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Just lately, I dove into a few of the key gear for a spring ski mountaineering journey to Alaska’s Pika Glacier, a bucket record journey if I’ve ever heard of 1! Whereas having the correct gear is crucial for a profitable journey, you additionally should know how you can use t, together with another mountain and communication abilities in your again pocket.
Most individuals don’t reside in a spot that gives advanced and intensely technical terrain just like the Alaska Vary, certainly there’s not a lot else prefer it in North America. And that’s okay! What issues is that you realize what you’re getting your self into and put together accordingly utilizing the sources you have got at hand. That is not at all meant to be complete abilities information, nevertheless it does provide a spot to begin studying strategies that have been fairly key to a secure and profitable Pika Glacier journey I took this previous spring.
Photograph: Jack Stauss
Glacier Journey and Crevasse Rescue
A glacier is basically a slowly flowing river of ice. Like actually slowly, ever heard of the time period “glacial tempo?” Because the glacier strikes, pockets of stress develop elsewhere because the glacier stretches and may result in cracks within the floor of the glacier referred to as crevasses.
Crevasses are a severe mountain hazard and glacier journey and crevasse rescue are extremely technical abilities. Whereas these abilities can, in fact, be realized by anybody, they require plenty of time familiarizing your self with ropes and equipment, apply constructing anchors and pulley methods, and understanding how you can use varied methods in several types of terrain. It is likely to be tempting watch a couple of YouTube movies and name it good, however these are abilities that it’s best to be taught from consultants, apply repeatedly, and attempt to have competence and confidence in earlier than your journey.
Photograph: Brett Carroll
Avalanche Security and Hazard Evaluation Abilities
A part of the enjoyable of occurring a ski journey in a brand new zone is that the terrain and circumstances are much less acquainted. This presents a excessive potential for reward while you nail it, however the uncertainty additionally brings a certain quantity of threat.
A distant ski vacation spot just like the Pika Glacier doesn’t have an avalanche forecasting crew or any form of mitigation. It’s as much as you to evaluate and handle terrain and reply to circumstances, particularly as they continuously shift round you. The circumstances you have got in your specific journey gained’t reveal themselves till you’re really experiencing them, so you possibly can’t particularly put together for them. What you are able to do, nonetheless, is develop snow science abilities in your native ranges after which work together with your group to translate these abilities to new terrain.
Main as much as our journey, we have been watching the climate within the Pika space to get a way of how snow layers have been stacking up over the season. Moreover, all of us introduced expertise figuring out snow layers, feeling snow densities, digging pits, and translating info from the sphere into choices round what terrain we felt comfy snowboarding.
As soon as we have been on the glacier, we used a Garmin inReach satellite tv for pc communicator to obtain climate updates from a good friend within the entrance nation. Because of this expertise, we acquired day by day climate updates taken from the Nationwide Climate Service forecast and different sources. This helped us have a normal sense of what circumstances to search for within the near-term.
Endurance
An oft-mentioned saying on our Pika journey was “hurry up and wait.” A part of occurring an enormous ski journey is simply ready. Getting a bush airplane into the Alaska Vary is contingent upon truthful climate for flying. It isn’t unusual for skiers and climbers to be caught in Talkeetna for a number of days ready for a transparent flying window. With the ability to roll with the punches, take advantage of out of the scenario, and getting psyched to hit the Fairview bar when you do get caught in Talkeetna is fairly key to any Alaska Vary journey.
Equally, when you’re on the glacier there’s no assure that you just’re going to have good climate. So, being armed with motion pictures, books, video games, good dialog subjects, and an infinite provide of persistence ought to you find yourself needing to sit down in your tent for some time (learn: days) ready for a climate window is a key talent to an expedition-style ski journey.
These look like completely different abilities than the onerous snow and rescue instruments, however persistence is essential to only about any ski tour, however particularly so while you’re in glaciated mountains and on the mercy of massive mountain climate.
Photograph: Greg Hewitt
Belief Your Crew
Heading onto the Pika Glacier is an effective way to spend time with a gaggle of mates and ski companions. Nevertheless it’s additionally a excessive stakes atmosphere that requires plenty of group decision-making and belief, to not point out that you just additionally should reside in shut proximity throughout your journey.
Having good ski companions could make or break a visit like this. Everybody goes to have their very own highs and lows and also you wish to be with individuals who can decide up slack when wanted, drawback remedy unpredictable conditions, talk brazenly and successfully, and benefit from no matter you encounter on the glacier.
Among the best methods to construct belief with ski companions earlier than a visit like that is to only ski collectively lots and get to know the way people make choices, work out the correct velocity of journey for everybody, be sure to all have related targets for the journey, and develop open strains of communication.
Photograph: Greg Hewitt
Backcountry Cooking and Tenting
Let’s be actual: on a glacier journey it’s possible you’ll spend plenty of time in your tent. So, having a superb camp arrange and understanding how you can handle your fundamental wants in a distant mountain atmosphere is fairly necessary. You don’t must get fancy with constructing your camp or planning your meals, however you do wish to belief your means to construct a comfortable place to reside.
When snow is your medium, your camp is absolutely solely restricted by your creativity. As soon as we arrange our gigantic communal dome tent, we spent half a day digging out chairs to sit down on, a counter for our WhisperLite stoves to sit down on, and a central desk for meals. We additionally every frolicked ensuring our private sleeping tents have been solidly anchored to the glacier (utilizing mini snow anchors to stake them out) and dug some partitions round them to guard them from wind.
Variable temperatures all through the day meant that we have been continuously sustaining our camp set as much as accommodate modifications in snow texture. After a storm, we needed to shovel across the exterior of our tents. After a sunny day, we needed to restore structural integrity to pockets of snow that had melted inside our dome tent. We additionally realized early on within the journey that we wanted to dig a small snow cave inside our dome to guard a few of our perishable meals.
Relating to backcountry cooking, there are infinite menu choices, however the massive precedence is getting sufficient energy to maintain your metabolic wants. We went on an enormous Costco purchasing tour in Anchorage, AK to top off earlier than flying onto the glacier. A few of our favourite menu objects included tacky bagels, pesto tortellini, selfmade pizza, and rooster curry.
