Bushwhacker March 2002
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T H E ALPINE CLUB OF CANADA, VANCOUVER ISLAND SECTION I SLAND BUSHWHACKER volume 30 * Issue 1 March, 2002 VI SECTION LEADERSHIP even started. He stressed a pace where DEVELOPMENT none are sweating and everyone is talking. The last 15 minutes are important for the leader to assess if A Week at the Summer Leadership participants enjoyed the climb and would consider coming back again. I Course August 2001 learned, when it was my turn as leader, to always keep an eye on the terrain, Jules Thomson and to make mental notes of members, I just want to give the prominent landmarks, the weather, and Hellomembership an idea of what it is good routes that could be used on the like to attend a leadership camp from my return to the camp. At the same time, I perspective. The trip started out with a long should observe the particpants and drive to Revelstoke with Anne and Rob, from how they were coping with the climb. Vancouver, for an overnight stay in Revelstoke. On the fourth day we hiked up into a The next morning we drove north of Revelstoke snow basin, to practice crevasse to the launching site. The helicopter ride was rescue. An easy way of dividing the short and sweet down a creek valley and over a rope up for glacier travel is to divide col and down onto the alluvial floodplain of the rope in half and tie a bite at the Windy creek in the Remillard range of the mid-point, then divide each remaining Sellkirk mountains. The floodplain was a vast section in half and put a bite into the flat sea of tents with a large tent for meals, a middle of those sections. Any tent for the ropes and a tent for books, maps remaining rope on the ends can be put Ridge Climbing in the Selkirks. Photo: J. Thomson and sign-up for the people attending the general into the climbers' packs for ready use mountaineering camp. when needed. We practiced crevasse On the second day we hiked out to a low rocky area and practiced rescue, snow school techniques of self-arrest, using crampons on ice, putting rock gear in and setting up anchors, and learning the new and placing ice screws. technique of short-roping. We reviewed the knots that the guides The fifth day we all split into groups again and did a major climb of prefer, the clove, the double fisherman, and the figure 8---technically rock or snow. I was lucky enough to lead up the Remillard Glacier the "munter" is not considered a knot, according to the guides, but through some gaping crevasses with an ice-axe in one hand and an they used it a lot. The 3 S's for tying into the harness ----secure, umbrella in the other. The temperatures were 30-35 degrees C, all safety, and speed. The guides were always on to us about efficiency week, with blue skies and not a cloud in sight. At the summit of and speed in getting ready, etc. The guides did not like bent -gate Remillard at 9455 feet [the map was in feet], we joyfully took summit carabiners for any mountaineering use, especially not in slings. They pictures while other climbers joined us looking fresh as the daisies in believe the bent- gate carabiner is best used for sport climbing only--- the alpine meadows below, with every hair in place, no sweat soaked that was the distinction they made. The 7 points to remember for shirts, and minimal packs. It seems that many a wealthy American-- setting up an anchor were set out in the word "Earnest": E for equal can I say that?---can afford to hire a helicopter to drop them off at the tension, A for angles less than 60 degrees, R for redundant, N & E toe of the glacier so they can just scamper up a shorter distance. Karl, for non-extended so that if one piece fails the whole anchor doesn't our guide for the day, was trying to talk them into giving us a come out, S for strong and T, once again, Timely. helicopter ride down but was not successful so we trudged back down The short-roping technique consisted of having about 2 meters of the glacier, down the snow ramp and over the avalanche area, across rope between two people with one person acting as a brake to catch the nasty, long, long, boulder field, and back to camp. The sixth day, any slip. This technique should be used when leading inexperienced no rest for the eager leadership participants, we climbed up to a flat people on terrain that is not too extreme. topped bump to practice rock rescue for the day, and to review our On our third day we divided into groups and went