Traveling on glacial terrain can be inherently dangerous, difficult and complicated.
Preventing a fall, or limiting the potential severity of a fall, into a crevasse while moving efficiently is the goal of glacier travel and requires practice and attention to detail. Further; if a fall does occur, rapid, organized and safe rescue is the goal of crevasse rescue.
GOALS OF THE DAY:
– Introduce basic concepts of glacier travel and crevasse rescue.
– Become familiar with equipment choices, use and inspection.
– Practice roped travel, self-rescue and partner rescue.
– Choosing how to travel on glaciated terrain is usually the first and often most difficult decision to make.
There are two basic ways to address glacier travel safety and they usually depend on the activity and/or the perceived level of hazard:
– Having the team roped up in advance and pre-equipped for self and team rescue. This is the more traditional mountaineering glacier travel approach.
– Traveling unroped and having rescue equipment available for team rescue. This is most common for heli ski and ski mountaineering descents.
Choosing how to rescue is the next difficult decision to make and requires a specific skillset and significant practice. We will dive into both of these approaches and learn about the intricacies of both travel and rescue in each situation. Basic skills covered throughout the day include:
– Introduction to the glaciated environment
– Anatomy of a glacier
– Hazard recognition
– Overview of equipment
– Basic Ropework
– Knots and hitches
– Tie in methods and spacing
– Team size and how that affects security
– Moving as a team
– Strategies to increase security
– Crevasse Rescue
– Overview of incident response to a crevasse fall
– Snow anchors and load transfers
– Lowering systems
– Raising systems
– Rope ascending and descending
WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR:
This course is suitable for both skiers/riders and climbers as the fundamental skills are shared. Students are required to have mountaineering experience. You must have experience using an ice axe and crampons. If you do not have mountaineering experience, please take an Intro to Mountaineering course with us or equivalent before taking this course.
THE ALPENGLOW DIFFERENCE
With countless expeditions to high-altitude peaks around the world over the last 15 years, we bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to our beloved “home mountain”. Our teaching and guiding philosophy has been honed from the flanks of the Himalayan giants to the technical peaks of Peru, and we are beyond excited to be able to bring our program to this fantastic mountain. In addition to our international expedition roots, we are accredited by the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), being one of the very few guide services in the region to hold such a high standard. Each of our guides is trained by the AMGA in the terrain in which they operate, and the program is supervised by internationally licensed IFMGA mountain guides. This high standard, along with our many years of experience, translates to a fantastic mountain adventure!
Alpenglow Expeditions operates under special use permit with the Tahoe, Eldorado, Inyo, Humboldt-Toiyable and Shasta-Trinity National Forests. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
