This trip is intended for experienced mountaineers looking to practise and freshen their mountaineering skills, as well as for any budding mountaineers who are about to go on mountaineering courses and would like some pre-training. (All participants must be competent in using ice axes and crampons, and be versed in rope climbing skills and camping in the snow. If you are unsure if you have enough experience for this trip, please feel free to contact me and we can discuss it.)
The aim of this trip is to cover the basic skills used by mountaineers, and as such, I hope to cover the following (trip participants are welcome to add others):
1. Self-arresting
2. Snow anchors
3. Roping up for glacier travel and walking as a team
4. Crevasse rescue scenarios*
We can also practise avalanche victim search and rescue if people would like to. Additionally, if the weather is bad for the trip, we can also cover improvised shelters and bad weather camp management - as only the worst weather will prevent this trip from happening.
The schedule of the trip will be flexible, and trip participants are free to practise these skills at their own pace. Participants can also practise snow and/or mixed climbing should they confident in taking care of themselves. *If anyone would like a list of crevasse rescue scenarios to pre-think about, let me know - I have 7 different scenarios in mind.
The exact location of this trip will be decided at a later date when there is a semi-reliable weather forecast. At the moment, the plan is to head to Rams Heads and find some steep, short snow banks to practise the crevase rescue techniques. Also, there is a tall rocky outcrop just WSW of North Rams Heads that could used for mixed-climbing should participants get bored with rope faff.
The current schedule is to leave Canberra early on Saturday morning, and return on Sunday evening/night. However, if the weather is good and people are keen, we could leave on Friday night to maximise our time in the snow.
Saturday: Drive to Dead Horse Gap, walk into campsite location, set up camp, practise mountaineering skills.
Sunday: Practise more mountaineering skills and/or climb. Pack up camp, return to car, and drive home.