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==Introduction for Planners to Glacier School==
[[Category:Glacier School]]
 
===What is Glacier School?===
===What is Glacier School?===


Glacier School is a 2-day (weekend) course intended to teach safe and efficient means of traveling over glaciers. The School is divided into two courses:
Glacier School is a 2-day (weekend) course intended to teach safe and efficient means of traveling over glaciers. The School is divided into two courses:


Glacier 1 is designed for beginners to snow and glacier travel. It is expected that you have previous backpacking and camping experience.
*Glacier 1 (G1)
**For beginners to snow and glacier travel. It is expected that you have previous backpacking and camping experience.


Glacier 2 is for students with previous glacier experience that want to learn more advanced skills or to climb a peak.
*Glacier 2 (G2)
**For students with previous glacier experience that want to apply these skills by actually climbing a peak.


====What do I learn?====


===What Happens at DRY SCHOOL?===
Check out the curriculum in [https://www.ubc-voc.com/mediawiki/images/5/56/Glacier_School_Manual_2018.pdf the glacier manual]


Please bring CASH for all expenses (preferably small change). There will be a brief introduction to glacier travel before we outline what’s to be expected for the weekend. Then, we’ll arrange transportation, stove and tent groups, collect your fee, sell prussik cords, possibly lend out VOC gear if there's any left (max of 4 items each), and finally we’ll teach a few rope skills that will come in handy on the weekend.  If we can find a suitable place (tree) we'll practice prussicking.
===What Happens at Dry School?===
 
There will be a brief introduction to glacier travel before we outline what’s to be expected for the weekend. Then, we’ll arrange transportation, stove and tent groups, collect your fee (probably around $10), sell prussik cords, possibly lend out VOC gear if there's any left (max of 4 items each), and finally we’ll teach a few rope skills that will come in handy on the weekend.  If we can find a suitable place (tree) we'll practice prussicking. Please bring '''cash''' for all expenses (preferably small change).


===Expectations===
===Expectations===
Line 20: Line 24:
*Knots for mountaineering
*Knots for mountaineering
*Traveling over snow and ice with crampons
*Traveling over snow and ice with crampons
===Time line for the organization===
It is best if this can happen either the 1st or 2nd weekend of the fall semester, before people start getting too overwhelmed with school. It is also a good way to encourage networking between old and new members.
Some things that need to be done in advance (3 weeks is good):
<br>
*Decide ''WHERE'' you will be holding Glacier School. Based on this decision, decide if you want to hold both Glacier 1 and Glacier 2 at this location. Consider # of ppl, and if you want to cap numbers (this is important for high use areas, i.e. Cerise Creek, where other Backcountry users don't like to see big hordes of VOCers.) -post on other backcountry forums that a large VOC group will be in the area.
*Decide ''WHO'' you want for instructors. If you have no idea, ask other exec members, because they will have ideas from previous years. It is good to think about getting people who have a reliable reputation. If you don't know them, ask other execs what they think, sometimes there can be sketch issues.
*Decide ''WHAT'' you want to have taught at glacier school, and structure the groups and day accordingly
*If you are going into a high use area, it is good to check with the owners/maintainers of the area (i.e. Cerise Creek = Scott and Erica Flavelle, 8286 Alpine Way, Whistler BC, V0N 1B8  604 932 8904) to ask if it is ok to have a large group come in that weekend.
*If you are going to an environmentally sensitive area, you should think about 'pack it in, pack it out' in relation to ALL human wastes - biodegradable dog poo bags are about $4/50 or so from IGA.
*Advertise on the message board at least 2-3 weeks before the trip.
*Usually there is mulled wine for saturday night - try and organize how many litres of wine you need, (250mL/person is a good rule of thumb) and get the mulling spices to go with it (usually a few cinnamon sticks, a small orange (use juice and rind), a handful of raisins and some TBLSPs of  sugar is good for 1.5L of wine. Or make it up yourself.
*Money - usually there is a small fee associated with Glacier school, this is used for poo bags, wine, photocopying etc. Decide what it will be in advance of Dry school, and ''DO NOT ACCEPT IOU's''.
Finally, decide when Dry school will be held, book the room, buy the prussik cord (see old wiki pages) and decide whether or not you want to print theory booklets. I thought that maybe it was a waste of paper, and it would be better to just post a good link to some webpages that go over theory of glacier travel, knots etc. This will save printing costs as well. Make sure Dry School is booked in an area with a stairwell to facilitate mock crevasse rescue scenarios (Buchanan A-100 is a great room, with an open stairwell nearby).
HAVE FUN!!!!!!
*Self Arrest
*Self Arrest
*Snow and ice anchors
*Snow and ice anchors
Line 49: Line 33:
"Instructors for glacier school are club members who volunteer their time, and are not professional guides.  If you don't feel comfortable taking responsibility for your own life in the context of an informal course advised by VOC instructors, you should take a mountaineering course offered by a professional guiding service."
"Instructors for glacier school are club members who volunteer their time, and are not professional guides.  If you don't feel comfortable taking responsibility for your own life in the context of an informal course advised by VOC instructors, you should take a mountaineering course offered by a professional guiding service."


