It has been a while since I have written a journal entry. I hope no one has missed me too much! Everything down here is going pretty well. We have been able to get out diving most days and are getting a lot of work done in the labs as well. However, there was a day last week that our group took the day off to go up on the glacier and experience ice climbing in a crevasse!
Due to the dangers associated with being in a crevasse field on a glacier, not everyone on station would be able to take part in this adventure. The GSAR (Glacier search and rescue) team leader, Jim Waters, had to make sure that there would be enough GSAR team members on the trip, as well as make sure that there was a fully functional fire team on station at the same time. After taking all of the necessary factors into consideration, two trips were set up, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. I signed up for the Sunday excursion.
Sunday is usually our morning off, so it was a bit unusual for me to be up at 8 A.M., but I thought this would be worth getting out of bed for. We were to meet at 9 in the other building (GWR) to start getting our gear together.
I actually started getting ready the night before when I decided to make some sandwiches for the day using some of the deli meat that is readily available here. I figured this might give me another 5-10 minutes of sleep in the morning!
After waking up, I thought of everything I might need. They told us to bring warm clothes, food, and water. I got dressed in several layers of poly-pro and then put on some fleece pants with my ski-suit over it. I did most of this dressing down in the dining room (I had essential layers on before I left the room though) so that I would not make too much noise and wake Sparky, my roommate. Am I considerate or what?
I borrowed a backpack from Erin, another scientist working with phytoplankton here at Palmer, so that I would be able to carry all of my supplies. I packed some extra warm clothing, several pairs of gloves (in case one pair were to get wet), my lunch, water bottle, and a wool blanket that would keep us from sitting on the ice.
Now I was ready to head over to GWR and figure out all the additional gear I would have to carry with me.
The first things we got were crampons. Crampons are attachments we put on the bottom of our boots that help us keep a grip on the ice. They look like shoe soles made of metal spikes! Once we had these fitted to our boots, we went into the garage to get the rest of our glacier gear.
The three GSAR members that were coming with us were Jim, Steve, and Ryan. These three were already making piles of ropes, ice axes, harnesses, and carabiners that each person would need.
After the last bathroom break where the indoor plumbing could be utilized, we put on all the gear. I had my backpack loaded with all my gear as well as a 50 meter rope we would need once we got to the crevasses. This made it a little heavy, and I was truly worried about what my sandwiches would look like when I took them out.
We walked through the backyard on our way to the glacier. I was wondering if I would be able to handle the day because as I was walking out with all the gear (and very uncomfortable boots), I was getting a little tired.
Once we got to the glacier, we stopped so that everyone could put on their cramp-ons. We then separated into three groups that would be roped together on our way up the glacier. I was part of Ryan’s group along with Hla and Kerry.
Ryan showed us how to tie our ropes so that we would be safe. There was about 20-30 feet of rope between each person on the rope. This made sure that if one person fell in an unseen crevasse (or even a visible one for that matter); the other members would not fall in and would instead be able to prevent the falling member from dropping too far.
We started to make our way up the glacier. We practiced keeping a safe distance from each other and walking in cramp-ons during this first leg or our hike. We were walking in an area that is known to not have crevasses, so we were all safe.
About halfway up, we stopped and headed off into the crevasse field. Jim had been up here the day before and found a safe route through the field. Everyone made it to an area that was deemed as “safe” and we got ready for the real fun.
By this time, it was already noon and we ate our lunches while Jim, Ryan, and Steve set up anchors and ropes for climbing and observing. The view was very spectacular looking out over the crevasse field to see the water beyond.
We then watched as Jim showed us how to descend into and ascend out of the crevasse. The first item of business was to make sure that you were tied in with two carabiners. This way, if one failed or broke, you had a back-up that would prevent you from falling.
Jim then descended with Ryan belaying him. The belayer was the person who let the rope out and pulled the rope up as you descended and ascended. He would also be your brake! If you lost a grip in the ice, he kept you from plummeting to the icy bottom. I think that is why everyone was so nice to the person belaying them.
Jim showed everyone how to plant your toe with purposeful motions and how to hold the axes as you climbed or descended. I will say that Jim made it look awfully easy. As he came up, there was no slipping and no incorrect plants with axes or toes.
Once he was out, he asked for a volunteer to go down. I have never been in a crevasse, never done any ice climbing, and never done any rock climbing…so of course I volunteered to go first! There were two crevasses to choose from. One crevasse was relatively wide, had a decent amount of snow, sloping walls, and a hole at the bottom that you could also descend into and go another 20 feet deeper. The other crevasse was narrow (you could barely touch both walls at the top), no snow to talk about, almost completely vertical blue ice walls, and a narrow spot about 15 feet down that you could also go through. Naturally I chose the one with the vertical walls…oh boy!
