SNICE Update and Balmhornhutte

So it's high time that I updated what I'm doing here... 

I've been taking groups up for about 2 weeks now, which I'm loving :) The groups we've had so far have been pretty cool and have all managed to get the activities done (without too much moaning!). The next week is a bit quiet, but it's apparently it's meant to pick up a bit after August 1st. 

I was up on Wednesday night, and the night before that was a snowstorm! Luckily we still managed to get the group up and onto the glacier for a bit of a play, but not before I managed to grab a couple of photos.

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Today was my day off, and I felt like going and doing something (rather than sitting around on my backside), so I decided to go up to Balmhornhutte in the afternoon. I've been on a bit of a hut-bagging kick lately after seeing a list of all the huts in the area. I've visited Frundenhutte, Lotschenpasshutte, Doldenhornhutte, and I'll be up at Lohnerhutte on Tuesday.

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I was feeling like going pretty quick up to the hut, but even I was surprised was I saw the hut... I managed to get up there in an hour and a half, and down in about the same time. To be honest I could have made it down quicker, but I was pretty scared looking down the massive drop-off on one side. Despite this I really enjoyed going up there, especially at my own pace :) 

Til next time.....

Posted via email from Ali's Kandersteg Adventure

SNICE Training

After being here for about 3 weeks I've finally started my real job for the summer, with a couple of days of training up at the Frundenhutte. We were practicing the activities that I'll be running and the techniques we'll be using. Starting on Wednesday afternoon we hiked up to the hut past the lake (at a pretty fast pace), so that we were up there for dinner (awesome as all hut food is). Then the next day we spend working on the glacier itself with Marc, the hut warden and mountain guide (a pretty cool guy - he didn't bring any food or water, just smoked for most of the time). We were mostly doing Glacier Workshop stuff, which involves working around on the glacier with ropes, crampons, and ixe axes, then dropping people into a crevasse and then pulling them out, and ice axe arrests. Overnight there was the biggest storm I think I've ever heard. Then on the Friday we were out on the glacier again, doing some ice climbing and more crevasse rescues. 

Then on the Saturday we did the Snow & Ice Expedition (formerly known as the Petersgrat Expedition). It normally takes 2 days, but we did it in a day which was fairly knackering! Mostly it involves a long hike over the glacier and then over the Petersgrat ridge line in the middle of the glacier. 

I start for real (with guests) tomorrow! Feels like I'm being thrown in at the deep end.

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Posted via email from Ali's Kandersteg Adventure