Archive:Glacier School 2008

What is Glacier School?

Glacier School is a 2-day (weekend) course intended to teach safe and efficient means of travelling over glaciers. The School is divided into two courses: 1) Glacier 1 is designed for beginners to snow and glacier travel. It is expected that you have previous backpacking and camping experience. 2) Glacier 2 is for students with previous glacier experience that want to learn more advanced skills or to climb a peak.

What Do I Need?

Basic overnight gear:

• • Sleeping bag
  • Sleeping mat
  • warm clothes etc.
  • second pair of clothes
  • waterproof pants and jacket
  • sunglasses

Glacier gear:

• • Ice axe
  • Crampons
  • Harness
  • Helmet - (climbing helmet or bike helmet that covers the back of your head)
  • prussiks (see below)
  • 2 non-locking and 2 locking carabiners
  • sunglasses
  • snow-worthy crampon-worthy boots (will be explained at dry school)

The VOC has some of this stuff and will lend it out to students. If you borrow gear from the club, a $40 CASH ONLY per item deposit will be collected at DRY SCHOOL.

A tent and/or stove will be very useful. If you don’t have one you can arrange to share with others at the MANDATORY DRY SCHOOL.

Car: if you have one, great. If not, no worries, rides will be arranged at DRY SCHOOL.

If there’s not enough VOC rental gear to go around, some borrowing or renting from MEC will have to fill the voids. Please reserve rental gear early to ensure the gear you need will be available for the weekend.

Last, you’ll need 2 “prussik” cords (Don’t worry if you have no idea what that is). We’ll be selling it for $10 per set at DRY SCHOOL.

How much does it cost?

$5 Photocopying/Surprise fee + $25 gas money + gear rental deposit (subject to change)

Please bring CASH for all expenses (preferably small change). Your $5 pays for photocopying of useful information booklets that you’ll get at DRY SCHOOL. Also, we’ll have a little treat for everybody on Saturday night, as we camp below the glacier. The leaders are entirely volunteering. You will be expected to chip in $25 for gas to and from Vancouver. If you borrow gear from the club a $40 per item deposit will be collected at DRY SCHOOL. But you’ll get that money back.

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

Sign up early as group size will be limited to 40 participants  total  to ensure low student/instructor ratio and minimal environmental impact 

Students must have overnight backpacking experience and a good attitude. 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.

[edit] Where?

<googlemap lat="50" lon="-122.5" width="300" height="300" zoom="7" scale="yes" controls="large"> (A)50.381389, -122.410556, Cerise Creek Parking Lot (B)50.343187, -122.41941, Anniversary Glacier </googlemap>

Anniversary Glacier / Cerise Creek.

[edit] Directions UBC to Cerise Creek Parking lot (off Hwy 99). The pullout is located 7.5km (check your odometer) past the Joffre Lakes parking lot.

[edit] Dry School (Mandatory!)

When and Where? TBA 

[edit] 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 $5 fee, sell prussik cords, lend out VOC gear (max of 4 items each), and finally we’ll teach a few rope skills that will come in handy on the weekend.

[edit] What do I Need to Bring? Glacier 1 students and other wishing to practice crevasse rescue, please bring your harnesses, biners and prussiks.

IMPORTANT: Bring your boots and crampons to ensure they are adjusted correctly if you have not done so previously or are unsure.

[edit] Glacier 1

This course is for glacier novices. Instructors will teach the basic glacier skills such as:

• • Roped travel
  • Self arrest
  • Crevasse rescue
  • Knots

[edit] Instructors Please post your name here along with any skills you feel comfortable teaching. There will be a instructor meeting at a TBD date and location

[edit] Participants

[edit] Glacier 2

This course is for people who have taken Glacier 1 or have previous glacier skills, but aren't fully comfortable route finding on a glacier. This group will work on more advanced skills or climb a nearby peak with an experienced leader.

[edit] Instructors Please post your name here along with any skills you feel comfortable teaching.

There will be an instructor meeting TBA

[edit] Participants

[edit] Waiting List Priority will be accorded to first people in the following list if any participants above drop.

[edit] VehiclesDrivers please post your names here along with your vehicle capacity and departure info.

Name (X spots) (Time of Departure from Vancouver - Time of Arrival to Vancouver)

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