Mount Baker, WA - Easton Glacier

After a few weeks of organization I finally got a crew together to take a Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue course from Cascade Designs. I arranged the trip together with KAF Adventures (Mick Pearson & Kevin) who did a great job putting the whole training course together for a modest fee of $250 a pop. The team consisted of Jim Ault, Terry Breaux, Sarah Bruce, Chris Parkhurst, Adam Atwell, myself and Gabriela. I was glad I talked her into going and so was she :)

Red Carpet treatment at the Westy...well actually blue...

We were all supposed to meet at the Schrieber's Meadow trail head around 5:00/5:30pm Thursday afternoon but as it would be, most were on the late side and we really didn't get off until around 7:00pm. Only the last 400 yards of the road was impassable so we hiked up to the main parking at 3200' and started up what Mick thought was the trail direction. Too bad but he missed the trail by a few feet and ended up taking us into the bush early for a more direct approach. We eventually found the trail and made our way up to the 4600' level and took a break. Everyone seemed to be keeping up well which was a good sign that we were all fairly equally fit. Another couple of hours or so put us in the 6500' zone where we decided to set camp for the evening just on the edge of the glacier. After setting up the tents we made a quick cook up and brew and enjoyed the evening sunset.

Topher, Kevin and Gaby in our cook forest

The following morning we packed up and made our way up to the glacier's edge and reestablished camp. We marked out and probed the camp site to ensure we weren't camping on top of any crevasses. Some of us worked on building a kitchen, some on a latrine with a privacy wall and others set-up tents and continued probing. Later in the afternoon Mick and Kevin reviewed the crevasse rescue bits with us and showed how the whole event would typically take place. As evening drew near a few climbers headed up towards the larger gapers to scout an area for the next days practice. Others of us hung around camp and cooked...except for the missing couscous. Mick had a hell of a time locating his team's meal and eventually settled on a pasta substitute. Unfortunately he mixed up pots and stoves and ended up with an unstable combination that led to a pasta spill. No problem, we helped him scoop it up and added some snow worms into the mix for flavor and additional protein.

Topher probing camp while his teammates check out his ass..ets

Hey its Parkhurst and Uncle Fester!! (actually Terry Breaux)


Late evening excursion to scout a training spot

ahhh no we have a latrine for that...

The next morning we had, our luck again, a blue sky and another sunny day. A morning of coffee, pancakes and some other goodies started the day. We all roped up and 3 teams headed up to the training spot that our scouts found the previous night.

The lousy view out of our tent

Mount Baker Breakfast Club

My rope-mates Adam & Gaby

An unsuspecting few seconds away from a tackle into the snow...


Tighter than the Blue Angels

Mick and Kevin got us situated in a good position and we all took turns diving into the crevasse and either prusiking or getting hauled out with a 3:1 pulley system. In addition, Mick spent some time with me on a 2 person rescue situation where we would have to self-arrest and get an anchor while holding the other person who fell into the crevasse.

Mick....no need to say more

The gaper

Ascending out of the gaper


Can one be happy in a crevasse??