Crevasse Safety

I had a group out on the Ice Cap on Friday….it was a beautiful warm sunny day. We had just been playing in a half pipe riding up and coming back down banking high on the walls. You can pull some G’s…it’s super fun!

We had stopped for a water break when we saw two snowmobiles climbing a hill with a few crevasses on it. One of the riders went up and turned back down…apparently unaware of the crevasses below him. He went out of eyesight as he descended. It wasn’t until I saw his riding partner park his sled on the hill (sliding down backwards) and start running toward us that I realized his buddy had gone into a crevasse. I quickly got my helmet on and headed over toward the crevasse. As I climbed up toward the crevasse I saw the rider crawling out. He had ridden off the top crashing into the ice wall on the other side. He was very lucky and wasn’t injured. Just a broken helmet visor and bent tunnel.

He asked me to climb down into the crevasse and onto what appeared to be a snow bridge to help him get his sled rolled over and out. I told him it wasn’t safe to be walking around in there and that I wanted him to wear my harness so we could have him on a safety rope. He agreed to let me harness him up and attach a rope to my sled which was the anchor.

We lowered him back into the crevasse and he proceeded to roll his sled back over and ride it out. He had a safety line attached to him in case the snow gave way below him. He was a little shook up but he was very thankful for our help and safety concern.

As we traveled around the glacier that day we saw hundreds of crevasses. The snowpack on the glacier is below our average so far this year so the crevasses are more visible…they just aren’t filled in like they have been in the past. You have to be very careful out there…especially this year. You should be carrying a rope, harness, webbing, carabiners and know how to perform a rescue with them. If you are unsure about it hire a guide 🙂