Baker Crevasse Rescue Training & Graduation

July 18th & 19th, 2005

I was talking to my mom after getting home from our weekend at Baker. She was telling me about a book she had read on the Norwegian Amundson, whose team was the first travel to the south pole. At one point he was hanging with his sled dogs in a crevasse with the only thing between death and survival was the weight of the dog sled holding them at the top of the crevasse. In his journal he noted the "beautiful blue color of the crevasse walls". My mom said, " That is the difference between men who can persevere and survive the harshest of adventures. That ability to see the beauty even as one is faced with the possiblity of death or disaster."

"Any life, no matter how long and complex it may be, is made up of a single moment— the moment in which a man (or woman) finds out, once and for all, who he/she is."

—Jorge Luis Borges

While we were in no immenant threat of danger during our training. It was an amazing experience to enjoy the environment of the crevasse without the added crisis of a real emergency. While hanging in the crevasse it was hard not to see the beauty of the blue and white walls. The shape of a slot canyon of ice and snow. The edge where crevasse met sky. The bright color of a climbing partner as they stuck their head over the edge to ask if we were all right down there. As my fellow crevasse hangers and I also found out it is possible to catch a chocolate covered expresso bean while hanging from a climbing rope.

3000 ft to the base camp on Mt. Baker. 18 remaining students met the challenge of learning how to navigate through a twisted tangle of climbing ropes and lines to learn how to set up a Z—Pulley rescue system, hangout in a crevasse, prussik up to the top of a crevasse, stay warm in the rain, camp on snow, and survive two long days of training. What started out as a cold rainy outing turned into a beautiful clear night and blue skies the next day. Our colorful OSAT Village sat at the base camp of the beautiful Mt. Baker summit. We started out at 0900, hiked to our camp, set up our tents, and then headed off in a shroud of fog to spend the rest of the day and evening until 9pm practicing our crevasse rescue. We were up early the next day for another full day of training until 3pm. Then we broke camp and hiked back down to our cars.

A quick change and we headed out to Pizza. We contemplated how many people could eat one pizza and decided that we were pretty hungry and better order one large pizza for every two people in our group. Great pizza and a great end to our training. Congratulations to everyone who made it. You earned it!

Rainy Morning Start	How Much Does that Pack Weigh?	I should have left the Blow Dryer at Home
The Start of the 300ft Climb	Joe	Bill in the Line-up
Break Time	The Ridge Line Trail	Crevasses
View on Ascent	OSAT Village	Contemplation
Bad Weather	Hiding Out from the Rain	Mark
Setting Up for Crevasse Rescue Training	Line of Climbers	Getting Ready
Nancy in Climbing Line	Rik, The Mountaineer	Jump Off That Way
Danger That Way	Which Line Goes Where?	Class 2005
A Break in the Weather	Brent Moving Down Line	Self Arrest While Holding Climber in Crevasse
The Crevasse	Russel on The Edge	Mia Belaying Climber in Crevasse