In spite of an unfavorable weather forecast, the glacier travel practice enjoyed near-perfect conditions on Saturday except during the hike in when wind gusts put sand in our eyes and teeth. Participants included:
The glacier was more broken up than in prior years and we had to do a bit of searching to find a suitable crevasse with enough work space next to it. Even then we had to set up a ninety-degree pulley in order to have room to set up a z-pulley. Here is the spot we settled on. The belay is on the right; the z-pulley on the left.
And here is the system at work with the fallen climber cresting the crevasse on the way out.
In prior years we learned steel ice screws go in easier than the lighter titanium ice screws. This year we learned steel ice screws melt out much faster than titanium ice screws, probably for the same reason they screw in faster.
On the way down once we got off the glacier we had a navigation test to see who could find their way through the morraine back to the trail up to the rock cairn on the ridge. About a third of the class flunked. So the test should remain in future years. Here is the group photo taken when we first got on the glacier:
