How's your Glacier Travel Skills with Skis/Board?

I imagine the answer is no but I'm going to ask anyway: Could I join the field practice on the Nisqually without attending the mid-week workshops? <br>

<br><br>Jeff - thanks for your interest. The answer is no. The course isn't set up to support "at home learning" for the workshops. We use the workshops to assess if the students understand the techniques well enough to be safe on the glacier.

i would like to chime in (this is not an ad, btw).<br><br>this will be my fourth year participating in the course. (the first year i was a student, then i came back the following years to volunteer as an instructor.) before taking the course, i "cluelessly" wandered onto several glaciers without understanding the risks involved.  fortunately though, my experiences were uneventful. but had an accident occurred, i would not have been prepared to deal with it, both in knowledge and experience.  a friend of mine brought the course to my attention.  i decided to take it because in the past i had put the time into taking avalanche/backcountry classes, as well as learning the proper techniques in climbing, so i figured that learning how to safely travel across a glacier wouldn't hurt.  in the end, it was worth every penny and more!<br><br>anyway, the Mountaineer's GTCR course was eye-opening.  i learned that rescuing a victim requires a tremendous amount of coordination and work.  that concept was completely foreign to me until i got to experience it for myself.  hauling someone out of a hole requires teamwork, knowledge and experience. the GTCR course gave me a chance to find that out, but in a controlled situation. also, it was especially humbling when i was lowered into a crevasse in the Nisqually Glacier -- i'll never forget the first time i was lowered and suspended inside of a deep and dark freezer and had to attempt self-rescue.  i don't ever want to fall into one of these:<br><br> <br><br>so for me, the class gave me the opportunity to learn first hand the risks of glacier travel and how to minimize/avoid them.  it gave me some confidence. it prepared me with the knowledge and experience to deal with an emergency situation.  additionally, i learned basic glacier travel techniques (e.g., route finding), knots, building anchors, self-arrest, how to use my gear, etc.  in my opinion, the need to take this course is the same as the need to take an avalanche course to familiarize oneself with the risks of avalanches and how to be safe.  since i enjoy skiing/climbing on glaciers, it made perfect sense to take it.<br><br>overall, the course was worth every penny, and i volunteer each year as a way to keep what i've learned fresh in my mind.  also, it's a good way to meet/connect with people who share the same interests.  i think Dale, Darryl, Ron, Jeanette, Tom, Gerry, and others from the Mountaineers have done a wonderful job putting the course together. please consider taking it.<br><br> click here for photos from past field trips <br><br>i have a 15-minute video that shows a typical rescue scenario involving three skiers on a glacier and one skier falls into a hole while the other two perform the rescue.  it's a home-video (i.e., low quality) and i'll post it up soon for those interested to download.<br><br>-kam  <br>

Jeff - thanks for your interest.  The answer is no.

<br>That is perfectly understandable. Thanks for entertaining the question.

Kam - interesting hearing your story on the GT class... and GREAT pics. <br>So is Greg the only one of us that's signing up?

I've been mostly lurking on the board for the last couple of years. <br><br>Anyways, my boyfriend and I are both registered for the course

That's great. ultragrrl. We'll look forward to meeting you both.<br>You know it hasn't been very many years ago when MadDog was the only female instructor helping with the course. It's good to see the gender imbalance equalizing in this course. Females add a lot of needed balance to a bc ski group.<br>Amy, mentioned yesterday that she's signed up, too.