Pauls Mountaineering Trips: Crevasse Rescue & CZ Haul System

During my August Mountaineering training on Mt Baker, I learned fundamental glacier travel and crevasse rescue techniques from the American Alpine Institute. The following pictures show our class on the Easton Glacier practicing these techniques. (Click on picture for larger image)

Climbing steep ice with our crampons (German Technique):

Front Pointing (German Style)

Climbing out of a crevasse using our prussik lines:

Climbing Out of a Crevasse

We were also taught how to set up a CZ 6-to-1 haul system. This instruction was for implementation by a two-man rope team, meaning one person falls into a crevasse leaving the remaining person on his own to arrest the fall, setup the haul system, and haul his partner out of the crevasse. The primary steps for performing the rescue and setting up the haul system, to the best of my recollection, are listed below. I have included photos of several portions of the haul system we set up during our practice sessions in a snow field on Mt baker.

CREVASSE RESCUE CZ-HAUL STEPS:
1. Self Arrest the fall.
2. Dig T-Slot & set picket or fluke anchor.
3. Clip foot prussik into anchor sling.
4. Transfer weight to prussik & relax.
5. Remove rope coil & flake out.
6. Shed backpack.
7. Measure out slack rope to allow travel to set backup anchor, tie new fig eight loop in slack, hook loop to harness (unhook old loop from harness).
8. Walk over to backup anchor site and setup backup anchor.
9. Tie a new fig 8 loop in slack rope to allow travel to crevasse lip, hook loop to harness (unhook old loop from harness).
10. Girth hitch pack cordellette (loop) to waist prussik, move out near crevasse lip, straddle rope seated, kick holes in snow to allow placement of ice ax under rope to pad lip.
11. Slide ice ax under rope to pad crevasse lip.
12. Remove all figure 8 knots from line.
13. Clip slack rope to master with a locker, run rope back down to within a few feet of padded crevasse lip. Tie a prussik (waist or pack loop)to the loaded rope near the crevasse lip, clip the prussik’s loop to pulley “A”, run the slack rope through pulley “A”, and add a figure 8 loop to the side exiting pulley “A”.
14. Tie another figure 8 loop on the very end of the slack rope, clip it into the master, run it back down toward victim, run it through another pulley (pulley “B”), and clip this pulley to the figure 8 created in step 13.
15. Establish a “hauling” seat in the snow near the ratcheting (foot) prussik. As you begin hauling, tend the ratcheting prussik and, occasionally reset the traveling prussik back toward the crevasse lip.

CZ Haul System Pictures (CLICK ON PICTURES FOR LARGER IMAGE):

CZ Haul System (End View):