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July 30, 1998

Michael Townsend's journal and vivid images of the mountain scenery between Banff and Jasper take us to crevasse rescue on this the fifth day which occurred July 9, 1998

Day 5 would be an ice and snow school. We trekked for about 3 hours to an area perfect for practice with snow and ice anchors, and crevasse rescue. The sun shone for the entire hike in so by the time we arrived we had on minimum clothes and several layers of sun screen. (One of the participants from Quebec forgot to put on enough sun screen one day and had his face so severely burned that he was going to need medical attention when he got out.) I shared Andrea's sun screen for the first four days but as she was getting low I went without for the last 3. I ended up with a moderate burn on my nose and the tips of my ears; nothing of any consequence however.

The school was very good for anyone venturing into the mountain wilderness. Belaying, repelling, self-extraction from crevasses, and building anchors were all both fun activities and essential for the mountain wilderness traveler. Now when Andrea goes out and pursues the activity she has come to love, I will feel so much more confident in her ability to survive.