Crevases__Their_Properties_And_Dangers

Crevases: Their Properties And Dangers Crevasses: Their Properties and Dangers On May 31st, 2002, a group of nine mountain climbers, trekking to the summit of Mt. Hood (11,237 ft.) fell into a crevasse. Three of the climbers were killed in the fall. The resulting rescue efforts involving an Air Force helicopter nearly turned tragic as well. The chopper, which was trying to reach the rest of the climbers in the crevasse, apparently was fighting winds when its blade slammed into the snow, sending the chopper rolling 1000 ft down the side of the mountain. Luckily the three riders in the chopper were ejected from the aircraft without major injury. The event was captured on video and is quite remarkable. It shows the crevasse with the climbers trapped inside along with the chopper crash itself. If only the climbers and the patrol involved had been more prepared, or had clearly marked off the hazard on the mountain, this whole event could have been avoided. In my discussion of crevasses, I will define and explain what makes crevasses so dangerous, and explore routes that can be taken in order to avoid those dangers. A crevasse is a deep crack or fissure located on the surface of a glacier. crevasse, crevasses, snow, glacier, ice, surface, climbers, water, glaciers, often, must, mountain, chopper, caused, weight, sub-glacial, side, one, large, hazard, ft, every, dangers, covered, bridges, been, because, around, zones, work, without, winter, wind, way, through, three