Big Pine revisited, my first bergschrund (photos)

“Even though I was just there last weekend, we were on different routes and I got to my first Bergschrund!”

“I guess the link would help . . .

My first Bergschrund”

“Great pics as usual, Snow Nymph!

For the ignorant (yes me too), what's a bergschrund?”

“okay, what the heck is a bergschrund?? (sounds german)
I looked at the pics, but can't see what you mean (duhhh!! sorry :(

Great Pics btw!
One of those days I am going to make it to the west and then I'll email ya. Need lots of info :D”

“A Bergschrund is a crevasse formed where a glacier pulls away from the mountain

these berschrunds were bigger, but higher to hike to I went to the one on the right of this photo, click on next”

“OK, so if I understood that right, you've got rock on one side and ice on the other?”

“WHOA!!!”

“Snow Nymph, your photos are awesome. What kind of camera are you using. The one in the pic looks like a monster.

The fall colors contrasted by the stark rocks are amazing. Thanks for sharing.

You rock Snow Nymph!!”

“deep cracks in glaciers near the top of the mtn glacier where the field joins the valley portion of the glacier

I think that's it”

“Absolutely awsome! It's been a long time since I've been in that area. Is that near Whitney???”

“Great photos, Snow Nymph. I really appreciate all the hard work you put into your photos and trip reports. The color of the glacial lakes on your recent trips has been great.”

“Frontpoint down climb.

That is always interesting, not a good time to let the mind wander.

Thank you for the vicarious living.”

“Nice Ice hole!”

“Rockman lives!

Nice photo's SN!”

“I've always seen the bergschrunds from the Glacier Trail, from 1000' below. Since I wan't planning to peak bag, I wanted to walk on the glacier and climb up to a bergstrund. To show the size, here's a photo I found with people on it B.Rubble ran out of pics and didn't get any while I was up there. I forgot to take one with me to show the size (too worried about getting down).

Gemini: If you come out here, be sure to let us know. You'll love it!

bitpusher: if I understand right, a crevasse is formed where a glacier pulls away from the mountain and separates flowing ice from stagnant ice at the head of a glacier. Palisade Glacier is the biggest in this area, but nothing compared to Canada or some other places. On the big glaciers, people are roped together, so if one falls into a bergschrund, everyone drops and digs their ice axes in.

Indiana John: I'm using the Canon Powershot S45 4.0 megapixel digital. Love the camera but the batteries suck. I took 197 pics, and went thru 2 batteries, with the 3rd one in. If I turn the display off, and don't use the zoom, I might have better luck. I'll be looking for another camera for next years 30 day trip. I had to feel that monster camera, and it was HEAVY! The fall colors changed a lot in the week between my trips there.

Father Goose, Big Pine is 45 miles north of Whitney. Its a 278 mile drive from Torrance (one way).

pepper: I took more photos of the glacier lakes, but since I was there the week before, the lake photos are in that album. From last weeks trip, Calhiker made a poster using the lakes as the main color

manuka: Climbing up was easy, it didn't look that steep going up (til the last 20' or so). I had to really concentrate on getting down. No mistakes, especially after my Banner Peak fall. I relaxed for 1 second before I lost my balance. That fall became part of the AeroNymph photo.

Pants: I thought of you everytime I found one of those!
:-)”

“I can't find my other trip report.

Idaho Bob:
you said you did Middle Pal from the Glacier.
Where did you camp when you did Middle Pal?
It took 4 hrs for the guys to get to the bottom of Thunderbolt from Sam Mack Meadow, and we left at 6:30am. After reading all the trip reports, they thought it was doable, but no one mentioned where they started from. We were wondering if climbers camp closer to the glacier. They'll try it again in October or next season. I was happy to make the bergschrund”

“I seem to recall earlier in the year there was a man at Sam Mack Meadow that had an accident there. I think his daughter (12-yrs old?) had to hike out to get help. He hit his head, or something like that.

He had to be air lifted out.”

“The ice on the glacier reminded me of the self arrest drills we were doing year before last. Only in well developed snow. With hardened ice like that, I wonder how much of a bite you can really get. Probably have to rely on fetching up on something, too.

One of my instructors once shared that your axe is there mostly for self belay during a traverse rather than for arrest. He's of the idea that you have a 50/50 shot at catching yourself. Just depends on the angle of the slope.”

“Beautful photos!”

“Awesome photos!

So this in California?

I should scan the photos from our honeymoon when we went to Mt. Robson Park in the Canadian Rockies.

I would love to go back and explore those glaciers with the proper gear.

We were talking with the one park ranger there and she said through the years a body will pop out of the end of the glacier of a climber that may have fallen in a crevace 40-50 years ago and its amazing but they usually have a wallet with all their identification with them. She said that many of the bodies are of people from other contries.”

“SN - Awesome.

I have the Canon Powershot A-70 (3.2 Megapixels). Great camera for around $300 and uses 4 AA alkalines or NiMH rechargables that last for 200-500 pics (depending on how much you use the display).”

“Snow Nymph: That climb had to be in 1969 or earlier, when I was 19, and I really don't remember where we camped. I do remember that we got started in the dark, but it was light be the time we got to the bergshrund. The route was a class 3 on rock, not up a snow filled gully, like the U notch. I remember getting to the top for an incredible view, and going "that was great, now how do we get down?" Your photos are great, thanks for posting them.”

“Tekdude, self arrest will work even on water ice as long as the head has the correct angle.
You will slide a bit before it grabs, but you just assume the position and hope like hell you stop before the slope goes vertical.

