TREKKING ON GLACIER: PROGRESSION AND SAFETY
EQUIPMENT
Boots
- high enough to protect the ankles (twisted and bruises)
- waterproof
- suitable for crampons
- gaiters (tight fitting)
Crampons
- 10 points
- made by steel
- tying system (classic, semiautomatic, automatic)
- antibott
Ice axe and/or sticks
- head and pick made by steel
- classic form
- height as such you can comfortably used it to lean as stick
- leash
- sticks with pick
Low harness
- minor traumatic risk in case of fall
- more comfortable (suspension, garb)
- wearable with crampons
Rope
- entire
- length 30 – 50 meters
Other
spare ropes
- 3 spare rope loops ready
- kevlar (Ř 6 mm) or nylon (Ř 7 mm)
- short loop – with approximately 150 cm of spare rope
- long loop – with approximately 300 cm of spare rope
- double english knot
carabiners
- two per person
- 1 with screwgate and 1 without
ropeman with screwgate carabiner
- as an alternative spare rope loop for self-blocking with screwgate carabiner
belay plate with two screwgate carabiners
pulley with carabiner
ice anchors
- 2 for the first and 1 for the last
- with carabiner
snow anchor
- 1 for the first and 1 for the last
- with carabiner with screwgate
INDIVIDUAL TECNIQUE
Crampons utilization
- head-on and diagonal progression, flat points
- walk with legs slightly apart for not stumbling with the crampons in the gaiters
- walking diagonally go deep into with all the crampons points in a flat way
- in descent trunk flex onward, half-bend legs, tiptoe slightly opened
Ice-axe utilization
- leaning on it as stick
- ice-axe clasp on the head, pick onward
- walking diagonally clasp with the hand facing the mountain
- in the descent clasp with the pick pointed to the mountain
- crossed movement: move the ice-axe contemporary to the opposite foot
- on difficult terrain move one art at the time: move the ice-axe when the opposite foot is already advanced, 2 steps – ice-axe – 2 steps – ice-axe
Direction reverse face facing the mountain
- arrived to the end of a diagonal, place yourself facing the mountain, feet as duck walking
- change hand on the ice-axe while you are opposite to the slope, matching hands on the ice-axe head
- restart going up again towards the new direction
HOW TO WRAP THE ROPE
- rope in the sack
- double knot on the head at 1 meter from the end
- put the rope into the sack
HOW TO LASH YOURSELF
on the head of the rope with chased 8 knot
on intermediate point
- far-between eyelet with simple knot and double “bulino” knot
- the “bulino” eyelet fixed with carabiner to the harness service loop
with self-blocking
- bidirectional machard tight with screwgate carabiner
- ropeman with screwgate carabiner
- always safety eyelet facing the mountain from the machard or ropeman
loops over the shoulder
- the rope comes out under the shoulder
- loops with the same length
- loops blocked with “bulino” knot and carabiner
how to slash yourself
- you start from the middle of the rope
- the first and the last slash themselves just at the right distance from the other eventual components
- rope in excess goes in the rucksack (first and last, sack)
THE ROPE-PARTY
Distance among the components
- you create the rope-party starting from the middle
- 2 rope-party: 8 meters
- 3 rope-party: 5 meters
- 4 or more rope-party: 5 meters (between the first and the second), then 3 meters
Ball knot
- 2 rope-party: 2 knots (3m – knot – 2m – knot – 3m)
- 3 rope-party: 1 knot between 2 components (3m – knot – 2m)
- 4 or more rope-party: 1 knot between the first and the second (3m – knot – 2m)
Glacier spare rope
- spare rope loop (eventually expressly made for release)
- just the first and the last
- ready on the rope (self-blocking machard), held to the harness (not in the hand)
Progression
- progression together: alternatively there are parts where everybody progress simultaneously with small rope pitches (passing over crevasses)
- tight rope among each component
- far-between eyelet always tight onward (flat terrain) or towards high (ascent and descent)
- not! Rope loops in the hand
- rope-party leading facing the mountain whether ascending or descending
- during a zigzag ascent or descent, rope always facing the valley and ice-axe facing the mountain
Simultaneous progression: all the components move contemporary paying attention that the rope would be always tight; not! Rope loops in the hand, but tight rope between harness and harness
Pith progression: in the critical points (complex crevasses, and delicate snow bridges); prepare a belaying anchorage (pitons or snow anchorage) and belay the passage of each component with the different belay methods, and self-belaying on the belaying anchorage
SELF-RESCUE
- fall into a crevasse: lock of the mate fall
- anchorage preparation (glacier spare rope)
- recover from crevasse with a fast block, double block or triple block
TRICKS
- learn how to prepare the rucksack putting everything inside (rope and crampons) and fixing the ice-axe properly
- when you are on glacier have the ice-axe in your hand or behind the back and take off the protections
- learn how to use the ice-axe without leash
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21/05/2008
Author
Cesare Cesa Bianchi
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