By Simon Chandler & Nick Willis - January 2006
This letter was sent to the organizers of the Ice Climbing Ecrins (ICE) festival on our return from France in January 2006. You can read our article about this here. We have decided to allow other members of the IMC to read our letter as a warning of what to expect and be aware of should they decide to go to future ICE festivals. Please do not reproduce this letter elsewhere, or make it available to non-members.
Nick and I spent the first two days of the festival in the beginners area in the Freissinieres valley attending workshops. Whilst we were there we commented that we should try to give the ICE organizers some feedback about our negative experiences. In normal circumstances that might have been as far as it went - nothing but a good intention. However, after hearing about the fatal accident we felt compelled to write ...
Dear Gerard,
Here are the observations and comments that my climbing partner and I wanted to give as 'feedback' to the organizers of the ICE festival. It has taken me a long time to organize these thoughts and choose the right words, so my apologies for the delay. Originally I tried to write this as a short list of suggested improvements. However, I decided that without the explanation of what we saw and experienced in the beginners area on the 5th and 6th of January the ICE organizers may not understand why we make these suggestions. So, please forgive this rather long anecdotal email. I will summarize our suggestions at the end.
All my comments refer to the first fatality at the ICE 2006 festival [in which a beginner was killed by an icicle that fell from overhanging rock].
Just by way of introduction, I think it's worth saying that I've been climbing on rock for 18 years, and that I also do some caving. I understand that in doing this I'm taking some calculated risk to my safety, and that I must know how to look after myself - I certainly don't expect someone else to do that for me. I now have lots of experience of multi-pitch UK-style trad climbing in adventurous situations (on a UK scale). I understood that there would be even more risk involved when venturing onto ice for the first time, so I did some reading in preparation for this (I read Will Gadd's book cover-to-cover). I am a complete beginner when it comes to snow and ice.
I've consulted with the other three people with whom I shared a gite during the festival. All of us were beginner ice climbers but with a wide range of experience in other forms of climbing, so these comments are an objective and honest summary of the ICE festival from a beginner's perspective. I also heard similar comments from other beginners during the festival.
Three issues need to be covered: organization, preparation and communication.
In summary, we all felt that organization of the beginners sector was very poor. It was definitely overcrowded, with too many beginners in too small an area with too few guides. On the morning of Thursday 5th January I was in the beginners area. Fortunately I was signed-up in a group of four beginners with one specifically allocated Millet guide who we had met at the expo the previous evening. We were lucky, since we knew who was in charge of us. Most beginners in that area however were not with an allocated guide, but had arrived via shuttle bus at 10:00 with the expectation of being given "ice climbing introduction for adults run by guides from Cie des guides Oissans-Ecrins and youth teams of FCAF and FFME", as described in the ICE program. For these beginners there was a great deal of confusion. Who was a guide? Who was in charge? Which group was which? Who should a beginner talk to to get some advice or guidance? Which top-rope could they climb on? People who hadn't signed-up with Millet were trying to climb with ropes set up by the Millet guides, and the guides weren't happy about that. To make matters worse a completely independent group of climbers from Kings College London had arrived at that sector early that morning (the area was deserted when they arrived, with no warning that it would be used later in the day) and were busily climbing on it when the first party of beginners from the ICE festival (i.e., us) arrived at 9:30. There was an argument between the Millet guides and the group from Kings, which ended with them both insisting on using the same ice. It was very, very crowded. I consciously thought to myself that the overcrowding and chaotic situation in the beginners area was unnecessarily increasing the risk of there being an accident, and that I should get in touch with the organizers to make this comment and suggests improvements. This was my feeling a few days before I heard that there had indeed been an accident [in which a beginner from Greece was killed by an icicle that fell on her from overhanging rock]. The situation in the beginners area was acknowledged in the ICE organization's press statement about the accident "The overpopularity of the beginners area had pushed certain glaciairists to venture into areas disadvised by the professionals of the mountain".
In the literature advertising the ICE festival there is what I interpret as a carefully worded 'disclaimer' statement:
The object of this meeting is to help you discover our icefalls. We will help you get to the sites by shuttle bus. After that, you are in the winter mountain environment under your own responsibility.
Fair enough. But the festival was also advertised as "sought out by the beginner", with attractions such as "free safety workshops (both on the ice and at the registration point)" and with guides available for "teaching ice climbing". Because this is attracting people new to ice climbing to venture into something about which they have little knowledge or experience there really has to be some responsibility on the organizers to provide for those beginners. Not just to provide a way to get up the learning curve - which my partner and I did successfully - but to do so with as much safety as possible. I recognize that this statement could be open to debate.
As beginners we are very ignorant of what you far more experienced ice climbers would consider to be obvious signs of danger in the ice climbing environment. As an example, on Friday 6th January my partner and I found ourselves back in the beginners area, but this time without an allocated Millet guide. Again, it was very busy. Rather than stay in the chaos we decided to find a small, unused section of ice on which to practice placing ice screws and making Abalakov belays. I asked one of the guides where I could find a suitable area, and was told that if I went "that way" (pointing vaguely down the valley) I'd be bound to find something. So we walked in the direction indicated to us, looking for some ice to use. After only a few minutes we found what we thought was a suitable 'mound' of water ice in a quiet area away from the main path, dumped our sacks and started placing screws. Fortunately a passing experienced climber saw us and warned us in a very agitated way to "get out of there - it's very dangerous". We just hadn't realized that the icicles hanging from the rock above could cause us harm. We have since learnt that it was a situation exactly like this that killed the beginner on the previous day. We had seen the icicles, but had figured that they weren't directly overhead and that they were firmly attached to the rock. I now feel really stupid - and lucky!