==Past Events==
===Logistics===
{{main|Glacier school logistics}}


=== 2009===
For all future Glacier school trip coordinators, logistics and organizational timeline can be viewed from the link cited above.
 
[[Glacier School 2009]] was held at the Anniversary Glacier. Glacier (2) was at Mt Baker.
 
The Anniversary Glacier was pretty well snow-free, making bad conditions for practicing ice axe arrests.  The weather was atrocious on Saturday but Sunday was sunny and warm.  We had 40 people camped below the glacier.  The Hut was being renovated and re-supplied with firewood, so we were not welcome there.
 
====Logistics====
 
=====Planning=====
 
We discussed several locations for G1, but once again settled on Anniversary Glacier. Baker would have been a better choice but border problems would stop some of our Members, and we are limited to 12 people on the Coleman Glacier side.  G2 climbed Baker, and they were happy with that. 
 
The weather was terrible Saturday, but nice and sunny on Sunday.  If we could hold it a week earlier, we might get better weather, at least statistically.  The Flavelles were doing their firewood/hut reno on our weekend so we didn't use their Hut at all, so our $200 payment to them was perhaps over-generous.
 
Because it was a low snow year there was no soft snow to practice ice axe arrests.  The crevasses were fine for crevasse rescue trials.
 
=====Handout=====
 
In 2009, the Veenstras totally revised the handout which we supply to students of G1.  Unfortunately it runs to 18 pages and needs a color printer to adequately show the knots.  This document is excellent and should perhaps be printed and sold to participants rather than having them print their own, because lots of people don't have color printers or they are lazy or they want to save money.  You can find it at [[Media:2009_Glacier_School_Info_booklet.pdf | Info Booklet]]
 
=====Budget=====
 
Prussics were sold at $5 each to those who wanted them.  We bought 30 with staff discount at MEC, and we sold 23, so we lost a little money and gained a few prussics.  We need to charge more if we don't get the staff discount.
 
Glacier 1 students were charged $10 each, or $300 total. 
This went $70 for 8 liters of cheap red wine, $200 donation to the Flavelle Hut, $15 for spices and sugar, and $15 profit to the Club.  We survived on 4 liters of wine, chiefly because it's hard to find people to carry it.
Glacier 2 students were not charged anything.
 
=====Gear List=====
 
See [[Media:2009_Glacier_School_Info_booklet.pdf | Info Booklet]].
 
===2008===
 
[[Glacier School 2008]] was held at the Anniversary Glacier. Glacier (2) was at Joffre Lakes.  Weather was somewhat miserable both days.
 
===2007===
 
[[Glacier School 2007]] was held at the Anniversary Glacier.
 
===2006===
 
Held at Anniversary Glacier on September 16<sup>th</sup> - 17<sup>th</sup>. [http://www.ubc-voc.com/gallery/v/glacier2006/ Photos] are available on the VOC Gallery.
 
