Critical Skills
Knots:
Knot-tying is an inherent part of roped climbing, and you and your partner’s safety depend on your ability to tie appropriate knots correctly, and to recognize correctly tied knots. The following knots are required for the Basic Rock & Glacier Climbing Course.
Knots
Mule knots: Münter mule, Device slip half hitch
Bends
Friction hitches
Other hitches
10 E's:
Navigation (compass & map)
a. Compass requirements: The Mountaineers Navigation Course has compass requirements (adjustable declination, sighting mirror, etc.) so be sure to check with that program when purchasing your compass. GPS and altimeter not required.
Sun protection (sunglasses, sunscreen)
Insulation (extra clothing)
Illumination (head lamp & extra batteries)
First-aid supplies (mountaineering oriented kit)
Fire (matches & fire starter)
Repair kit (knife, duct tape, zip ties, etc.) - knife is minimum requirement
Nutrition (extra food)
Hydration (extra water)
Emergency shelter (e.g. space blanket, tarp, emergency bivy)
Glacier Travel
Roped Glacier Travel
Rope Spacing- General rule of thumb for Cascade Glaciers:
10 minus number of climbers on the rope team = # of arm lengths distance between climbers.
e.g. 10 - 3 climbers = 7 arm lengths of rope between each climber.
Kiwi Coil
Used for front and end climbers on rope
Prusiking
This video on prusiking shows how to prusik up the rope and get yourself out of a crevasse. In situations where you are injured or unable to prusik out, your teammates will need to rescue you, a skill you will learn and start practicing at FT2 and on. This has a couple advanced techniques so for now just get comfortable with the basic setup and get good at it so you always have that in your toolkit.
If you fall into a crevasse and are conscious and able, you should immediately start trying to rescue yourself by prusiking up the rope and out of the crevasse. As shown in the videos above on how to rope up for glacier travel, you will already have prusiks attached to your rope before you start climbing.
Pack drop: Girth hitch a double sling through your top pack loop. Once you have ascended a short distance, clip the double sling to the extra rope between you and your prusiks and gently drop your pack by slowly letting out the double sling.
IMPORTANT: Prusiking is extremely physical and requires upper body strength and good fitness. Every year, some students struggle with their Prusiking test only due to their fitness level. You must be fit enough to do this essential rescue technique as a climber.
Snow Anchors
Types of Anchors
Deadman (T-trench anchor): bury as deep as it's length, carve out trench for sling
Vertical mid-clip: Preferred initial anchor, place 10-15 degrees back from load, perp from snow surface
Vertical top-clip: Ideal for running belays, place 25 degrees back from load, perp from snow surface
Anchor Systems
Remember SERENE Principles
You will generally create a vertical mid-clip for your initial anchor with a deadman (t-trench) back-up
Angle formed between sling attachments should be be less than 60 degrees
Each anchor piece should be in different places so if one fails the surrounding snow won't affect the other
Crevasse Rescue
Crevasse Rescue Process
Step 1. Set up a secure anchor system
Step 2. Communicate with the fallen climber & teammates
Step 3. Devise a rescue plan. (Self-rescue/prusiking, direct haul, 2:1/C-Pulley, 3:1 (can be added onto 2:1 or done independently as a z-pulley)
Step 4. Carry out the plan.
Ice Axe Arrest
You will learn to self-arrest from 4 different positions. Read this REI article's section called "Self-Arrest From Four Different Positions" (scroll to bottom of article).
On stomach, head uphill
On back, head uphill
On back, head downhill
On stomach, head downhill
Alpine Rock Climbing
Rock Anchors
There are many different ways to create good anchors (remember SERENE principals), some examples of common anchors are listed below. Note that while Quad and Sliding X anchors are commonly seen on bolted anchors, you can create these same type of anchors with trad gear or with natural anchors, as well.
Fixed (Bolted) Anchors
Quad Anchor (article about a poorly built anchor + AMGA video on how to build a quad)
Removable (Trad) Anchors
3 Piece Trad Anchor (equalette shown in first demo of the video, only watch through 1:20)
3 Piece Trad Anchor w/ 2 Slings (sliding x with limiting knots)
Natural Anchors
This video shows what kind of rock & natural features you can use for protection while climbing. Similarly, you can create anchors around these types of features so long as you assess it's integrity (is it strong, are there any cracks or weaknesses in the rock).
Tree Anchor w/ Basket Hitch (you can create this with cordelette or webbing)
Tree Anchor with Cord (shown below)
Belaying
Top Rope Belaying
Lead Belaying
Preparing to Belay: Anchoring In
Belay Escape (Leader Tie-Off)
Ben demonstrates the leader tie-off, the current Mountaineers' practice for "escaping the belay." Other organizations may practice it differently; there are several safe ways to execute this operation.
In what situations might you need to implement this sequence? It looks complex -- and it is! -- but when you break it down, it's really just a few knots and hitches that are used to transfer the weight of the climber onto a backup, then onto the anchor, so you can unweight the belayer. Think of systems from a purpose perspective, and break them into components, and they get a lot easier!
LIVE FT 6 Leader Tie-Off Pics.pptx2019 Leader Tie-Off.mp4Extended Rappel
Multi-Pitch Transitions
In this course you are expected to do the following on a climb:
Proficiently lead belay your climber.
Proficiently remove gear as you climb.
Clove or PA (personal anchor) yourself into the anchor once you reach the next anchor/belay station.
Transition all of the pro you collected back to your leader. Help ensure all the alpine slings you gathered on your climb up are re-slung (see this article).
Help maintain good rope management, take the rope back from your lead climber, handle with care so you don't have to re-flake at every transition.
Set-up to lead belay your leader for the next pitch.