️ Valid for official, industrial or private bodies.
✔️ Compatible with IRATA, GWO, SPRAT and other systems.
It is no longer just about knowing how to use ropes. It’s about leading, deciding and acting technically under pressure.
Why Training Team Rescue?
At TTR we have been training elite technicians in IRATA, GWO and high altitude rescue for over 15 years. We have more than 5000 successfully trained students and real opinions that confirm it →See reviews. With ITRA we go one step further to offer you:
🧑🏫 Internationally accredited instructors with real experience in rescues and training
🧰 High quality technical material, including different types of stretchers, monopods, bipods, tripods and scenarios that simulate real interventions
🌍 First ITRA authorised centre in Spain
📆 Agile, flexible training adapted to your level and availability
🤝 Personalised attention and accompaniment before, during and after the course.
ITRA Level 1
ITRA Level 1 technicians must be able to act as part of a team on sloping terrain, assisting in the transport of a patient on a stretcher. The focus is on the development of basic personal skills in high angle rope and slope rescue techniques, applied collaboratively.
Who is the ITRA Level 1 course for?
- People with little or no technical rescue experience who need a solid foundation.
- Members of emergency teams (fire brigades, civil defence, industrial brigades) operating on sloping terrain or basic access.
- Volunteers or operational personnel in rural, mountainous or industrial areas requiring rope rescue entry skills.
- Occupational health and safety technicians supervising work at height.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Comfort working at heights
- Physical fitness and state of health adequate to perform strenuous activities that may be required during the assessment, such as:
- Carrying equipment and moving through various environments, depending on the rope rescue approach (wilderness, mountain, industrial, caving, tactical, etc.). )
- Ascending and descending a rope with equipment
- Carrying, as part of a team, the weight of a standard load on a stretcher, as required
- Disclosure of any medical conditions to your instructor(s) and/or assessor(s)
- Instructors and assessors may have additional requirements, usually based on insurance or legal responsibilities, such as minimum age or medical conditions, to be eligible for courses and assessments
- Be over 18 years of age.
- No previous rope access experience is required.
Course duration
4 days plus 1 day examination by independent ITRA assessor.
Certification and Validity of ITRA Certificate
✅ Official ITRA Certification
- An internationally recognised certificate of qualification as a Rope Rescue Technician Level 1,2,3, depending on the level completed.
- It is different from a certificate of attendance; the latter only indicates that you participated, whereas certification requires you to have passed a formal assessment.
✅Duration of validity
Once you have passed the level (1, 2 or 3), your qualification as a technician remains valid for 3 years in the ITRA database.
✅Registration
- Your qualification is recorded in the ITRA Global Database, accessible by trainers, employers and recognised bodies.
- This allows you to verify your level of competence officially.
Content
🧠 Knowledge
- Introduction to ITRA: what it is, how it operates and its overall mission.
- Structure and organisation of rope rescue operations.
- Fundamentals of physics applied to rescue (forces, friction, safety).
- Fundamentals of rope systems (how they work and are composed).
- Medical considerations in technical rescue scenarios.
- Protocols and safety systems for rope operations.
- Hazard identification and management during rescue.
- Knowledge of basic equipment: ropes, harnesses, helmets, connectors, etc.
- Effective communication in rescue operations.
- Types and uses of knots essential for rope work.
- Basic principles of mechanical advantage systems (simple pulleys).
🛠️ Practical Skills
- Making essential rescue knots.
- Assembling a basic mechanical advantage system.
- Use of independent belay systems.
- Application of rope protection (at edges or risk areas).
- Construction of single point secure anchorages.
- Construction of multiple anchorages to distribute load.
- Implementation of safety lines and positioning systems.
- Controlled personal rope ascent.
- Personal rope descent using appropriate devices.
- Change of rope direction: from descent to ascent.
- Change of direction on rope: from ascent to descent.
- Basic self-rescue techniques in case of emergency.
- Packing a patient for transport on a stretcher.
- Preparation and movement of stretcher on inclined terrain.
- Techniques for accompanying as a stretcher assistant on a slope.
- Operation of lowering systems for gurney on a slope.
- Assembly and use of lifting systems on slopes.
Price
Full course: 1.150 € 890 € + 50 € registration fee.
