Crevasse Rescue and Glacier Travel

3-day program designed to teach you the basics of glacier travel and crevasse rescue.

Down Arrow
This is a 3-day program designed to teach you the basics of glacier travel and crevasse rescue. This course is scheduled during the summer season and can be arranged with custom dates. 
 
 
Program Details

 

Below are several videos by NCMG owners Jeff Ward and Larry Goldie. These videos highlight some of the techniques you will learn on your Crevasse Rescue and Glacier Travel Course and are a good reference to use in preparation for your course. You will be learning a lot of information on this course and the more prepared you are the more information you will retain.    

 

Crevasse Rescue: Transfer the Load from American Mountain Guides Assoc on Vimeo.

Crevasse Rescue: Backing Up a Picket from American Mountain Guides Assoc on Vimeo.

Crevasse Rescue: Prepping the Lip from American Mountain Guides Assoc on Vimeo.

Crevasse Rescue: Hauling from American Mountain Guides Assoc on Vimeo.

Itinerary

Day One: Depending on the conditions and time of year, there are several areas we may choose for this program. On the first day, we will hike into a base camp, set up camp and spend the afternoon on several topics.

These will include:

  • Various rope configurations
  • Roping up – How far apart
  • Tying off excess rope
  • Prussik systems
  • Ascending the rope
  • Snow anchors
  • Team rope travel

Day Two: We will use the previous day’s skills and venture out onto a glacier. We will discuss route finding and rope management. Touring around on the glacier will eventually lead us to a suitable crevasse for rescue practice. Here we will cover the following topics:

  • Probing for hidden crevasses
  • Arresting a crevasse fall
  • Multiple rescue and pulley systems; 2:1, 3:1, 6:1, 9:1 etc.
Students will have the majority of the day to practice crevasse rescue in a variety of teams. The most difficult being the two-person team where the entire rescue is performed by one person. We feel it is important to have each student run through this life-saving rescue procedure at least once.

Day Three: We will leave early for a final glacier tour with a student out front, route finding and managing the team.  There will be time for several students to have a turn on the front of the rope before heading down to break camp.  Back at camp we will debrief the morning’s tour and answer any remaining questions. Afterward we will pack up and hike out the trailhead.

Gear List
Glacier Travel Training
Available Guides
  • Profile picture for user Jeff Ward

    Jeff Ward

  • Profile picture for user Larry Goldie

    Larry Goldie

  • Profile picture for user Paul Butler

    Paul Butler

  • Profile picture for user Drew Lovell

    Drew Lovell

  • Profile picture for user Josh Cole

    Joshua Cole

  • Profile picture for user Steph Williams

    Steph Williams

  • Profile picture for user Ross Lindell

    Ross Lindell

  • Profile picture for user Nate Pakula

    Nate Pakula

Crevasse Rescue and Glacier Travel
Skills Required

To get the most out of a program like this it is important for climbers to arrive with some basic skills.  If you feel like you lack these skills consider adding an extra day before the start of this program to cover these core skills.

  • Basic snow climbing and descending techniques
  • Self-arrest
  • Use of crampons
  • Basic knots – figure eight, clove hitch, double fisherman’s
Crevasse Rescue and Glacier Travel