Will You Rescue Me?

From a crevasse, that is (if your name is 'Will' the answer better be 'yes').  And now, with the help of a crevasse rescue training course you can, too!

I'm very behind on my blogging mainly because we've been so busy moving (photos to come sometime soon...nothing is set up yet like I want it so you'll just have to wait).  I digress... So, a few weeks ago we went down to Rainier to take a crevasse rescue course in order to help us learn skills needed for when we summit Rainier this fall (I have mentioned that before, haven't I?).  

We went down on a Saturday afternoon and had dinner in the park at Inn at Longmire, which was lovely.  Then retired to our little room at the Whittaker Bunkhouse.  It was super cute and very mountain-ey looking.  We retired early to our single beds :) to get a good night's sleep since we had to be at class at 7 am.  

Whittaker Bunkhouse

Inn at Longmire

Early the next morning we met up with our guides and went over tying specific knots and the basics of crevasse rescue.  Then we got on a van with all our gear and went up to Paradise (~6,500 ft) to practice. It was really cold when we were just standing around because it was slightly windy, but once we got warmed up it was a lot of fun and we each got lowered over the edge (not actually in a crevasse like I thought) and the team had to set up the system to pull us up.

Me with all my crevasse gear on.

Katie, our guide teaching us how to set up the
pulley system after building snow anchors.

Shot looking up over the edge while I was hanging.

Self-portrait from hanging over the edge, waiting to be pulled up.

Will dangling over the edge. 

We learned all the intricacies of setting up pulley systems, building snow anchors, self-arresting with an ice-axe, z-pulleys, c-pulleys, clove hitches, prussic knots, etc.  Bottom line, it's very difficult to perform a crevasse rescue and you have to remember a ton of stuff.  Climb smart, climb with a guide, and don't take any chances.