As I started to look ahead towards planning upcoming climbs, Rainer & Hood this spring, I thought that it would be important to brush up and read more into glacier travel and crevasse rescue.  Route finding and rescue skills are something that everyone who travels in the backcountry especially in roped climbing situations whether it is rock, ice, or snow should be familiar with, I know they’ve saved my butt and those of friends before.  But living in Colorado I do not have a lot of access, or any to glaciated crevasse terrain so one of the best ways to stay in touch with the thoughts and practices of travel and safety is to read, read and read some more; of course this does not replace actually practice in the field or even simulated field practice.

In my search for literature I came across Glacier Mountaineering: An Illustrated Guide to Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue by Andy Tyson and Mike Clelland.   At first I thought this book was a joke or a kids book due to the cartoon on the front and the goofy font of the title.  But as I thumbed through the pages I realized that these guys had taken some kind of dull technical information and found a way to make it a fun read as well as creating illustrations that really allowed you to better visualize what they were talking about.  Along with this both of the authors are experienced mountaineers.  Mike is a NOLS instructor as well as has a variety of published outdoor instructional books under his belt, and Andy has a long list of guiding experience including NOLS, Alpine Ascents, and Exum Mountain Guides.  I became very interested to see what techniques these two could instill in me.

The book covers lots of useful information.  It describes in good detail the anatomy of a glaciers, how the move, and transition and transform from season to season and what makes up their crevasses.  It also includes in it some real life encounters of bridge collapses and falls that help you to understand in better context how these aren’t just things that happen to the inexperienced or unaware.  It also goes into detail on how to travel on glaciated terrain (roped and un-roped) how to understand where crevasses will occur and how to route find through this scary glaciated terrain. The authors also discuss rescue techniques, from how to hold a fall to placing protection and properly ascending a rope.  Along with this they discuss glacier camping techniques, how to create a low impact trip, and how to safely and efficiently set up a glaciated camp.

Okay so I know it sounds like any old glacier travel book.  But it covers everything in great detail and is very entertaining and visual, these guys are funny! They take a serious technical matter and break it down into more understandable ideas and along with that they entertain you.  So if you need learn about glaciers or to touch up on your glacier travel skills and equipment I suggest checking this one out and having fun while you learn!

Cheers!