Glacier Skiing/Snowboarding and Crevasse Rescue

Our gracious host, Charles, authorized me to post the following Mountaineers' course description.

A glacier skiing/snowboarding and crevasse rescue course will be offered for Mountaineer members in March 2007. 

The course is for those with competent backcountry skiing or snowboarding skills who desire to safely travel on glaciers and to perform crevasse rescues.  This course includes 4 work shops and an overnight field trip at Mt. Rainier where the students will practice roped travel and crevasse rescues.  The course provides instruction on: route finding, traveling and camping on glaciers, belaying, prusiking, and crevasse rescue systems.

The crevasse rescue training is conducted on the Nisqually Glacier at Mt. Rainier.  The "victims" of the crevasse falls are lowered into crevasses with their sliding equipment and packs.  The victims secure their equipment and prusik up the rope while their rescuers practice hauling them out of the crevasse using the z pulley, c pulley and Canadian drop loop pulley systems.

More information about registering for the course is on the Mountaineers' web site .

Instructors of the course can participate in two other training activities. 

The first is a one day crevasse rescue techniques investigation field trip conducted at the Glacier Skiing/Snowboarding and Crevasse Rescue field trip.  Field trip participants investigate alternative crevasse rescue techniques such as clearing the crevasse lip unassisted, middle person rescue, and multiple rope team rescue.

The second is a one workshop and one day field trip in August 2007 for those backcountry skiers and snowboarders with competent crevasse rescue skills who desire to lead glacier trips, plan routes, safely travel on glaciers and perform adaptive crevasse rescues.  The participants volunteer to lead discussions and practices of route planning, route finding, roped travel and adaptive crevasse rescue scenarios that interest them.  Some of the adaptive crevasse rescue scenarios that have been conducted are two person rope team rescues, rappelling to and rescuing a disabled victim, and multiple pulley system rescues.


Thank-you, Charles.

Great course description, Darryl.

But you failed to toot your horn, even a little

It seems to me folks need to know a bit more about the quality of this course.
As to my own personal experience, it was probably the best, the most informative, the most valuable class I ever took. Worth by far, much more than the time and money I spent to take it. It is one of the reasons I return every year to help pass the info and skills on to others.

A student once told me that this is the only class in the world where skiers and snowboarders can get crevasse rescue training that specifically deals with how to deal with crevasse falls when roped glacier travelers are climbing with skis, splitboards and snowshoes on their feet. Well, I'm not much of a world traveler, so I don't know how true that is. What I do know is that falling into a crevasse with skis on presents a whole new set of challenges. If one hasn't gone through the process and made the necessary "tweaks" to one's thinking and one's gear, dealing with all that sliding equipment while hanging at the end of a rope after being jostled around in a crevasse fall can be a daunting task. I believe the opportunity to practice that alone is worth the price of the course even to the most experienced glacier climber.

And that must be true, because every year, not only do we get skiers and riders that don't know one end of a rope from the other (like me ) but we get folks signing up with extensive prior glacier travel and mountain guiding experience. Many of them come back and help make up the mainstay of the instructor force. They are one of the reasons the course continues to improve, year after year.

For many of you that may not know this course was started some 15 or so years by Dale Rankin, who continues to help with the course on a limited basis. A few years ago he turned over the reins to Darryl, who now leads the course, and pushes all that participate to continue to improve the course as new advances are made and techniques improved upon.

Oh, and a word to the wise, if you're just "thinking about it" and intend to get around to clicking on Darryl's link above and looking into it... be advised the course is conducted only once each year and it's enrollment is limited to 25 students. Each year we get several folks that snooze a bit too long and then find that the course if full by the time they get around to signing up. I'd suggest if you want to do it you take the advice on the Scotsman's sig line and "Do it Now"

I suspect there are others out there that have gone through this course that may agree with my assessment when I went through it.
Would you care to give us your impression of the course? How 'bout some of your cool crevasse pictures (Kam?)?

I can not hope to be as articulate as Mr. Jarvis but I certainly can attest to the quality of the course. Aside from the aforementioned benefits it is a great way to meet other competent skiers and boarders interested in safety and skills.

It certainly gave me a issue to consider as to who was one the other end of my rope after realizing the challenges of getting out of a hole skis on or not..........

great course great deal great group of folks

CW

I can not hope to be as articulate as Mr. Jarvis    but I certainly can attest to the quality of the course.

Charles, IMO you have demonstrated one of the most important and sought after writing traits of all: brevity... one which seems to elude me regularly 

Here's one of my favorite pictures from the glacier travel class field trips:
http://lh3.google.com/ron.jarvis/RVDgyzgfABI/AAAAAAAAACo/YkgmeVwJ4Q8/19%20Miller%20Time.jpg?imgmax=512

More field trip pictures HERE .

Anyone else care to comment on the merits of the class?

All of the above is true. Glacier Travel Class is unique, practical, and constantly updated, not to mention a chance to meet mythical TAY'ers like ron j.

Those participating for the first time this year are in for a treat; the new 9mm x 35m ropes are a (relative) joy to carry up the hill!

Here's some pictures from last year and 2005