GMC - July 29 - Snow and Rock School

The team assembles for rock school on a glacier-polished cliff
15 minutes from our camp.

We have travelled on a glacier exactly once. It was in Bolivia, while ascending our first summit over 6,000 m, Huayna Potosi, in November 2010. Thus we were eager to take snow school to learn more about snow anchors, self-arrest (that came in handy a few days later) and walking on ice with crampons and in a rope team under the guidance of pro guide Jeff Bullock, Alpine Air Adventures, and Chucky, an ACC amateur leader.

Snow school was informative. We got reminded of some basic knots some we know super well (like the Figure 8) and others we found the reminder useful because we haven't used them as much, like the Munter and Clove hitch.

Inga and Jan quite intent on building a T-slot snow anchor
well. Jeff's providing the oversight. (Photo by R. Shute.)

Snow school was also fun: we got to hurl ourselves down the snow slope with a running start for the self-arrest with mountaineering axe practice. We practiced sliding on the back, head first, butt first. And we got to see just how to arrest such an unintended slide.

The afternoon was spent climbing on rock. It had been a while and reminded us how much we love it. Our next Adironodacks trip will see us back at the Beer Walls near Chapel Pond or on the slabby pyramid on Notch mountain with views of Whiteface!

A close up of the end of the Silver tip glacier. This huge
ice fall is located just up from the climbing cliff.