Roping Up For Glaciers

A practical demonstration of roping up for glacier travel taken from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland's Alpine Essentials DVD.

Full DVD available here: http://www.mcofs.org.uk/dvds-publications.asp

Join the MCofS here: http://www.mcofs.org.uk/join-us.asp

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• roping up
• rope
• glacier travel
• mountain safety
• alps
• alpine
• crevasse
• rescue
• coils
• prusik
• MCofS

[k2chris1983]

I'm not that experience in Mt Cimbing but I believe you would use a 3 to 1 system to pull your buddy out. A 1 to 1 is hard but 3 to 1 is a little easy on you but may take time (you pull 3 ft, buddy moves 1 foot). Is all of this really needed? Yes, if you fall in, you may have to self rescue your self by using 2 or 3 Prusiks if your buddy cannot pull you out.

[johnpommy1]

First class tuition video. To the point, no faffing around and in reslisitc conditions. I climb but not enough and this is a great refresher video that most with basic knowledge will benefit from.

[Rocker21113043]

I am wondering the same thing too, is all of this really needed? And what does happen if my partner falls and I need those coils, how do I get them? I appreciate you posting this, but there is still much that needs to be explained. I feel that you are acting as if all the people who watch this have as much experience as you do, when that is simply not the case.

[bkb0000]

isn't letting the rope slide at the "chest" contact during a shock-load bad?

[skiing4Iife]

@cedertree696 When roped in as a 2 person team, you usually do so because your a 2 person Climbing team. It's more efficient climbing with 2 people. The reason you want to tie in to the end of the rope is when you switch from glacier travel to alpine climbing the transition is quick. The fact that the coils hold you upright is merely an added bonus that replaces the need for a improvised chess harness made from a sling.

[avigamo]

Muchas gracias por el video. Me ha resultado muy instruccivo.

[owain1916]

This is a brilliant example of roping up for glacier travel. 1) Yes, you would want to be an a semi-comfortable position if you have fallen in. The prussic also allows you to shorten the rope when travelling over glacier features (Very Important). 2) Usually the first person puts an ice screw into the ice and then ties a prussic onto the rope, then attaching it to the screw and that takes the weight, thus allowing the last person to take the coils off. 3) Why would you want to?

[wouterfavoreel]

Is all this necessary just to be able to get up right should you fall up side down? Some simple questions remain unanswered to me: How can you quickly release the chest coils if your companion falls in a crevasse? How can you quickly escape from the system?

[outlawcatcher1]

A really good explanation and video example of tying in for glacier travel. Good demo voice too....excellent all round instructional vid!

[PeteParisetti]

Absolutely BRILLIANT! Thanks a lot for making this available!