Level 2 ITRA
Level 2 technicians must be able to act as part of a team in a vertical environment with a patient who is unable to move on their own and requires transport on a stretcher. The focus is on advanced personal rope skills applied on slopes greater than 70 degrees and vertical team rescue techniques.
Who is the ITRA Level 2 course for?
Rescuers who have already completed Level 1 and are looking to improve their technical skills.
Vertical rescue teams working on cliffs, tall buildings, industrial structures, caves or underground galleries
Team leaders or operational managers who need to master techniques such as vertical raising and lowering, complex anchor management and selection, and patient packing.
Professionals operating in urban, industrial, tactical or mountain environments.
ITRA course requirements
- Comfort working at heights
- Physical fitness and state of health adequate to perform strenuous activities that may be required during the assessment, such as:
- Carrying equipment and moving through a variety of environments, depending on the rope rescue approach (wilderness, mountain, industrial, caving, tactical, etc.). )
- Climbing and descending a rope with equipment
- Carrying, as part of a team, the weight of a standard load on a stretcher, as required
- Disclosure of any medical conditions to your instructor(s) and/or assessor(s)
- Instructors and assessors may have additional requirements, usually based on insurance or legal responsibilities, such as minimum age or medical conditions, to be eligible for courses and assessments
- Be over 18 years of age.
- Required to have completed Level 1 or have equivalent training and have 1 year of experience
Duration of the ITRA course
4 days plus 1 day examination by independent ITRA assessor.
ITRA Certification and Certificate Validity
✅ Official ITRA Certification
- An internationally recognised certificate of qualification as a Rope Rescue Technician Level 1,2,3, depending on the level completed.
- It is different from a certificate of attendance; the latter only indicates that you participated, whereas certification requires you to have passed a formal assessment.
✅Duration of validity
Once you have passed the level (1, 2 or 3), your qualification as a technician remains valid for 3 years in the ITRA database.
✅Registration
- Your qualification is recorded in the ITRA Global Database, accessible by trainers, employers and recognised bodies.
This allows you to verify your level of competence officially.
Course fee
Full course: 1.150 € 890 € + 50 € tuition fee
Course content
🧠 Knowledge
- Intermediate fundamentals of rope rescue physics.
- Evaluation and analysis of more complex rescue systems.
- Contingency planning and decision making in dynamic situations.
- Use of alternative anchorages, including vehicles as anchorages.
- Evaluation and assembly of pre-configured systems (e.g. systems with integrated pulleys).
- Implementation of back-ties and stabilisation lines.
- Techniques for safe stretcher transitions at difficult or exposed edges.
🛠️ Practical Skills
- Operation of lowering systems in vertical environments.
- Operation of lifting systems in vertical environments.
- Assembly and use of different vertical stretchers for rescue.
- Ascending and descending by rope with knot passing.
- Safe transition between lifting and lowering (and vice versa).
- Basic use of elevated directional structures (monopod, bipod and tripod).
- Pick-off technique to rescue an unsuspended victim.
- Configuration and use of improvised harness in emergency situations.
- Implementation of retrievable rope systems.
- Execution of rescue from edges with difficult access (descent or ascent).
- Coordination and execution of team rescue with a suspended victim.
This level focuses on more vertical and demanding environments, with emphasis on efficiency, safety and teamwork in real technical scenarios.
Direct access to Level 2
Direct access to Level 2 allows a candidate to sit the Level 2 assessment directly without having previously completed Level 1 with ITRA, provided they have equivalent verifiable experience and competencies.
📋 This involves:
- Completion of the ITRA Level 1 and 2 course simultaneously.
- Candidate must demonstrate all Level 1 and Level 2 competencies, both theoretical and practical, during the assessment.
- May be ideal for:
- Technicians with previous training in another organisation
- Individuals with significant technical rescue experience
- The training centre may require a document review or interview beforehand to confirm acceptance onto the course.
⚠️ Important:
- If the candidate does not pass all competencies at both levels, no qualification is awarded.
