The Danger You Don't See

Big goggles, low helmets, long jackets, chunky poles and 'phat 'twin tip skis. The two boys of twenty are quick to dismiss those aro...

Big goggles, low helmets, long jackets, chunky poles and 'phat 'twin tip skis. The two boys of twenty are quick to dismiss those around them in the telepherique with titles like 'gaper', 'old boy' and 'punter'. These gents have been the kings of the mountain in every resort they have been to date: riding fast, riding switch, cutting up the 'big gay snakes' of learners and spinning 360's on piste side features.


definition from urban dictionary


There is nothing they can't ride, they'll do it fast and with style. This little lift up Chamonix's Aiguille du Midi won't be any different.


“Tink Tink”, “Tink Tink” there's a lot of weird gear going up in this bin. The 'old boy' Chamonix locals, with their grey stubble and faded duct tape jackets are all carrying big bags full of avalanche transceivers, shovels, snow probes, alpine rope, harnesses, ice screws and crampons; And that's the minimum!




Andy's usual glacier ski set up


Our two protagonists stand over the Midi's infamous arrete. A steep and narrow ridge running down from the ice tunnel of the Aiguille du midi, down to the valley beyond. Soon the Guides will equip the arrete with handrails to walk down their clients, but for now, parties rope up for the decent. The theory is that if one person falls, their attached partner will throw themselves in the direction of the opposite void in order to arrest their fall. Good in theory, except the western side drops away several hundred meters onto rock and the eastern side, one thousand meters in the direction of Chamonix.



Then the two youths do the bravest thing ...


...they turn around.


Its a response that doesn't get enough credit, and one that is not considered often enough in the Mountain. In fact, being able to say " not today" is one the better skills to have in your arsenal.


Had they continued, the prize for facing the daunting ridge is the magnificent Vallee Blanche. I've spoken about this savage and beautiful wilderness before. The arrete was just the beginning of the perils ahead that those two young boys avoided.

Robyn skiing the collection bowl below the Aiguille du Midi


At least the risk on the ridge is apparent; the real danger of the valley lies in the many crevasses: deep hidden cracks that run right into the depths of the glacier. 


Robyn, Andy and Alun riding beside an open crevasse field


Unfortunately, skiing and snowboarding are very cool things to do. The current popular trend is for people to venture outside of the piste markers and live the adventure of the back country. Add to the equation the high cost of skiing, leading the mountain to fill with people who get the opportunity to ski only once a year. The result is an increasing number of people heading into a very dangerous terrain in search of the glory, with little equipment and even less knowledge.


The scary ones are the ones you don't see. This is a crevasse I uncovered by breaking through with my foot. It is about two meters wide and potentially hundreds of meters deep. scary


Its been a terrible year in terms of snow, not just the low quantity available so far but also the overall stability.  Early snowfall followed by a long cold dry spell has resulted in a layer close to the base with very little cohesion. All over the alps, the accident and fatality rate associated to avalanches has been alarming. As we spend some time in the mountain, we train regularly in case of avalanche burial.

So in the name of further education, I went and threw myself down a few crevasses:

Hanging around in a large crevasse. The snow at the bottom is not the base, it is a 'snow bridge': an accumulation of snow that bridges the gap, its strength and thickness: unknown.

Anchors

In Summer we walk on naked glaciers roped together. In winter, it makes more sense to travel without rope, due to the nature of skiing. If someone does fall down a crevasse, we send a rope down to them an start the rescue operation.

The first port of call is to create a 'bombproof' anchor. In This case we used a balanced anchor  consisting of an ice screw into the glacier itself and a sling around a large semi submerged piece of moraine rock. We used Several tricks relating to the nature of snow and ice to ensure the strength of both anchors.

The lip of the crevasse must then be protected with a shovel or ice axe to stop the rope cutting its way into the ice and snow. without this, it can be very hard to get out at the top.


Rappelling in. It's a nervous feeling lowering on improvised anchors. It was at here that i uncovered the hidden crevasse shown earlier. its entrance can be seen between the two shadows

Self ascend

If the victim is in good shape, once a rope has been lowered, they can begin to climb out of the crevasse on their own accord, by making a mechanism out of ratcheting pulleys. The practice I had done, hanging off the front veranda of the house, paid off here and i was able to exit surprisingly quickly.



Making my way out solo

3:1 pulley rescue

If the victim is unresponsive or untrained, the rescue gets a little more complicated. 

After setting up the anchors, a rope is sent down to the victim. If they are in a bad way, one of the rescuers must abseil down to them to clip them in and check them out. After climbing out (by the method above) a pulley system must be set up at the surface to hoist them. 


Lee balancing anchors



Diagram from Petzl. 3:1 pulley crevasse rescue



We played around with a few variations and set-ups of gear. We learnt that more complicated pulley systems (e.g. 5:1) make lifting much easier, but are tediously slow and require a great deal of rope.



Lee and Andy pulling me out on a complicated 5:1 pulley



Andy and I hauling on a 3:1 pulley system


It was another great day of alpinism and safety training. Every time we train, i get hungry for more. I'm currently interested in an alpine first aid course (and would love suggestions if anybody has some).

We learnt that it pays to go out ready, that a glacier group should really consist of a minimum of four people and that the mountain is not our playground.  It really does deserve respect.

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