Crevasse Rescue

Part 1 - Everything but Hauling

ICS 2021-22

Crevasse Rescue

Goals

• Understand some of your options if you fall into a crevasse
• Be familiar with the overview steps involved in a crevasse rescue
• Practice transferring the rescue load to an anchor (first part of most rescues)

Crevasse Rescue

Disclaimers

• You will not have a complete understanding of Crevasse Rescue after this class
• There’s always more to know
• Need to practice regularly
• There are no definite answers in Crevasse Rescue
• Balance of “healthy fear” and “cautious confidence”
• Most situations are non-standard
• Have a toolbox of options and an open mind

Crevasse Rescue

Important Points

• Reduce risk to rescuers
• More injuries will only make the situation worse
• Avoid objective hazards: additional crevasse falls, rockfall, icefall, avalanche
• Stay on belay
• Make the anchor unquestionably strong - the whole team is depending on it
• Always have a backup
• Letting go should not lead to injury
• Never rely exclusively on a friction hitch
• Never haul if you can’t communicate with fallen climber
• Keep rope systems neat

Crevasse Rescue

Crevasse Rescue

In a crevasse

“There is something about crevasses. They have a dread feel, not a place for the living.” - Joe Simpson

• Cold & Wet
• Have warm clothes on or accessible
• Dark
• Have your headlamp available
• Hard to communicate
• Snow walls absorb sound waves
• Winds outside crevasse
• Constricting
• May get stuck between walls
• May get buried in snow

Crevasse Rescue

Fallen Climber

What to do if you’re the one who fell into the crevasse

Crevasse Rescue

As the Fallen Climber

So you’ve fallen into a crevasse. Now what?

1. Take a deep breath... don’t panic
2. Don’t fall in farther
• Try to attach to the wall with an ice screw or ice tool
3. Deal with urgent issues
• Stuck? Buried?
• Injured? Cold?
• Take off backpack / consider using a chest harness
4. Figure out how to get out

Crevasse Rescue

Options for Getting Out

• Walk out / climb out / aid out
• Get a belay from above; don’t create slack in rope
• Easiest way out might not be the way you fell in
• Ascend the rope
• Probably won’t make things worse (if rope is already loaded)
• Generally faster than getting hauled
• Might be difficult to top out if rope is cut into the lip;� Consider ascending new strand of rescue rope if so
• Wait to be hauled out

Crevasse Rescue

Ascending the Rope

• Use waist and leg prusik loops
• Stand up and slide waist prusik up
• Sit down and slide leg prusik up
• Prusiks might need to be relocated first
• Take off pack
• Clip it to the loop of rope below you
• Pull feet under torso and stand up
• Don’t exhaust your arms
• Tie hard backup knots as you go

�For additional ways to ascend a rope see AMGA - How to Ascend Climbing Rope

Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue by Selters

Crevasse Rescue

Rescue Team

What to do if your teammate fell into the crevasse

Crevasse Rescue

As the Rescue Team

Your friend is falling into a crevasse. Now what?

​

1. Arrest the Fall
2. Build an Anchor (and transfer load)
3. Check out the Situation
4. Decide how to Proceed
5. Execute the Plan

Crevasse Rescue

Arrest the Fall

• Response must be automatic
• Any sudden tension on the rope, �dive into arrest position!
• Straddle the rope
• Hesitation will make the fall harder to catch
• Middle Rescuer will absorb the majority of the fall force
• Kick feet into snow
• Hold load on legs
• Stay ready in arrest position

Arrest the Fall

Build an Anchor

Check out the Situation

Decide how to Proceed

Execute the Plan

Freedom of the Hills

Crevasse Rescue

Crevasse Rescue

Crevasse Rescue

The Team

End Rescuer(s)

• Build anchor
• Assess the situation

Fallen

Climber

Catch line

Middle Rescuer

• Hold the fall until anchor is built

Crevasse Rescue

Build an Anchor

• Who can build the anchor?
• End Rescuer is often in best position to do it
• Communicate with team
• Everyone OK?
• Can Middle Rescuer hold the load?
• End Rescuer ease off arrest
• Prusik down rope towards the Middle Rescuer
• Be ready to dive back into arrest position
• Axe can be used to probe for crevasses

Arrest the Fall

Build an Anchor

Check out the Situation

Decide how to Proceed

Execute the Plan

prusiking toward middle rescuer

Crevasse Rescue Skills by REI

Crevasse Rescue

Build an Anchor

• Build near Middle Rescuer
• Rescue anchors must be bomber!
• High forces from haul system
• Failure may be fatal
• At least 2 solid pieces tied together
• Strong, Secure, Simple
• Transfer load of fallen climber onto anchor
• Clip a knot directly to anchor, or
• Tie a prusik and add hard backup
• Let up slowly and watch anchor
• Be ready to dive back to self arrest!

Arrest the Fall

Build an Anchor

Check out the Situation

Decide how to Proceed

Execute the Plan

Crevasse Rescue

Anchor Location

1. Above middle rescuer
• Makes more space for hauling if close to crevasse edge
• Clip clove hitch or bight knot to anchor
2. Under or next to middle rescuer
• Space may be limited unless middle rescuer builds their own anchor
• Clip tie-in knot directly to anchor
3. Below middle rescuer
• Leaves more rope available for rescue
• Use prusik hitch and add hard backup

