Ice-travel training on Sir Sandford glacier Dispatch from Morgan Beasley — July 24, 1997
First we walked from base camp to the toe of the glacier, which is a moderate half-hour walk. Once we got to the glacier, we set down our packs and got out our crampons. Del gave us a short instruction on the use and care of crampons. Then we headed out onto the glacier. The glacier was not snow-covered or "dry," leaving all the crevasses — holes going down to the base of the glacier — uncovered or bridged. As we made our way up the glacier we were constantly having to pick a narrow pass through the crevasses. When we reached the ice fall at the top of the glacier — this is a broken-up stretch of the glacier that is impossible to get through (for us anyway) — we practiced walking on steep ice underneath seracs (a pinnacle or tower of ice) and crevasses of the ice fall. We then descended to the toe of the glacier where Judd had prepared a running belay course for us to practice running belay on. Running belay is where there are fixed anchors with carabiners to clip into the rope along the path. As you ascend on your rope team, you clip in and out of these anchors. They provide protection in case you fall in a crevasse or on a steep ascent. The hardest part of the day was learning self-arrest. Judd, John, and Del demonstrated self-arrest. Del was tied to Judd and John, and they would start running and falling and then yank Del off her feet. She would immediately go into self-arrest position, planting the tip of her ice axe into the snow and stopping Judd and John in their tracks. We all practiced self-arrest and were dragged to the snow by John, Judd, and Del. We then returned to base camp for a restful evening of planning for the next day and taking a little break.
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