Description

Sunday, July 5th I would like to attempt Mt. Clarke in a day. If we have a strong group we would try and expand to the full Viennese Clarke traverse. This trip is weather dependent. We’ll need an alpine start, and estimates put a full traverse at approx 17 hours. If we decide for just Clarke, we’ll probably be closer to 11 hours (Car to Car). For information on the route and access please take a look at these two trip reports:

Mount Clarke | Steven’s Peak-bagging Journey

Viennese-Clarke Traverse, East to West (5.8, 4+ km ridgeline) – www.StephAbegg.com

WHO YOU ARE:

A fit and excited (budding) alpinist comfortable with scrambling low 5th class, alpine rappelling, <5.8 alpine trad. (The climbing is if we go on from Clarke for the full ridge). You need to be comfortable crossing steeper snow slopes (no glaciers, but snow pack remains at higher elevations). When you sign up, please let me know if you’re comfortable with attempting the route shown on the trip reports in a single day. I’m okay to go for a low fifth scramble via the Clarke SE ridge if that’s what is the best for the group. Group size is 2-4 to avoid excessively long rappel times.

WHO I AM:

I’m looking to try Clarke, I haven’t done it before. I live in Chilliwack and have been hiking and climbing for years. I have done multi-pitch sport and trad in alpine environments, trail running, ski touring, a fair amount of glacier travel, and a lot of scrambling.

WHEN YOU SIGN UP:

I’ll send an email and we can have a quick chat about the route and your experience. It’s expected to be a bit of type two fun, so be prepared 🙂 This is not a beginning hiking trip, but a proper mountaineering attempt. Gear required will likely include 1 or 2 ropes, alpine axe, cams/nuts, etc. We’ll go over climbing/alpine gear in our chat. The drive is ~1.5 hrs up the west side of Harrison via logging road, then we start. Ideally leaving car around 5 or 6 am.

 

 

Nice Map of full route.

Hazards:

 

Preamble

It is important to the waiver process that we have the hazards of a trip clearly listed as people signup for club events. Below we have put together a example list of the most common hazards on ACC events, but there are a few things to keep in mind!

• The important part of this is listing the hazards, the hazard mitigation section is NOT REQUIRED
• The Hazard mitigations below assume the course is being guided by an ACMG guide, but that can be customized to your offering if desired.

 

Sample Hazard Mitigation’s for groups with no guides.

• Morning Group Safety Briefing
• Emergency Response Plans
• Reviewing Belay or Crevasse Rescue Skills

If you have any concerns about your trip descriptions and the appropriate hazards and or mitigations, please feel free to reach out to Morgan Sturgess- [email protected]  or Tara McConnery – [email protected] in the office and we will help you review it!

 

Thanks for keeping everyone safe!

 

Hazards

 

Rockfall and Icefall

What are the Risks

Rockfall and icefall can be caused by natural forces or by people travelling through the terrain (e.g. climbing/scrambling/hiking)

Hazard Mitigation

Mitigated with certified and experienced guides, Helmets

 

Avalanche

What are the Risks

Avalanches can occur in the terrain you will be entering| Caused by natural forces, or by people travelling through the terrain (skiing/snowboarding)| Anyone caught in an avalanche is at risk of personal injury, death, and/or property damage or loss.|

Hazard Mitigation

Certified Guides with experience and training to manage this risk

Daily risk assessment processes

Guest training

 

 

Communication and Rescue

What are the Risks

Communication can be difficult and in the event of an accident, rescue and treatment may not be available| Adverse weather may also delay the arrival of treatment and transport out of the field

If an Injury occurs in challenging terrain movement to an evacuation point may be slow|

Hazard Mitigation

First Aid / Rescue Training| Satellite Communications |

 

 

Terrain

What are the Risks

Cornices | Crevasses | Trees, tree wells, and tree stumps | Cliffs | Creeks | Rocks and Boulders |Holes and depressions below the snow surface| Variable and difficult snow conditions |Snowcat roads and road ranks | Fences and other man-made structures | Impact or collision with other persons, vehicles or objects | Encounters with domestic or wild animals | Loss of balance or control | Becoming lost or separated from the group | Slips, trips, and falls|

Hazard Mitigation

Mitigated by Trained and experienced Guide| Radios

 

 

General Hazards

What are the Risks

Slips trips and falls indoor or outdoor| Equipment failure| Infectious disease contracted through viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi which may be transmitted through direct or indirect contact| Negligence of other persons, including other guests| Negligent first aid| Negligence of the guide Including failure to take reasonable steps to safeguard or protect you from, or warn you of risk, dangers, hazards, on participating in ACC activities|

Hazard Mitigation

Developed safety plans and procedures with decades of experience managing risk.

 

 

Falls and Belaying

What are the Risks

Mountaineering and ice climbing present the risk of falling from the wall causing the climber to collide with the wall or ground which can lead to injury or death| The risk of a belay failure is also present which can contribute to a ground fall|

Hazard Mitigation

Reviewing best practices with the guide| Equipment checks|

 

 

Boots and Binding Systems

What are the Risks

Even when set up correctly, a ski binding might not release during every fall or may release unexpectedly. The ski boot/binding system is no guarantee that the skier will not be injured.  Non-DIN-certified bindings, such as pin/tech bindings, present a higher risk of pre-release and/or injury as they are not designed to the same safety standards as a DIN-certified alpine binding.

 

Unlike alpine ski boot/binding systems, snowboard and some telemark boot/binding systems are not designed or intended to release and will not release under normal circumstances.  Using such a system increases the risk of injury and/or death when caught in an avalanche.