Arrest the Fall

Build an Anchor

Check out the Situation

Decide how to Proceed

Execute the Plan

A

C

B

Crevasse Rescue

Anchor Location

C. Prusik and Hard Backup

Arrest the Fall

Build an Anchor

Check out the Situation

Decide how to Proceed

Execute the Plan

B. Clip Tie-in Knot Directly to Anchor

AMGA Crevasse Rescue

• Above middle rescuer
• Makes more space for hauling if close to crevasse edge
• Clip clove hitch or bight knot to anchor
• Under or next to middle rescuer
• Space may be limited unless middle rescuer builds their own anchor
• Clip tie-in knot directly to anchor
• Below middle rescuer
• Leaves more rope available for rescue
• Use prusik hitch and add hard backup

Crevasse Rescue

Check out the Situation

• Approach the edge
• Self-belay with prusik
• Probe for additional crevasses
• Stay to side of fallen climber to avoid knocking snow onto them
• Establish contact ASAP
• Is the fallen climber okay?
• Call for rescue now if needed
• What do they need right now?
• Jacket?
• Ice screw?
• Lower items using the spare rope

Arrest the Fall

Build an Anchor

Check out the Situation

Decide how to Proceed

Execute the Plan

Crevasse Rescue

Check out the Situation

Get a full picture of the scene

• Climber Info
• Responsive?
• Injured?
• How deep?
• Stuck? Buried?
• Crevasse Info
• Farther to fall?
• Lip: Overhung? Rope cut in?
• Walls: Snow? Ice?
• Resource Info
• Additional rescuers / gear

Arrest the Fall

Build an Anchor

Check out the Situation

Decide how to Proceed

Execute the Plan

Crevasse Rescue

Check out the Situation

Common crevasse fall injuries:

• Hypothermia
• can set in in 15 minutes
• can be life threatening over an hour
• Asphyxia - buried in snow
• Fall injuries
• Possible spinal injuries
• Crampon injuries
• Lacerations
• Puncture

​

If the fallen climber has life-threatening injuries, treat those immediately! �Likely requires rappelling in

Arrest the Fall

Build an Anchor

Check out the Situation

Decide how to Proceed

Execute the Plan

Crevasse Rescue

Breakout 30min

• Get into teams of 3 and rope up for glacier travel� 3-4 arm span spacing� Prusiks optional - might be faster if end rescuer has waist prusik pre-rigged
• Climber on one end “falls” and other two climbers arrest the fall
• Middle rescuer holds fall while end rescuer self-belays to middle rescuer
• End rescuer builds “anchor” above middle rescuer and attaches rope� Use rope attached to wall as anchor
• End rescuer self-belays on new fixed rope to check on fallen climber
• Rotate roles as time allows

Crevasse Rescue

Entering the Crevasse

• When?
• Serious / life-threatening injury
• Climber stuck or buried
• Climber needs help to be hauled
• No communication
• Anchor must be extra bomber
• 2 climbers (2kN) may be hanging/hauled from it
• Must be able to rappel and convert to ascent �without unweighting the rope
• Rappel normally
• Tie a Hard Backup knot
• Ascend using waist and leg prusiks, ascenders, or guide-mode method

Crevasse Rescue

Decide how to Proceed

Consider options:

• Fallen climber ascends rope
• Pad the rope or consider lowering new rope
• Help them get over the lip
• Fallen climber climbs out
• Set up a belay off anchor
• Take in slack on Munter or Prusik
• Rescue team hauls climber out

Arrest the Fall

Build an Anchor

Check out the Situation

Decide how to Proceed

Execute the Plan

Crevasse Rescue

Decide how to Proceed

What if the fallen climber can’t self-extract?

• Too injured
• Lacking gear or skills

​

Then you probably need to haul them out

… to be continued …

Arrest the Fall

Build an Anchor

Check out the Situation

Decide how to Proceed

Execute the Plan

Crevasse Rescue

Entrenched Rope

Rope may cut deeply into lip of crevasse

• May be impossible to ascend or haul on original rope
• Never haul someone into a crevasse lip!

What can you do?

• Prevent further cut-in by sliding padding under main rope
• Use ice axe, shovel handle, or backpack
• Anchor padding so it can’t fall down
• Preferably, prepare a new edge with exit path and padding
• Move several feet to the side to avoid dropping snow and ice on fallen climber
• Ascend, haul, or climb out using new exit path

ENSA�Snow Anchors: How Strong Are They?

Crevasse Rescue

Crevasse Rescue

Brake Knots

• Sometimes brake knots are tied in the rope between climbers
• Knots jam into crevasse edge and help slow falling climber
• Commonly used in teams of two - sometimes teams of three
• Can make ascending the rope challenging and affect options for hauling
• If using brake knots, plan on using a different line for rescue

Ortovox - Lab Ice

Crevasse Rescue

Scenario

• Rope team of 4 with 65ft (20m) between climbers
• Climbing Mt. Rainier (Tahoma) via the Emmons Glacier route
• Left Camp Schurman around 11PM in mid-August
• Followed boot track through crevasses

RMI

​

The Sharp End Podcast - ep. 55

Crevasse Rescue

Scenario

• A crevasse wall collapsed and leader fell in
• Second and third climbers dove into self-arrest (by crevasse edge)
• Rope went tight at full 20m length
• Fourth climber untied from rope and looked over the edge - saw diffuse glow of headlamp under snow and ice

• Rope team of 4 with 65ft (20m) between climbers
• Climbing Mt. Rainier (Tahoma) via the Emmons Glacier route
• Left Camp Schurman around 11PM in mid-August
• Followed boot track through crevasses

The Sharp End Podcast - ep. 55

Crevasse Rescue

Resources

AMGA Crevasse Rescue Video Series

The Mountain Guide Manual

Marc Chauvin and Rob Coppolillo

Alpine Climbing

Mark Houston and Kathy Cosley

Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue

Andy Selters

Freedom of the Hills

Glacier Mountaineering

Andy Tyson and Mike Clelland

Accidents

Crevasse Rescue