===2005===
 
Held on Mt. Baker (Easton Glacier) on September 17<sup>th</sup> - 18<sup>th</sup> . 3+ hour drive SE of Vancouver. Dry conditions, and no snow patches for instruction and practice off the glacier.  Weather was cold and wet.
 
===2004===
 
Glacier School was held at the Anniversary Glacier near Joffre Lakes on September 11<sup>th</sup> - 12<sup>th</sup>. In inclement weather conditions, most people stayed in Keith's Hut. There are only a handful of decent camping spots nearby the hut. This would have been a problem had the weather not been so bad that there were no members of the public wanting to use the hut. Despite dry conditions on the glacier, there were good snow patches below the SE face of Joffre.
 
===2003===
Glacier school was held at the Easton Glacier on Mount Baker in September.
 
===2002===
Glacier school was held at the Coleman Glacier on Mount Baker for the third consecutive year in September.  We were fined by the US National Forest rangers for having a group larger than 12 people.
 
===2001===
 
Held at Coleman Glacier in September.
 
===2000===
 
Held at Coleman Glacier in September.
 
===1999===
 
Held at the Anniversary Glacier in September. We camped at the glacial lake formed by the terminal moraine, out of sight of [[Keith's Hut]]. Since the winter had seen record breaking snowfall, the glacier was still in "spring" conditions. I am not sure how good of a venue this would have been otherwise (where to self arrest when all you have is ice?).


==Past Events==
See [[:Category:Glacier School]] for both past events and the next trip. The new trip page for the year is usually posted in August.
{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 4%;" | Year
! style="width: 12%;" | G1 Location
! style="width: 12%;" | G2 Location
!Comments
|-
|2024
|Brandywine Glacier
|
|The snow situation was better than 2023, but still mostly bare ice. Weather continued to fight against us as we were graced with hail, lightning, and snow. We managed to have about 60 people camped around the glacier.
|-
|2023
|Brandywine Glacier
|Rhododendron Mountain + Warren Glacier
|This year was a bad snow year so the glacier was completely bare ice, compared to 2023 where the glacier was completely snow covered. The weather was horrendous, with rain, snow, and heavy winds enduring through most of the first day. Many people turned back to their vehicles or otherwise hunkered down until the weather cleared up. The second day was beautiful. With the glacier shrinking and snow cover decreasing, the camping area is not ideal for a group of 60+.
|-
|2022
|Brandywine Glacier
|Joffre Lakes
|Brandywine was almost perfect for G1 - the approach was fairly short and not too technical, allowing people to arrive at the (fairly benign) glacier at a reasonable hour and get more instruction time. The main issues were car shuttling on the last rough section of the FSR and the lack of super nice eye candy glacier features to get people stoked, although there was a cool bergschrund over which we practiced crevasse rescue.
|-
|2021
|Metal Dome Glacier
|
|G1 returned to the normal large group. Unexpectedly difficult terrain (involving glacier travel) forced the group to camp at a smaller site than expected, and if not for a surprise september snowstorm, there would have been no snow to self-arrest on. The part of the glacier we could access was steep, narrow, and heavily crevassed - not ideal for G1.
|-
|2020
|Cypress Glacier
Brandywine Glacier
|
|Due to COVID, G1 was organized as several completely independent groups, going to two locations (Cypress and Brandywine). Brandywine was excellent but had limited camping except on the glacier; Cypress hardly had enough snow to self-arrest and may not be a suitable location in the future.
|-
|2019
|Cypress Glacier
|Warren Glacier
|Heavy rain made crossing Roe Creek unsafe and so the school retreated to Skook Hot Springs instead. A second weekend for G1 was planned for October, but then it rained all weekend then too.
|-
|2018
|Anniversary Glacier
|Mt. Baker
|In contrast to the year before, a shorter than usual winter over 2017-18 made for a rocky Anniversary Glacier that wasn't so great. Rained heavily both days. Camped near the tarns and the terminal moraine and we did not use the hut.
|-
|2017
|Cypress Glacier
|
|A longer than usual winter over 2016-17 made for a good glacier at Cypress. Nice weather on day 1 turning to rain day 2.
|-
|2016
|
|
|
|-
|2015
|Easton Glacier
|Anniversary Glacier
|
|-
|2014
| rowspan="3" |Cypress Glacier
|
|
|-
|2013
|
|
|-
|2012
|Joffre Lakes
|
|-
|2011
| rowspan="6" |Anniversary Glacier
|
|
|-
|2010
|
|It rained a part of the time.
|-
|2009
|Mt. Baker
|The Anniversary Glacier was pretty well snow-free, making bad conditions for practicing ice axe arrests higher on the glacier - although there remained ample snow on the flats below the glacier for practicing self arrest while being dragged by a rope (Note this area is likely also glaciated, although generally not treated like a glacier). The weather was atrocious on Saturday but Sunday was sunny and warm. We had 40 people camped below the glacier. The Hut was being renovated and re-supplied with firewood, so we were not welcome there.
|-
|2008
|Joffre Lakes
|Weather was somewhat miserable both days.
|-
|2007
|
|
|-
|2006
|
|[http://www.ubc-voc.com/gallery/v/glacier2006/ Photos] are available on the VOC Gallery.
|-
|2005
|Easton Glacier
|
|3+ hour drive SE of Vancouver. Dry conditions, and no snow patches for instruction and practice off the glacier.  Weather was cold and wet.
|-
|2004
|Anniversary Glacier
|
|In inclement weather conditions, most people stayed in Keith's Hut. There are only a handful of decent camping spots nearby the hut. This would have been a problem had the weather not been so bad that there were no members of the public wanting to use the hut. Despite dry conditions on the glacier, there were good snow patches below the SE face of Joffre.
|-
|2003
|Easton Glacier
|
|
|-
|2002
| rowspan="3" |Coleman Glacier
|
|We were fined by the US National Forest rangers for having a group larger than 12 people.
|-
|2001
|
|
|-
|2000
|
|
|-
|1999
|Anniversary Glacier
|
|We camped at the glacial lake formed by the terminal moraine, out of sight of [[Keith's Hut]]. Since the winter had seen record breaking snowfall, the glacier was still in "spring" conditions. I am not sure how good of a venue this would have been otherwise (where to self arrest when all you have is ice?).
|}
[[Category:Events]]
[[Category:Events]]
[[Category:Glacier School]]

