SAVED by a 6-to-1 Crevasse Rescue Haul on a Three Person Team
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When I first got into alpine climbing and mountaineering, I took a class in which my instructors taught us how to make a simpler (than the system shown in this video) 3-to-1 or “z-haul” crevasse rescue system. Further, they showed us how to make this system only using our belay device, prusik cords, and carabiners. They wanted to ensure that our haul system wasn’t dependent upon any fancy equipment that people might not be able to afford and ensure that everyone knew at least one way to make a system that was simple enough to be remembered.
What it didn’t end up being, though, is effective enough… at least not in my opinion.
I later became the director of a crevasse rescue seminar, a course dedicated to teaching more advanced techniques. Part of that course involved lowering climbers over a cornice lip (we don’t have true crevasses in Colorado) and then hauling them back up.
What we found was that the 3-to-1 system didn’t impart enough mechanical advantage to work. We lose mechanical advantage to friction at multiple points in the system, especially as it was imparted in the initial course in which I was a student so long ago. We lose about 50% of the mechanical assistance we get at each point where we use a carabiner as a pully. We lose mechanical advantage if we are using prusiks as the rope-capture point because the haul is overcoming the friction of the hitch as we pull rope up. And we lose a lot of mechanical assistance to the massive friction that can happen when the fallen climber’s rope cuts into the lip of the crevasse/cornice.
Many a 3-to-1 system simply did not provide two climbers on a three person team enough assistance to haul up a fallen climber and their pack when we factor in all of that friction.
So, we moved on to 5-to-1 and 6-to-1 systems. What we have in this video is the 6-to-1 system. Further, this particular version of the system does a good job of reducing or removing the largest loss of mechanical advantage to friction: hauling the fallen climber on their original line which (often) cuts deeply into the lip. By hauling on a new line, that we lay over a prepared lip, we can significantly reduce friction.
But what we also have in this video is the use of modern tools, and in particular the Petzl Micro Traxion. Depending upon where you buy it, this little piece of gear can cost $80 to $100, US (as of this writing).
When I originally brought up my desire to pivot the crevasse course towards using the Micro Traxion, fellow instructors expressed concern about the cost. Would it be prohibitive? It’s a real concern. But, let’s be honest, this sport is going to include $350 to $1000 boots. It’s going to have hundreds of dollars already dangling on our harness. We may have $1000 worth of clothing on between shells and down parkas and softshell pants and baselayers. And… and… and…
It is rare that I come out and say, “I think of this piece of gear as being fundamental,” but I do think that - for glacier travel - the Petzl Micro Traxion or some other kind of rope-capturing pully is so. It not only makes the haul system much more efficient in terms of loss to friction, but it also is much, much faster to set up. Given that many crevasse falls have compounding issues of physical trauma and/or cold-related injuries or hypothermia, speed of rescue is a big deal.
Is this modern method and modern tool worth it? Clearly I think so. Is there a time that a 3-to-1 will work just fine? Yes. If you have many teams around to add muscle power to overcome the friction in the system, sure. But, back to the notion of dependencies, do we want a system that isn’t reliant upon a dependency of having more people around? While it may be a concern to have a system that isn’t fully reliant upon, but nonetheless works far better, with some specific gear, it seems a greater concern to have a system that demands more climbers be in the same place at the same time as your teammate’s crevasse fall.