Crevasse Rescue

The CL: Crevasse Rescue badge is valid for 3 years. It is required for any B-E level climb involving glacier travel.

Every three years, Mazama climb leaders are required to participate in a crevasse rescue training or recertification session, serve as a participant, instructor, or instructor evaluator for a Mazama ICS or other Mazamas-organized crevasse rescue class, or as a participant, instructor or instructor evaluator for a crevasse rescue Skill Builder. Note that in order to teach at an ICS field session, they need you to attend the lecture for that field session. Currently for Crevasse Rescue, at a minimum, that means attend the hauling lecture and instruct in a hauling field session.

Next crevasse rescue CL recert dates

Other upcoming Mazamas crevasse rescue classes (that may meet CL recert requirement)

Simplified Crevasse Rescue

2021-2022 ICS class’ changed it's focus for Crevasse Rescue - KISS!

Current ICS curriculum

Important points for what is now emphasized in ICS:

Put in an anchor and transfer the weight onto it [no load releasable hitch!] and put in a backup knot/hitch if you used a prussik.
Where the anchors are isn’t critical, since you’re not hauling on the fallen climber’s line
Get to climber using the backside of the rope off of the anchor, while protecting yourself
The “go to” method is a 2:1 (drop loop) on that backside of the rope
Allows easy lip preparation
Add 3:1 onto the drop loop if need more mechanical advantage
ALWAYS maintain contact with the fallen climber while hauling
SERENE and EARNEST acronyms aren’t taught, just “Strong, Simple, Secure”

Nothing that we’d previously taught is “wrong” - it’s just that the emphasis has changed, based on real-world experience and research. We’re attempting to adopt the safer practices embraced by the American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA).

Notes from Leora

From Leora, LD Coordinator, and Acting Coordinator for CLCE

Subject: For those of you expecting to do climbs on mountains with crevasses.

I think that it’s important that anyone doing a “crevasse rescue refresher” on a mountain (say, Rainier) know the last ICS class’ focus of how to do crevasse rescue, because if you do a load releasable hitch, and set up a Z on that fallen climber’s rope, your recent ICS grads will likely have no idea what you are doing and why, even though it’s a valid and effective method.

ICS has moved to another method that we’ve always discussed and is what AMGA has embraced, which is, while protecting yourself at all times, start with a drop C off of the “back” end (rescue coils end) of the rope off of the backup knot for the friction knot onto which the load of the fallen climber was transferred. If more mechanical advantage is needed, add it to that drop C. While we all talked about this method in the past, not so many people practiced it. It now is the main scenario with NO talk of load releasable friction hitches, nor much discussion of hauling the person up, directly, on the side of the rope on which they are hanging, although it was practiced at the MMC.

The Drop Loop is called the C-pulley and Canadian Drop-Loop System and is discussed (briefly) on pp. 99-100, and on pp. 104-106, in Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue 2nd Edition, 1999, by Andy Selters. It’s called the “C drop” and illustrated on pages 116-117 in Glacier Mountaineering – An Illustrated Guide to Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue by Andy Tyson and Illustrated by Mike Clelland.

The AMGA videos are an excellent resource. This is the playlist for the set for alpine climbing. Videos 1 - Snow anchors, 2 - Load transfer to Anchor, 4 - Crevasse Lip Prep/Climber check, and 5 - Hauling are particularly relevant.

Having watched your colleagues practice these newly emphasized approaches, it’s clear that practice is essential. And, yes, I know that we don’t have another CR recert on the calendar, yet. Yes, we’re seeking out that Continuing Education coordinator position on the Climbing Committee! Let us know if you’re interested!

Leora (LD manager, who has also been trying to fill that Continuing Education coordinator position, but not doing a very good job at it. . .)

Link to Google Doc that was resource for this page.

So, where can you see what ICS is teaching? The ICS lecture section has all of the slides for all of the lectures, followed by all of the links to all of the recorded lectures. Because the demos didn’t come out in large format, it will be best to focus on the slides below for the haul systems and the AMGA videos below the slides for hauling a climber out of a crevasse.

From ICS 2021-22 Crevasse Rescue Lectures

Slides - Part 1

Slide 5: “Important Points” emphasizes never hauling unless in contact with fallen person
Slide 12: ABCDE mnemonic
Slide 18:
- “Strong, Simple, Secure” (used rather than “SERENE” or “EARNEST”) anchor
- “friction hitch (if needed!)
- Hard backup” (rather than “load releasable knot” and “temporary” backup knot)
Slides 19 & 20: Discussion of where to place the anchor, friction hitch only needed if it’s below middle climber!

Crevasse Rescue Part 1

Recorded Lecture - Part 1

(corresponding recorded lecture starts at ~1:01:45)

GlacierTravel_CR1.mp4

Slides - Part 2

Slide 11: “Drop Loop/Drop Line” (aka “Drop C”)
Slide 12: discussion of progress capture used with the drop Loop approach.
Slide 16: shows Drop Line
Slide 17: show Drop Loop
Slide 19: shows the systems that were actually practiced (Drop Loop and Drop Line, plus extra Mechanical Advantage)
Slide 24: spiffy new gear that makes progress capture hauls easy peasy

(corresponding recorded lecture)

Crevasse Rescue Part 2

The astute observer will notice that our tried and true Z system on the fallen climber’s line is actually discussed on Slide 15 in the 2nd slide deck, and it was practiced in the MMC, but definitely not emphasized, so the likelihood of the students remembering it is pretty low. It also is just for when the rope hasn’t cut into the side of the crevasse, which isn’t very often in the places where we practice it.

Recorded Lecture - Part 2

(corresponding recorded lecture)

CR2.mp4

AMGA + OR Series on Crevasse Rescue

Below are the AMGA videos referenced above.

Why does the drop loop help?

The rope does get cut into the lip
The person in the crevasse needs to be checked on before hauling, they may need help getting attached to the system

A few more points:

Keeping someone near the crevasse lip to communicate with and assist the climber over the lip during the haul operation. One way of doing this is having the edge person be attached to the climber's strand of rope, which isn't moving. Another option is tying a knot into the rope to secure oneself, or the haulers. This person can be the relay for the person in the crevasse. When the climber gets the lip, this person can help them over.
Place a knot in the climber's strand to move the system closer to the lip, with the anchor farther away, if needed for the situation, amount of rope available

Video: How to rope up for glacier travel

This video was part of BCEP 2022 and ICS 2021-2022 curriculums.

This video contains:

tie in middle of the rope as alpine butterfly or figure-8 knot
spacing on a rope: 10 - # climbers = # of arm spans between each climber
how to coil a rope for travel, with tie in to end of rope, coil, catch all strands and go through belay loop, then overhand knot of rope to other climbers, figure 8 tie-in to make it easier to escape system for crevasse rescue.

Video 1: how to build a snow anchor

Video 2 - load transfer to anchor

Video 4 - crevasse lip check/prep, climber check

Video 5 - hauling

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