Duration
- 5 days plus 1 day examination by independent ITRA assessor
Course fee
- Full course:
1.250 €1150 €+ 50 € tuition fee
1 additional day of training – 5 days plus examination
Level 3
Technicians trained to intervene in highly complex rescues in suspended or restricted access environments, such as out-of-sight spaces or free suspension. The focus is on mastery of advanced techniques, supervision of complex manoeuvres, use of horizontal systems (such as zip lines or highlines) and adaptability to changing conditions. They are expected to act with a high level of autonomy and coordination within the team.
Who is the ITRA Level 3 course for?
- Experienced rescue technicians who already hold Level 1 and 2 (or equivalent) certifications.
- Team leaders or operational supervisors who make technical decisions in highly complex scenarios.
- Instructors-in-training who aspire to become assessors or trainers within the ITRA system.
- Professional rescuers working in extreme environments, such as:
Exposed cliffs or large vertical walls.
Urban systems with suspended structures
Deep caverns or hard-to-access industrial environments
- Members of specialised emergency response teams in suspended or remote environments, where high autonomy, technical judgement and improvisation skills are required.
ITRA Level 3 course requirements
- Safety and confidence when working at height
- Physical fitness and state of health adequate to perform strenuous activities that may be required during the assessment, such as:
- Carrying equipment and moving through a variety of environments, depending on the rope rescue approach (wilderness, mountain, industrial, caving, tactical, etc.). )
- Climbing and descending a rope with equipment
- Carrying, as part of a team, the weight of a standard load on a stretcher, as required
- Disclosure of any medical conditions to your instructor and/or assessor
- Instructors and assessors may have additional requirements, usually based on insurance or legal responsibilities, such as minimum age or medical conditions, to be eligible for courses and assessments
- Be over 18 years of age.
- Required to have completed Level 1 and Level 2 within 1 year.
Duration of the ITRA Level 3 course
4 days plus 1 day examination by independent ITRA assessor.
Certification and Validity
✅ Official ITRA Certification
An internationally recognised certificate of qualification as a Rope Rescue Technician Level 3.
✅Duration and validity
Once you have passed Level 3 your technician qualification remains valid for 3 years in the ITRA database.
✅Registration
- Your qualification is recorded in the ITRA Global Database, accessible by instructors, employers and recognised bodies.
- This allows you to verify your level of competence officially.
ITRA level 3 course fee
Full course: 1.150 € 890 € + €50 tuition fee
Course content ITRA level 3
🧠 Knowledge:
- Advanced fundamentals of physics in rope rescue systems.
- Design and use of advanced anchor systems (multi-directional, tensioned, shared).
- Knowledge of applicable international norms, regulations and standards.
- Planning and use of advanced high direction techniques (AHD).
- Assessment of complex scenarios, including free-suspended or hard-to-access spaces.
- Analysis and operation of horizontal systems (such as tensioned lines or zip lines).
- Considerations for prolonged or multi-stage rescues.
- Additional risk assessment and control of environmental factors.
🛠️ Practical Skills
- Construction and operation of horizontal systems: guide lines, zip lines, reeves.
- Complex horizontal crossings: highlines, zip lines with different configurations (transport English and Norwegian Reeve).
- Execution of cross-haul manoeuvres.
- Performing pick-off rescues with a suspended victim.
- Rope transfer between lines (line transfer).
- Re-anchoring while descending or ascending rope.
- Use of advanced high direction systems in complex structures or configurations.
- Execution of rescue manoeuvres in blind or out-of-sight spaces.
- Implementation of offset or diagonal guide lines.
- Techniques for intervention on fixed ropes (e.g. breaking on an already tensioned rope).
- Adapt and apply stretcher team rescue techniques in changing and dynamic situations.
Check dates and download the information pack
Do you want to know all the available dates and more details about the course?
📅 👉🏻 Check the ITRA training calendar in Barcelona and Madrid (under construction)
📄 👉🏻 Download the complete ITRA course dossier in PDF (under construction)
How to register for the ITRA course?
Follow these steps to reserve your place:
1️⃣ Go to the following link and select the date and level of the course you wish to take:
👉🏻 ITRA course registration (under construction).
2️⃣ Add the course to the shopping cart and complete the payment of the enrolment fee. If you choose bank transfer as payment method, send the receipt to info@ttrinternational.com
3️⃣ Fill in the enrolment form and accept the general conditions.
📞 Any questions? Contact us, we are here to help you!
