Bahrain Everest team spend a day polishing their crevasse crossing skills
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
After a day of recess, Bahrain’s Everest team is back again and is on with taxing practice session in preparation for their final ascent. The 16-member expedition team said they are practising some of the most dangerous climbs and crossings using ladders.
“The team practised some of the most dangerous parts of the climb today, ladder crossing the crevasses which sometimes are 2,3 or 4 ladders tied together across the bottomless crevasses.
It makes it harder wearing crampons and carrying all your equipment,” the team wrote on social media.
Pictures posted showed team members, kitted fully, practising the ladder crossing, which is one of the most important for mountaineering in a snow country.
Experts say it is almost sure that one will encounter a crevasse on their way up, which is scary as it is impossible to spot them in advance and know its depth only when it appears.
If the journey is through the Kumbu Ice falls on mount Everest, then ladder crossing is necessary
Sometimes a single ladder will suffice to bridge a crevasse but will need to lash a couple of them for longer crossings.
The technique involves place a ladder or a combination of ladders over the chasm, fastening them to an object to avoid losing them. Climbers use ice screws to fix the ladders to the nearest side of a crevasse.
Experts, however, point out that the tricky part is who will do it first. The first person bears the entire risk, and he should be someone with experience in crossing crevasses.
Once everything is secured at the other end, and after fixing hand lines, the rest of the team can cross the ladder, one at a time. The mantra or key here is doing it slowly and steadily, as a miss-step could turn fatal.
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