The year is slowly coming to an end and the in-between time of the guiding season is perfect for training seminars. Peter Jeromel and the Slovenian guides association organized a glacier travel and crevasse rescue seminar, which was supposed to be carried out beneath Grossglockner, but the location was changed to Dachstein due to bad weather.
Milan and I were very surprised to see that the steep road from Schladming to the bottom station of the Dachstein cable car was covered in ice, forcing us to put on snow chains. After a slight delay we got together with the rest of the group, comprising more than twenty mountain guides, with Janez Primožič and Aljaž Anderle helping Peter with all the organization and preparation of the seminar. We rode the cable car to the top, where we put on our touring skis and descended onto the glacier. The visibility was poor and it was very cold, minus 12°C, with a strong northerly wind adding an additional wind chill. It felt positively arctic. We worked at three stations: classical crevasse rescue, rescue using Petzl RAD system, and rescue using Mammut RESCYOU system. Siberian conditions made for some memorable moments as we learned about the advantages and disadvantages of new products and techniques. When we couldn’t stand the cold anymore, we returned to the restaurant where we analysed the activities and talked about our previous experiences.
Such educational and social events are more than welcome, and the number of attendants is a proof of that. Everyone agreed that the subject was well chosen. I’d like to thank all the instructors and the participants for an informative and pleasant day that we had despite the poor weather.
Danilo Tič
