Orizaba crevasses

[Scott P]

Check out this post from summitpost.org:

http://www.summitpost.org/forum/post989753.html#p989753" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Apparently someone (who made the post) broke through and fell into a crevasse (and had to spend the night) while climbing the standard route on Orizaba.

[SoCool]

Thanks for the post Scott, good reminder that "crevasse free" glaciers can certainly have hidden ones. Will more people rope up for Orizaba now? Maybe. Regardless, there are usually visual indicators that a crevasse exists (on this type of glacier) if people pay very close attention at all times.

[Shooter]

Wow, pretty eye opening after just being on that glacier not to long ago. Glad the person made it out okay.

It must have been a horrifying night as it was pretty high on the glacier as well.

[Scott P]

Regardless, there are usually visual indicators that a crevasse exists (on this type of glacier) if people pay very close attention at all times.

Yes, but I can see how the signs could be shrugged off since Orizaba isn't supposed to have any real crevasses on the standard route. It is probable that many people crossed over the same crevasse before it finally broke through. Hopefully the story will get out about the potential danger and more climbers will look for the signs.

[kaiman]

Wow!

Thanks for posting this Scott. It's always a good reminder that crevasses can open anywhere on a glacier even one as stable as the Jamapa. As a side note, the glacier looks like its in pretty BAD shape this year and it's not surprising that things are moving so much that cracks are starting to open.

Edit - Being that the location of the crevasse is at 18,100 feet I'm guessing that this is the bergschrund opening due to the poor conditions on the glacier below it.

[MountainHiker]

In 1993 when I climbed Orizaba the first time I stepped across a bergschrund. I poked at the edges with my axe before making a wide step across. Back then the normal route went straight to the lowest part of the crater. When I returned to Orizaba in 2006 the normal route went to the right of where that bergschrund was. It was steeper near the top, and gained the crater closer to the summit. So although Orizaba has a reputation for not having Rainier like crevasses, having a bergschrund is not new. With the changing glacier conditions, perhaps this bergschrund moves around and changes size and shape.

[mtn_nut]

There was a small hole, no bigger than my fist, on the descent showing the bergschrund at all when i summited on jan. 25. I went up the middle of the north face, and descended the north west shoulder where there was some steps cut into the ice that made the descent a little easier.

[Mrwaffles989]

Oh wow. I think I posted on here telling someone to leave the rope and pulleys at home. I redact that statement.

[timf]

Well shoot he got to acclimatize a whole night that high up. Did he go up the rest of the way after being extracted?


Kidding! Totally kidding!

[antivoyage]

Wow! I had read about this in a local Mexican paper. Thank you Scott for cross-posting this. The paper described the crevasse as a known cave in the called the Cueva del Muerto. I wonder if there's any relation to the 'Cara del Muerto' climbing route mentioned in Secor's book.

There were a series of reports on unusually rainy weather this fall causing erosion on the glacier, so I wonder if this is correlated. I've never seen so much as a crack.

http://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/2016/02/09/1073942

[antivoyage]

BergshrundMap.jpg (254.24 KiB) Viewed 4198 times

I've just uploaded a map of the location of the crevasse. One take away I see is that the crevasse is predictably in the middle of a hollow. A crevasse of this size absolutely indicates that you ought to use rope. From my research of trip reports on sites like this, only about 20% rope up. If you choose to risk it, maybe stick to the ridges.

The location is around to the west where the guides often chop steps. I've summited both around to the west along the route Jake took and up the ridge indicated in red. The ridge will be a shallower friction zone and therefore would be less likely to have crevasses, but taking into consideration conditions year to year, it's definitely looking like rope is the way to go.

When I catch some free time, I'm going to post a graph of the weather in the days surrounding the cave in. My hunch that this could have been precipitated by a warm day could end up appearing coincidental, but maybe we can learn something by testing theories.

Lastly, if you're looking out for maps you can order stateside, I just started publishing a set in November. With shipping and handling tacked on from Amazon it's roughly what a set of maps would cost at your local REI and I use the verso for a copy of the route guide contained in the companion ebook. I'd appreciate any feedback! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018J8SHD6/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MountainHiker]

With changing conditions it seems there are multiple spots where a bergschrund can form. For me in 1993 it was clockwise from that location - below the lowest part of the crater rim - which was more to the north side of the crater.