Winter Mountaineering & Advanced Crevasse Rescue (aka Intermediate Glacier Travel)

The application / REGISTRATION period is closed. AND THE ROSTER REFLECTS THE SELECTED CANDIDATES.

CURRICULUM

• Winter Mountaineering: emergency shelters, snow anchors, belaying, lowering, steep snow, gear management
• Advanced Crevasse Rescue: Higher mechanical advantages and efficiencies (5:1, 6:1, 7:1, 8:1, 9:1) for hauling/raising systems than that taught in the Basic curriculum (2:1 or 3:1)
• Small Party Rescue: Scene Size-up, making and executing a plan, releasable hitches, administering aid
• Glacier Travel: anchors and belaying in firm snow/ice, glacier navigation and terrain selection, trip planning 
• Leadership: leading a rope team on glacier climb, techniques for rope management and moving efficiently, working with basic students and peers
• 2-person glacier travel: Rope setup, traveling techniques, and solo crevasse rescue

Course lectures, Workshop, field trips & experience trips:

• Kick-off: Socializing. Basic skills check & review (knots, rope ascension, 2:1 or 3:1 hauling system on a 3-person rope team.
• Lectures: These will be held on The Mountaineers' coassemble platform. You will be added to it once registered and can take them asynchronously. The topics for lectures are:
  • Theory  on gear and systems (to be completed before FT1)
  • 2-person glacier travel techniques (to be completed before FT2)
  • Trip Planning & Leadership (to be completed before Workshop)
• Workshop: Students will be divided into small groups to do trip planning and navigate some leadership topics for execution.
• Field Trips (FT):
  • FT 1: Top site belays and lowering, releasing tie-offs to escaping the system, mechanical advantages
  • FT 2: 2-person glacier travel practicing setting up the rope and doing self-rescue with desired mechanical advantage
  • FT 3: Small Party Rescue - Helping a second rope team in crevasse rescue with desired mechanical advantages
• Experience Trips (ET):
  • ET1: Winter camping, touring, snow belays, lowering and rappels on steep terrain, winter gear use, trip planning execution
  • ET2: In Spring conditions practice rope lead & rope management, navigating crevasses, and rescue scenarios in a crevasse

This module is one of the 6 Intermediate course modules. To learn more about the intermediate program visit the Seattle Intermediate webpage.

This course is the pre-requisite course to becoming a rope leader on glacier climbs for The Mountaineers.
This course also prepares you with the fundamentals of winter glaciated mountaineering trips, safe traveling techniques, systems for 2-person travel, and executing rescues.