Latest revision as of 22:48, 20 December 2024

What is Glacier School?

Glacier School is a 2-day (weekend) course intended to teach safe and efficient means of traveling over glaciers. The School is divided into two courses:

  • Glacier 1 (G1)
    • For beginners to snow and glacier travel. It is expected that you have previous backpacking and camping experience.
  • Glacier 2 (G2)
    • For students with previous glacier experience that want to apply these skills by actually climbing a peak.

What do I learn?

Check out the curriculum in the glacier manual

What Happens at Dry School?

There will be a brief introduction to glacier travel before we outline what’s to be expected for the weekend. Then, we’ll arrange transportation, stove and tent groups, collect your fee (probably around $10), sell prussik cords, possibly lend out VOC gear if there's any left (max of 4 items each), and finally we’ll teach a few rope skills that will come in handy on the weekend. If we can find a suitable place (tree) we'll practice prussicking. Please bring cash for all expenses (preferably small change).

Expectations

Students should expect to learn the following skills:

  • Knots for mountaineering
  • Traveling over snow and ice with crampons
  • Self Arrest
  • Snow and ice anchors
  • Crevasse rescue
  • Belaying techniques for mountaineering

The prerequisites for being a student at glacier school are minimal. Students must have overnight backpacking experience. Some rope skills (such as belaying, common climbing knots, etc) are desirable but not absolutely necessary.

"Instructors for glacier school are club members who volunteer their time, and are not professional guides. If you don't feel comfortable taking responsibility for your own life in the context of an informal course advised by VOC instructors, you should take a mountaineering course offered by a professional guiding service."

Logistics

Main article: Glacier school logistics

For all future Glacier school trip coordinators, logistics and organizational timeline can be viewed from the link cited above.