Most glaciers are formed by compressed snow. The top few feet are generally neve which is snow that has melted a bit in the sun during the day and refrozen at night. Sort of granulated snow like coarse sugar and frozen together. In self arrest you will stop almost immediately.

Head angle- take a piece of string from the piolet (point on end of handle) to the top of the shaft. Go out to the end of the head. The length of the shaft must be longer than the straight line distance between the piolet and the point of the head.
This means tha when sliding the point will dig in rather than grab and slip out.
Problem occurs when a shaft is shortened and the head angle is not changed. Design problem, nothing can be done to correct it, just buy a different axe.”

“WOW! Having studied Glacial Geology in skool yet never been to an active glacier, I envy you much more now for having access to the areas you hike/climb.

I live in the wrong part of the country!”

“Really Beautiful Pictures!

I'm working late so I thought I'd come down to our conference room and I ran slideshows of your pics on the large overhead screen! I gotta work late more often!

Awesome shots of the glacial lakes, changing colors, real nice First Lake shot! I esp. liked the Snow Nymph in the glacial stream. Great reflections! And the rescue basket, why didn't you pack that out?!?

Waaaa! You Left-Coasters have the life. Can I come out and climb with you guys some day... please??? My first bergschrund was on Mt. Hood and in typical fashion I almost slid into it! (I was on belay). I glissaded on my butt most of the way down the steep parts, weee!!!

Here's another bergy definition. A bergschrund is the uppermost crevasse on a mountain that seperates the non-moving uppermost snow-cap from the moving part of the glacier and may typically be the largest crevasse on a mountain.

Get out your prussik loops!”

“Tek: I wondered if the ice axe would stop me if I fell from the top of the bergschrund. I pictured myself bouncing in and out of those suncups. I was happy to be back in the sun with the softer snow. I think the biggest danger for us was the big boulder sliding off the ice pedestals. At one point we had a crevasse to cross. Bullet has long legs and could have done it. I told him I could frontpoint down a few steps so I would be closer to the other side. He didn't want to risk me slipping and falling, so we walked around it. On the other side, we stopped take the crampons off and eat a quick snack. A few minutes later, we heard a rumble and looked up to see a big flat car size boulder slide over the crevasse and send snow flying when it landed. Had we crossed and stopped there, we could have been flattened. Lesson learned: don't sit downhill from boulders sitting on ice pedestals in the hot sun.

Adventurist: What a coincidence! I spent last night uploading our Mt Robson trip from August. I was really impressed with Reef Glacier from Snowbird Pass. We didn't know what was at the other side of the glacier and we didn't have equipment, if not we would have gone down to the glacier and done a loop trip. A few years ago a friend of mine was hiking around Cotopaxi, and saw something dark in the ice above. He climbed up to get a closer look and it was a boot with crampon. After the body was identified, they told him the guy disappeared 5 years before. Nice honeymoon! Guess we missed that ice cave, pretty cool!

Phil: I originally wanted a camera that took both types of batteries, but everyone raved about the S45. Its a great camera, but I can't buy 30 of those batteries and there's no way to recharge them on the trail. I need something like yours that takes both, but now I want the 5.0 megapixel. Hodge just got that one.

Idaho Bob: "that was great, now how do we get down?" I was saying that from the bergschrund! Bullet talked to some guys that were climbing Sunday, and they were camped at the end of the Glacier trail. They climbed the left Uphill Couloir chute, and I kept seeing constant rockfall as I made my way to the bergschrund. It took them a long time to get down, roped togther, because of the loose rock.

Manuka: I'll check my axe for the head angle. I've only used the ice axe once to self arrest. Another time, I was crossing a icy slope to get to some good snow on Mammoth mountain and slipped, sliding out of control. I used my snowboard to self arrest, and it worked! :-)

Budder, Cptn Bobo: Come out here, this glacier is easy to get to. I'll go back again just to play in it.”

“Hey Snow Nymph, are you feelin' a chill in the air yet? Are you gettin' that itch? I'm bettin' on pre Thanksgiving! How many days you goin' for this season?”

“"Lesson learned: don't sit downhill from boulders sitting on ice pedestals in the hot sun."

...And whatever you do, DON'T HIKE ANYWHERE DOWNHILL OF BOWLDERMAN!!!”

“One other thing I picked up was, you want to maximize your body friction during your slide. With your axe in tight and your shoulder buried into the surface, you also have both your knees skidding along. It's a three point stance with the adze in tight above your sholder.

All the while you're sliding, your kicking steps hard, fast, and furious. You keep your belly and chest off the slope. You'd otherwise just become a toboggan.

Plus, when you're in a fall head first, the idea is to get in a position where you can snap into place. You're relying on your leg and hip weight to move your body over pretty quickly. From either side. And it's pretty deliberate.

Oh. And the rate of acceleration in a free fall is 9.8 meters per second squared. Just in case you're interested in knowing how bad it can get. 8)

I know, ...yet another nugget of useless knowledge.”

“Dunk:
Mammoth Mountain opens in 34 days! Don't know how many days I'll get, but planning to go every weekend.

Bowlderman:
I've been doing a lot of peaks lately and I ALWAYS think about you! LOL! That's another one I'll never forget!

Pantscandy:
Oops! I read my comment above, and it didn't come out like I meant it. It was the name change thing.

Tekdude:
My only fall was backwards, head first about 50' on a vertical chute. By the time I stopped I had somehow flipped over and my axe was under me, trying to dig in. The sliding forced the shorts up my butt and left some ice burn on the right cheek, and took a chunk of skin out of my right elbow. It happened so fast.

That fall was on my mind when I started back down the bergschrund”