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Party Climbing In travel on snow-covered glaciers the rope is always on —for all practical purposes whenever the party is outside of sleeping bags. A party of two men is too weak on any ski-mountaineering trip, let alone travel on a crevassed glacier. Three should be the minimum; two ropes of two, both following the same route, provide maximum speed and security. The four will preferably tie in to the same rope if continuous roped travel is possible. Each climber attaches a Prusik sling to the rope taking care that it is drawn down behind his bowline or butterfly and tucked into a pocket. The rope should be kept taut between members of the party at all times. Should one man of a three-or four-man team fall into a crevasse, his companions can all contribute to the "belay" by falling into self-arrest position. Experience has shown that the frantic attempts at belaying after the fall has begun are usually inadequate; there is not normally enough time to arrange an effective shaft belay and generally the surface of the glacier is such that the shaft will not penetrate far enough to be of much |
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