into the mountains compass and map use. The whole day was devoted to rock rescue with each participant taking the role as guide for the group. One of with each of us taking our turns at setting up a pulley, rescue system our guides stressed that the first and the last 15 minutes can "make or with minimal gear. The guides’ motto, "travel light"! break" a trip for the people in your group. The seventh day we were back groups for a free climb. We decided He pointed out that if the leader starts out with an extremely fast pace- to go back and do a ridge between two peaks and then climb the one --the slower people are " spent" and discouraged before the trip has peak "Craw", down a glacier, across a basin to Nadir col, down to Island Bushwhacker -1- Volume30 * Issue 1 Windy creek and back to tent city. The ridge points. If you ever get the chance to attend VANCOUVER ISLAND SECTION we chose had about 3 gendarmes, perched at this program in the future, TAKE IT. OF THE ALPINE CLUB OF CANADA an angle leaning to the east, that we had to To begin at the end, the last formal part of the get around. We managed to ride a long series course was a three on one evaluation of our of aretes "au cheval", then we came to a leadership skills with the guides/instructors: gendarme with a little shelf on the left side, Peter Amann, Brad Harrison and Cyril but with the wall bulging out with the intent Shokoples. The reference to art came up of pushing anyone crazy enough to be on the several times during the week. I consider shelf, off. We decided to take our packs off, myself artistic and creative in many ways and clip them to the rope and shuffle across, very appreciated the portrayal of traveling in the ungracefully, on our derrieres along the shelf, winter environment as an art. Using the with our feet dangling over thousands of feet terrain effectively and efficiently while SECTION EXECUTIVE of air below. Once at the end of the shelf we constantly evaluating stability, hazards, climbed up to a block which seemed to shift weather and other factors is a challenge. And 2002 as we sat perched on it like a butterfly being comfortable and completely at ease are CHAIR - Tom Hall 592-2518 SECRETARY -Lynn Peppler 370-5135 hanging onto a swaying flower in the wind. feelings I value a great deal when travelling in TREASURER - Rick Eppler 477-5806 At least the block wasn't swaying! We the wilderness. Add the reality of leading a MEMBERSHIP - Jules Thomson 472-3820 quickly tried to climb off the block except the group in these conditions and the picture NATIONAL CLUB - Gerta Smythe 478-7369 leader's foot had gone numb so we anxiously becomes more complicated. SCHEDULE - Catrin Brown 477-5806 FMCBC - Russ Moir 477-0070 waited until he moved on. We then resumed Being able to assimilate these factors and our climb up to the summit, then back down more and then make the trip flow through its across the glacier and around a few crevasses many stages must be the mark of a good MEMBERS AT LARGE and back down to the feast, that is for the leader. Don Morton thousands of horseflies, black flies, gnats, and Leadership was the thread which tied this Sylvia Moser Tony Vaughn mosquitoes. course together and the instructors did a great Ian Rongve The final day we dismantled tent city as it job of keeping it in focus while concentrating was the end of all the camps for the summer, on specific technical skills. These included: and then caught the helicopter out to our avalanche transceiver information and BUSHWHACKER EDITORS Larry Talarico 598-8377 vehicles. By 8:00 pm I was on a ferry back to techniques, helicopter safety, snow pack Rob Macdonald Vancouver Island.I will probably volunteer, evaluation, a map and compass review, an Viggo Holm 477-8596 as a volunteer guide, for the Marmot camp avalanche simulation, accident management, Anita Vaughn 360-9046 that the ACC holds every year and I will repair kits, first aid kits, glacier travel, certainly continue to lead trips for our section crevasse rescue, managing technical terrain with a more fine-tuned awareness of all the using short roping and a look at radios in the SUPPORT POSITIONS intricacies that leading entails. All in all it backcountry. Perhaps even more important was a great week! were the ‘soft’ skills: risk awareness, the EQUIPMENT - Paul Macoun 381-3834 LIBRARY - Judith Holm 477-8596 responsibilities of the leader, and WEB MASTER - Gerhardt Lepp The ACC North Face Winter communication.