Ruth Glacier Seminar: Delaney & Team Enjoy Sunshine and Crevasse Rescue Training
Posted by: Jack Delaney, Mike Bennett
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Alaska Seminar
Elevation: 4,500'
Sunday, May 7, 2023, 10:01 pm PT
Be very quiet…we’re hunting for crevasses!
Today we took our skills out into the wild, to test ourselves against the Ruth Glacier. No we didn’t walk around until someone fell in, we instead wandered through the maze of crevasses looking for the perfect one to safely lower someone into and haul them out of. The intricacies and difficulties of crevasse rescue don’t fully translate practicing on flat ground. Our biggest challenge was finding a crevasse that wasn’t drifted full of snow from the last storm and subsequent winds. After a lot of weaving and winding through the broken edge of the Ruth we finally found one that was a little more open than the rest. We sent RMI guide Mike Bennet in as our guinea pig to see if the snow floor could be collapsed and our crevasse deepened. Surprisingly the snow floor was deep and solid, so we made due with the 25 feet of snow wall we had available. The team performed admirably and even dialed in a second crevasse rescue system known as the “Drop C”. By midafternoon the sky was blue and the sun was hot and the team had completed training. We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging and organizing
for our move to high camp tomorrow!
Beunos noches,
RMI Guides Jack, Mike and the team
Comments (1)
Hi all!
I’m trying again to post. Sunshine and crevasse rescue. What a day. Enjoy your trip!
Susan
Posted by: Susan on