1 Day Ski Crevasse Rescue Clinic Itinerary

Meeting Time: 7 am – 5 pm
Meeting Location: Varies

The day begins at the parking area, where you’ll meet your guides and fellow skiers/riders for introductions, a quick equipment check, and an overview of the day’s objectives.From the trailhead, we skin or splitboard approximately one mile into the backcountry to reach our scenic classroom site. The approach doubles as a working session, offering an excellent opportunity to review skinning techniques, assess terrain hazards, and discuss group travel and communication.

Once at our backcountry classroom, we dive into the day’s curriculum. Guides teach essential knots and hitches used in crevasse rescue, and students practice tying prussiks and other key knots necessary for effective rope work. We then move into anchor building, demonstrating and practicing construction using skis, splitboards, and shovels; students test and fully weight their anchors to confirm they’re reliable for belaying, running protection, and rescue purposes. After a brief lunch break, we shift into more advanced techniques, building a 3:1 Z-pulley rescue system for a three-person rope team and demonstrating the 2:1 Drop-C system for a two-person team, with discussion of mechanical advantage principles and how to adapt systems to specific scenarios. This portion integrates earlier skills — knots, anchors, and rope handling — into full rescue systems. Students then get hands-on practice with hauling systems and anchors in realistic scenarios, including an introduction to the Petzl RAD System designed for ski-mountaineering crevasse rescue, with emphasis on team communication and troubleshooting in the field. We aim to return by 5:00 PM for a recap of the day and a Q&A session to solidify the skills learned.

Skills Covered:

• Glacier travel systems
• Rope/belay techniques
• Knots & hitches used in crevasse rescue
• Construction/evaluation of snow anchors
• Using skis / splitboards as deadman anchors or components of the rescue system.
• Strategies for initiating a rescue while still clipped into skis.
• Basic haul systems (2:1 and 3:1)
• Advanced haul systems (5:1 and 6:1)
• Ascending and descending in rescue scenarios
• Glacier travel risk management

This itinerary may be adjusted based on weather, snow conditions, and group progress.