I tied in and Jim told me to lean back. I was standing in the “safe” area with everyone watching and he wanted to show that he had control of me if I were to fall. I leaned back and did not hit the ground (good sign).
I then walked into the actual crevasse area and started toward the crevasse I would be entering. I got to the area and looked over the edge…ugh!
I positioned my back to the edge and started to walk backward to the lip. I leaned back like Jim told me to and as I was doing this…I got a little spooked and pulled myself up. I just needed to settle my nerves before I went any further.
I told him I was okay and leaned back again. Jim made this look really easy earlier, so I should be able to do it with no problems…yeah right! The face of the crevasse was completely vertical and I had to move my feet very quickly to keep them on the ice. I did this and got my feet in position on the wall as he slowly lowered me into the crevasse.
As I was lowered, I saw some beautiful ice formations and colors. I looked below and saw the narrow area as well. Here is where going first might have been a mistake. I decided to go through this area, because surely everyone else would as well. As I was lowered through, I saw that it opened up some more and kept going down.
I was lowered more and as it got darker I was soon to an area where I was touching both walls again. I had to yell up to the observers to tell Jim to stop lowering me so that I would not wedge myself into the ice. He did, and then I had to figure how in the world I was going to get out of this.
I tried to plant my toes and realized this blue ice was great to look at but did not allow for good climbing. I kicked in and my cramp-ons just slid away. I then tried my ice axe. I hit the wall to try and get the pick to stick in. The next thing I knew, a dinner plate-sized piece of ice fell in my lap! This is also when I realized how deep this crevasse was. The piece of ice kept falling and falling as it bounced off the walls until I heard it hit a surface WAY BELOW! I thought I was going to have to get them to drag me up.
I tried again with the axe and got it to stick and after two or three swings got the other axe in as well. I then tried to stick my toe spikes into the ice. I got one in and tried the other. As I tried the second one, the first slipped out and I had to scramble to hang on.
After a few minutes, I was able to get started on climbing up. This is when I realized yet another bad move on my part. Since I went through the narrow space, there was a bit of an overhang that I had to get up.
My toes were still slipping a lot on this ice, so I decided to cheat. I was planting the soles of my feet on the front wall and resting my rear end on the other wall. I found I could shimmy my way up this way and did not run the risk of slipping.
Having gone down so far, no one could see what I was doing…and I was very thankful for that. I was definitely not using the methods that Jim had told us to use. I kept working my way up this way through the narrow point.
I could usually make one step up and then would have to rest for a few seconds. I was seriously getting really tired and thinking this was going to be my first and last trip into a crevasse.
After several more minutes I was within sight of the observers that were on the opposite side of the crevasse. They were snapping pictures and telling me to smile… yeah right! I kept doing my shimmy and worked my way up to the point where I could not lean back and touch the back wall very easily near the top. This meant that I would have to follow the methods Jim had showed us to get out (back to the idea of getting dragged out!).
The good news is that the ice near the top was a little softer and the axe planted into it very well as did the cramp-ons. The bad news with this was the fact that the axes did not come out of the ice all that easily.
It was a struggle, but I got over the top lip and into a rather unflattering position trying to pull myself over the edge. Of course, there was a lot of laughter at this as well as many pictures being taken (you will not be seeing any of these).
I stood up and realized that my arms were numb from the work-out. I was very tired but still had to walk back to the “safe” zone before I could relax. Once I got to an area that was okay… I collapsed.
By this time, others had volunteered and started to go down the other crevasse and someone was waiting to go in the one I had just come out of.
During the next few hours, everyone descended into one of the two crevasses. I have provided pictures of everyone in our group taking part in this activity. I also want to note that no one other than Ryan and Steve decided to go through that narrow area of the crevasse I went down. If only I had known beforehand!
I went down the other crevasse a little later and descended through the hole in the bottom to another chamber. Rebecca also descended at the same time and we took pictures of each other while climbing and at the bottom.
I do have to say that getting out of this crevasse was a much easier proposition than the other one. The snowy ice made planting the axes easier, the walls were not as vertical, and there were little ledges that you could use to plant toes in or axes on.
Midway through the day part of the group decided to head back to station. A few of us remained behind so that we could get down into the crevasses a few more times. I descended the easier of the two crevasses one more time with my camera and took pictures of all the different ice. Climbing out this time was even easier and I felt like a pro.
It was soon getting dark and time for us to go back to station. We gathered up all the gear and tied ourselves together with the ropes one more time. We walked back down the glacier and unpacked all the gear and set it out to dry.
For some unforeseen reason, I slept VERY well that night! I hope that this day will always be embedded as a part of my memories from Palmer Station. It was a great day and an opportunity to do something that I might never have the chance to do again.
The next day…it was back to work!