Past Events

See Category:Glacier School for both past events and the next trip. The new trip page for the year is usually posted in August.

Year G1 Location G2 Location Comments
2024 Brandywine Glacier The snow situation was better than 2023, but still mostly bare ice. Weather continued to fight against us as we were graced with hail, lightning, and snow. We managed to have about 60 people camped around the glacier.
2023 Brandywine Glacier Rhododendron Mountain + Warren Glacier This year was a bad snow year so the glacier was completely bare ice, compared to 2023 where the glacier was completely snow covered. The weather was horrendous, with rain, snow, and heavy winds enduring through most of the first day. Many people turned back to their vehicles or otherwise hunkered down until the weather cleared up. The second day was beautiful. With the glacier shrinking and snow cover decreasing, the camping area is not ideal for a group of 60+.
2022 Brandywine Glacier Joffre Lakes Brandywine was almost perfect for G1 - the approach was fairly short and not too technical, allowing people to arrive at the (fairly benign) glacier at a reasonable hour and get more instruction time. The main issues were car shuttling on the last rough section of the FSR and the lack of super nice eye candy glacier features to get people stoked, although there was a cool bergschrund over which we practiced crevasse rescue.
2021 Metal Dome Glacier G1 returned to the normal large group. Unexpectedly difficult terrain (involving glacier travel) forced the group to camp at a smaller site than expected, and if not for a surprise september snowstorm, there would have been no snow to self-arrest on. The part of the glacier we could access was steep, narrow, and heavily crevassed - not ideal for G1.
2020 Cypress Glacier

Brandywine Glacier

Due to COVID, G1 was organized as several completely independent groups, going to two locations (Cypress and Brandywine). Brandywine was excellent but had limited camping except on the glacier; Cypress hardly had enough snow to self-arrest and may not be a suitable location in the future.
2019 Cypress Glacier Warren Glacier Heavy rain made crossing Roe Creek unsafe and so the school retreated to Skook Hot Springs instead. A second weekend for G1 was planned for October, but then it rained all weekend then too.
2018 Anniversary Glacier Mt. Baker In contrast to the year before, a shorter than usual winter over 2017-18 made for a rocky Anniversary Glacier that wasn't so great. Rained heavily both days. Camped near the tarns and the terminal moraine and we did not use the hut.
2017 Cypress Glacier A longer than usual winter over 2016-17 made for a good glacier at Cypress. Nice weather on day 1 turning to rain day 2.
2016
2015 Easton Glacier Anniversary Glacier
2014 Cypress Glacier
2013
2012 Joffre Lakes
2011 Anniversary Glacier
2010 It rained a part of the time.
2009 Mt. Baker The Anniversary Glacier was pretty well snow-free, making bad conditions for practicing ice axe arrests higher on the glacier - although there remained ample snow on the flats below the glacier for practicing self arrest while being dragged by a rope (Note this area is likely also glaciated, although generally not treated like a glacier). The weather was atrocious on Saturday but Sunday was sunny and warm. We had 40 people camped below the glacier. The Hut was being renovated and re-supplied with firewood, so we were not welcome there.
2008 Joffre Lakes Weather was somewhat miserable both days.
2007
2006 Photos are available on the VOC Gallery.
2005 Easton Glacier 3+ hour drive SE of Vancouver. Dry conditions, and no snow patches for instruction and practice off the glacier. Weather was cold and wet.
2004 Anniversary Glacier In inclement weather conditions, most people stayed in Keith's Hut. There are only a handful of decent camping spots nearby the hut. This would have been a problem had the weather not been so bad that there were no members of the public wanting to use the hut. Despite dry conditions on the glacier, there were good snow patches below the SE face of Joffre.
2003 Easton Glacier
2002 Coleman Glacier We were fined by the US National Forest rangers for having a group larger than 12 people.
2001
2000
1999 Anniversary Glacier We camped at the glacial lake formed by the terminal moraine, out of sight of Keith's Hut. Since the winter had seen record breaking snowfall, the glacier was still in "spring" conditions. I am not sure how good of a venue this would have been otherwise (where to self arrest when all you have is ice?).
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