Page 31 - 2003 AMA Summer

snow forms a secure bridge, or will collapse into the chasm below. Trying to keep a tight rope between individu­ als on skis, on very uneven terrain with a heavy pulk on the rope as well is a constant challenge. But a tight rope is essential if you are not to expose yourself to a fall and the subsequent shock- loading of the rope, which may well pull your fellow climbers into the crevasse as well.
This lesson was brought home when we were
crossing a particularly tortuous section of the ice. It was Chris’ turn to pull the pulk and he was doing well, but after skiing down into a small depression (crevasse?) he was struggling to pull it
up out of the other side. At the time, I was keeping him on a tight rope from the edge of the depression but it was obvious he was not going to make it on his own. I signalled to Matt behind me, then moved into the depres­ sion to give him some help. I braced myself below the pulk and pushed hard.
Without warning the snow gave way and my legs dropped into darkness. The rucksack and my upper body remained on the soft snow, but I could see the crevasse below (although not the bottom!), and it was clear that I, Chris and the pulk were all sitting on a snow bridge less than 60cm thick. With a slack loop of rope between us, if either fell, we would certainly pull the other in, and possibly the
remaining two as well.
I told Chris that I had gone through and he had to get
himself and the pulk off the bridge as quickly as
possible. With a huge effort he made it up the slope and braced himself as best he could. I was then able to roll further onto my side and carefully pull my legs and skis back through. Fortunately the snow held and I was soon back onto firmer ice.
The final slope of the glacier onto the plateau was about 30 degrees steep. The effort involved in skiing and pulling a pulk up a slope this steep
is indescribable, even with 2 people on the rope. It is too steep for the skins on the
skis to grip and tackle direct, so a zigzag route has to be taken. This means that the pulk is being pulled across the slope and naturally, tends to slide sideways. If not for the fact that our tents and food were on them, the pulks would have been smashed in frustration and hurled down a crevasse before we were
even halfway up.
Once we reached the plateau, w e finally had a view of our objective Mt
Columbia, brooding magnifi­ cently at the far side of the icefield. The glimpse was tantalisingly brief, as the clouds soon swept across the glacier and once again hid it from view.
We pitched camp for the evening, with high hopes of fair weather for the next day. However we were once again to be disappointed.
Although the winds had dropped, visibility was now down to about 20m in thick cloud. We waited the morning in situ, but eventually
Shopping for the expedition in Jasper
I made the decision to abandon our attempt on the summit and return down the Sasquatchewan glacier.
It was a long hard route out, with much practice in the techniques of “survival skiing”. Style and form take a back seat to all-out braking when you are on poor snow, steep crevassed slopes, and connected by a rope to a couple of novice skiers. And if all else fails, the best way of braking is to throw
yourself off your skis and hug the snow. I have to admit that not all my emergency
stops were actually intention­ al either.
It was with some relief, therefore that we finally made it back to the roadhead. As I commented to one of my fellow instructors that
evening over cold beer and pizza, it is good to go into
the mountains, but it is great to come back again. The contrast between the danger and discomfort involved in tackling the greater ranges makes one far more appre­ ciative of what we have in our daily lives.
Negotiating the crevas Held.
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Î T W é^ c h a l l e n g e
Ç ARMY MOUNTAINEER 28