Alpine Rescue Course

Difficulty: 3/5​
Departure time-Return time: 0700-1800 ​
Meeting location: Northwest Adventure Center ​
Cost: $225 (Adults 16+)​

​This is a one-day, crevasse rescue course within a short drive of JBLM. We cover all the basic skills required to arrest a fall, build a solid snow anchor, and then extricating a climber from a crevasse. The course focuses on the elements of technical rescue and touches briefly on self-arrest. We will also discuss strategies for single rescuer crevasse rescue and teach methods using both simple rescue gear such as prussic cord, slings, and cordelette and more advanced tools such as auto-locking belay devices, mini traxions, and other devices using some form of camming.​
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Many take this as a review in preparation for a climb involving glacier travel, but the course is suitable for people without previous crevasse rescue experience. This is taught in snow, but we intentionally do not use a real crevasse as the hike to/from the crevasse would use much of the training time.​

​Skills Covered in Crevasse Rescue Course ​

•  Pre-rigging​

•  Chest Harnesses​

•  Knots & Hitches: prussic, klemheist, autoblock, clove, figure 8 family​

•  Stopping Crevasse Falls: self-arrest, knotted climbing rope​

•  Snow & Ice Anchors: pickets, deadman & t-slots, snow & ice bollards​

•  Elements of an ERNEST Anchor​

•  Escaping the Belay​

•  Securing the Load Strand: rope & sling vs. mechanical device​

•  Rappelling into Crevasse w/ a Backup​

•  Securing Victim​

•  Climbing out of Crevasse: simple & mechanical systems​

•  Raising Systems: surface C (2:1), drop C (2:1), Z (3:1), 5:1 & 6:1​

•  Calculating Load: toward victim & toward anchor​

•  Lowering w/ a backup​

•  Use of Ditch Loops on Heavy Packs​

​Max participants: 10​

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