Again, sorry for the lateness of this post.
On the third day we were told that there was a chance of flying. Keen to get into the mountains we hurried to the airport to start the weighing process again. We were weighed with our gear and got into the helicopter. Within minutes we were flying above the glacier with a spectacular view of the nearby mountains. It was amazing to see how expansive the alps were.
Soon we landed and removed our gear from the helicopter. It was only a short walk to the hut but the massive cliff next to it meant that we still had to be careful. We slowly walked over and started to make ourselves at home (in what would be our actual home for the next few days). Bunks were chosen and hut rules were discussed – (a few “discussions” about how to wash dishes were had).
We then split into two different groups – the first put in a boot track going up the hill towards Hochstetter Dome (to be used the next day for self arrest practice), the other group went towards a crevasse to practice crevasse rescue. The purpose of the boot track is to compact the snow and form a visible track which can be followed in poor conditions. It also made it easier to walk up the next day since it froze in that compacted form. This was good practice for walking while roped up. We then met up with the other group to build some T-slot anchors. We then lowered each other into the crevasse and used different methods to get them out – examples included 3:1 hauls, assisted hauls with a micro-traxion, and prussiking (very difficult to do anything with gloves on).
After having mastered crevasse rescue, we headed back to the hut. The sun was setting so the walk back was particularly nice. We cooked our first hut dinner and went to sleep.