Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue Training

Updated:
December 12, 2024

Join us in April at the Gunstock Recreation Area for Our Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue Training

Overall Weekend Curriculum

7:30 – 8:00
Participant check-in, sign waiver form and gear loan
Layout “C” and “Z” systems on snow for visual review

8:00
Workshop Introduction – AMC Workshop Announcement
Thank Sponsors & Introduce Instructors
Goals for the weekend with recap at 3:30

8:15
Break into Teams with each pair of Instructors
Instructors Distribute “team gear” (ropes, pickets, etc)
Group introductions and Instructors brief review of activities

8:30 – 3:00
Individualized Team Training

All groups will review and practice Self Arrest skills

3:30
Rally up and Recap the day
Recover all gear loaned to participants
Check-in AMC Mountaineering “team gear” (ropes, pickets, etc)
Participants complete course review/feedback form

Participants – bring the following gear if you have it:

  • helmet
  • harness
  • 3 large locking carabiners (screwlock)
  • mountaineering ice axe
  • prussic ropes
  • A few helmets, harnesses, crampons, and ice axes are available on a first-come basis. Let us know if you will need any of these items.

Participants should come prepared to spend the entire day in the field. You should plan to have weather appropriate clothing, food/snacks & two or three liters of water in your pack. You will be on the snow all day, so bring sunglasses & sunscreen. This will help ensure you are comfortable, so you can focus on learning & having a fun experience.

Required equipment/clothing (minimum):

  • Mountaineering Boots (no Sorels or “soft shell” boots)
  • Crampons pre-fitted to your boots
  • Insulating layers (top and bottom)
  • Water-repellant shell (top and bottom)
  • Gloves/Mittens/Liners
  • Hat (with neck protection)
  • Sunscreen
  • Sunglasses or Glacier glasses
  • Helmet
  • Harness with adjustable leg loops
  • 3 large locking carabiners (preferably screwlock)
  • Mountaineering axe
  • Inexpensive (disposable?) shell top/pants for self-arrest practice

Self-arrest practice is very hard on shell gear. You should plan on bringing inexpensive shell gear for self-arrest training.

Your climbing helmet and harness should fit over the layers you plan to wear. Please adjust them in advance to ensure trouble-free use in the field. Your crampons should be properly fitted to the boots you will be wearing. You should bring 3 large locking carabiners. If you have an ice axe, bring it. Prussic ropes will be provided. If you have your own, please bring them. If you have additional climbing gear, feel free to bring it, and we will consult with you what may be appropriate to bring into the field.

Check the weather for Gilford New Hampshire in advance to be prepared with appropriate gear and clothing for the forecasted weather.

Reminder: a few helmets, harnesses, crampons, and ice axes are available on a first-come basis. Let us know if you will need any of these items.

The goals of the 2-day Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue Weekend Workshop are to train participants to be members of a roped team for glacier travel. This includes participating in the construction of snow anchors and basic hauling systems for crevasse rescue. Additionally, the workshop will provide opportunities for participants to achieve a higher level of confidence as active team members on a roped travel team, including additional training with hauling systems employing improvisation. The curriculum is designed to continually challenge participants with reinforcement of the skills using a progressive training method. Additionally, the instructors strive to provide participants with a “toolbox” of skills rather than a single specific skill or solution. Situational adaptation is key in the glaciated mountain environment.

Participants are expected to be familiar with a mountaineering harness, comfortable hiking with crampons properly fitted to their boots, and familiar with the use of an ice axe while traveling on steep slopes. Participants should also be familiar with the following knots: Figure 8, Prussic, and Butterfly.

This workshop has a prerequisite of satisfactory completion of the AMC-NH Introduction to Glacier Travel Workshop, or its equivalent. Commensurate field experience (guided climbing trips) may also be accepted at the discretion of the Workshop Director.

Workshop Topics

 

  • Glaciers and Glacier Travel – Route Finding & “Reading the Terrain”
  • Crampon Technique & Proper Footwork – Preventing slips and falls
  • Ice Axe – Proper Handwork and Balance for Self Belay
    • Leash Options
    • Uphill position (in hand)
    • Carrying on pack (between back and pack)
    • Self Arrest & Team Arrest
  • Roped Travel – Clip-in not Tie-in
    • Prussic tie in – which rope and why (middle team members)
    • Rhythm & Direction changes
    • Team Communication
    • Passing an Anchor
  • Knots – Prussic, Figure 8, Butterfly
    • Clove Hitch
    • Munter/mule (time permitting)
  • Rope Management
    • Team spacing (divide rope exercises)
    • Coils on end (carry-in or overpack as long as easily accessible)
    • Slack and Take-up
    • Rope as a “telegraph line” (team communication)
    • Carrying coils
    • Coiling while Belaying
  • Belay Techniques – Self, Waist, Boot, ATC (or equivalent devices)
  • Building Anchors and Keeping the Anchor Tidy
    • Anchor choices (picket, fluke, deadman, axe, pack, etc)
    • Picket placement
    • Main versus backup
    • Equalized
  • Crevasse Rescue – Brute Force (heave-ho!) or Enlist another team?
    • “C” system
    • “Z” system
    • Drop Loop
    • Devices (ATC, etc) and Improvisation
    • Reversing a Rescue System – Munter/mule (time permitting)