Choosing from Rope Tie-In Options for Your Glaciated Mountain Climb

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It’s a web of decisions. That’s the funny thing about glacier travel.

Glaciers aren’t the most technical of climbing because they need to be on slopes that can contain the glacier. If things get too vertical, we end up with ice falls, which can be very, very technical. So, except for the rare occasions, glacier travel will usually be the “mountaineering” portion that comes before the big, gnarly “alpine climb.”

But the thing about glacier travel is that it demands a strong competence across a number of different knowledge areas, including macro- and micro-level navigation, complex rope systems, excellent team communication, often avalanche avoidance expertise, cold environment camping, rope work that maximizes safety as well as efficiency, and on and on.

It’s because the environment is so dynamic. And dynamic environments demand that we adapt to them. Those adaptations demand a broad set of knowledge and skills.

So, the major reason I don’t say “rope up this way” in the video is because how we choose to attach ourselves onto the rope for glacier travel should be a product of the other systems (such as our crevasse rescue system), which in turn may well be a product of other risk mitigation efforts we have in place (e.g. using brake knots in the rope between climbers). All of our decisions in glacier travel ripple into the realm of other decisions. It’s our ability to comprehend the complex whole that is really the test of movement through a glacial environment.

If you are looking for the “always do it this way” video, this isn’t it. But if you are interested in the factors that should help guide us to making a good decision on how we rope up to face a crevassed environment, then take a look.