How can I safely climb a glacial route with just a kid or one other person?

Question

I want to climb a mountain with my daughter. There is a glacier on the route that we should cross. Other routes take much longer or are technically more difficult.

The glacier does not have many crevasses but they are deep and may be hidden. All people have glacier equipment: crampons, ice axes, rope, etc. There is a big difference in the weight of a kid and adult. The kid is 20 kg (44 lb) and the adult is 80 kg (176 lb). The kid can't belay an adult.

First case: 1 adult and 1 kid.

Second case: 2 adults and 1 kid.

Answer 1

While children can be proficient mountaineers and well trained, there are things they likely cannot do and some additional risks they face. For example, children are more susceptible to hypothermia. Most children are not capable of performing first aid and lack the physical strength to dig out someone trapped in an avalanche. If a single adult is climbing with a child, they should consider themselves as essentially climbing alone.

A child climbing alone with a single adult also faces a unique risk in that if the adult falls into a crevasse, the odds of an unanchored child catching such a fall are pretty low (the exact odds depend on how the adult falls, the steepness of the slope and how icy things are). The adult and child will both likely end up wedged at the bottom of the crevasse. This must be prevented at all costs. Basically this means that whenever there is a chance the adult could fall (i.e., always on the glacier), there needs to be adequate protection. You might be able to get by with a 4th class running belay placing pickets, screws or deadman as you go, but you would probably want to go very slow and just set 5th class belays and go a rope length at a time. With a solid anchor a child can catch basically any fall.

It is worth noting that if the child some how manages to catch the fall such they both do not end up in the crevasse, then things are not too bad as long as the child is capable of setting an anchor while holding the fall and knows how to build a hauling system and appropriately protect the lip (etc). If the child knows the skills, their size should not prevent them from getting the adult out. There of course is the issue of first aid and hypothermia once the child gets the adult out.

If the child is not highly skilled and trained, then one adult and one child over any technical terrain is ridiculously unsafe. Two adults and one untrained child has a lot of similar risks are two adults, but if one adult falls, they will likely pull the child off leaving the remaining adult having to catch an adult and a child (good luck with that).

Answer 2

There is a clear answer here: just don't do it!

Glacier rescue is challenging - you need to know the techniques and practice them seriously. And I can tell you from experience that a glacier rescue is scary, stressful and exhausting, and that was with a party of 4 fit and experienced adults. If you have to ask the question, you simply don't have the skills to execute safely.

Two highly skilled adults on a glacier with hidden crevasses is very sketchy: it can be difficult to hold a fall and even more difficult to extract - often impossible if the faller is injured. There is no way the kid could hold the adult, never mind rescue them from the crevasse. It would be grossly irresponsible to venture onto a dangerous glacier with just an adult and child on the rope.

With two skilled adults and a kid you are effectively in the same marginal situation as two adults on their own, but with additional risks and responsibilities. The kid won't have the weight, skill or temperament to be anything other than a hindrance if anything goes wrong. And if it's the kid who falls in, it might be a traumatic experience for them even if they don't get injured.

The OP has clarified that this is a recreational trip and that their aim is to climb a particular peak with their daughter. There is no way that a glacier of this kind can be made safe for a child in a small party. Please be responsible and find a safer route for your outing.

Answer 3

You used the term belay incorrectly. The other member is just an anchor.

The problem is that the child cannot perform a self rescue and cannot anchor an adult.

If you had two groups of three (one all experienced adults) and the all adults lead then the all adults could perform a z-pulley rescue. It still would be traumatic for the child.

A child is going to have trouble with glacier travel.