At this time we had not heard about the fatality on the previous day, and we certainly hadn't read the press statement ("The overpopularity of the beginners area had pushed certain glaciairists to venture into areas disadvised by the professionals of the mountain"). If we had, then we may have been more cautious in our search for some 'quiet' ice. I suspect that the guide who said that we could find some suitable unused ice in "that direction" hadn't heard about the accident either (or they would have been much more cautious with their advice). Alternatively, if they knew about the accident then they were under-estimating our ignorance of the dangers in the ice-fall environment. They certainly weren't 'disadvising' us of venturing away from the beginners area. My climbing partner and I had attended the safety briefing on the evening of Wednesday 4th January, and we did not hear any specific warning about dangers in Freissinieres valley (this has been confirmed by checking with our house-mate who also attended that briefing and is a native French speaker). The "disadvised" line of the press statement may be referring to text in the guide ('Glace et Mixte en Cascade') or notices about conditions of the ice in the expo hall (printed from the webpages 'Conditions des cascades de glace'). However, my partner and I found the guide difficult to follow because I don't completely understand the text due to my very rusty schoolboy French. Our lack of local knowledge about the Freissinieres valley and of experience in reading ice topos make the guide's maps difficult to understand; We are still uncertain about exactly where on the guide's maps the beginners area is located! As a beginner at the festival there is a lot of new information to try to understand and assimilate. We certainly can't be expected to read and remember all the advice on the expo's 'Conditions des cascades de glace' notice board.
The difficulty of having to take-in so much new information so quickly is compounded by the fact that despite being advertised as 'international' almost all the written information at the festival (weather reports, safety notices, etc.) is in French. We were fortunate because I speak some French and we had a native French speaker in our group. However, most non-French speakers could understand some English. People I have spoken to think there should be much more written communication in both French and English to help international communication.
One further organizational problem was that we found it difficult to identify anyone at the expo who we could talk to about organization of the introductory courses. We wanted to find someone from Cie des guides Oissans-Ecrins or an organizer of the ICE festival so that we could discuss the problems we had witnessed in the beginners area on Thursday 5th; we wanted to ask somebody how this could be avoided on the following day but still get some further introductory tuition from a guide. As novices and first time attendees at the festival we cannot recognize the right people to talk to, and although we asked the women from the Pays de Ecrins tourist group (in the registration tent at the expo) they were unable to help. Even our French speaker asked them, so it wasn't just a language problem. There wasn't a clearly defined way for anyone to get in contact with someone in charge.
So, I've outlined various difficulties we had. What about possible solutions? Here goes ...
Even before beginners attempt to get on the ice they need to be given some information about the dangers in the ice climbing environment, of which they are - by definition - ignorant. This could be done as a slideshow presentation on the afternoon or evening of registration on the first day. Remembering that we beginners are ignorant, an expert needs to give us very clear information, specifically targeted and delivered so that a beginner can understand and remember it. Don't be afraid to 'state the obvious', and don't be worried about patronizing us. Ideally the presentation would be delivered in both French and English, and by using pre-prepared graphics & slides it shouldn't be difficult to overcome language difficulties. The presentations topics could include:
In fact I was expecting that such a 'Noddy introduction' would be available because the program mentions "free safety workshops which will be open to all, both on the climbs and inside at the registration point for the meet." Since you had attracted beginners to the festival I assumed that one of the safety workshops at the registration point would be targeted at beginners.
My second main suggestion is that there needs to be more preparation of the beginners areas, and more organization of who you are sending to them. The objective is to prevent overcrowding by dispersing the beginners amongst several well-controlled sections of ice - organized individually by different groups of guides, but overall managed by an individual named organizer of the festival who has responsibility for managing the beginners areas by coordinating with the guides. Before the festival several possible areas suitable for teaching need to be identified. An estimate should be made of the number of people who can safely use each area, and the areas then need to be allocated to the different groups of guides (only Petzl in section 1, only Millet in section 2, only Cie des guides Oissans-Ecrins in section 3, etc.). Of course for this preparation to work it will be necessary to prevent other groups of climbers from using the pre-selected beginners areas. To achieve this the areas will need to be clearly marked and signed (in French and English) from the evening before the first introductory lesson and for the duration of the festival. You may also wish to consider putting up warning notices (again, French and English) on any danger areas that are very near to beginners areas - although with adequate preparation of beginners at their special safety briefing, close supervision by the allocated guides, and better management of overcrowding, this may not be necessary.
All beginners must sign-up in advance with a guide who they meet the evening before at a stand in the trade show. This policy is already used by Petzl and Millet, and should be used by all guides for beginners, including "Cie des guides Oissans-Ecrins and youth teams of FCAF and FFME". This last group of guides must, therefore, have a stand at the expo. Before leaving the expo beginners will know who to ask for advice, and the guides and organizer responsible for managing beginners will know in advance how many people will be in each of the beginners areas. They can also check that the beginners have attended the beginners safety briefing, and are aware of the special safety instructions for the area where they are going (illustrated on the simplified maps described before). When they are at the ice fall the beginners will know who is in charge, and the guides will know who should be there trying to climb on their ropes.
If someone has not signed-up with a guide then they will not be able to just arrive at a beginner's area and expect to climb. To avoid disappointment this policy needs to be communicated clearly in the ICE festival program and webpage so that prospective beginners know the situation before they arrive (or decide to attend). To further help manage the number of beginners you should perhaps consider making it necessary for those who wish to use the free guides to pre-register several weeks before they arrive at the festival. You would then know well in advance if you have enough guides and prepared beginners areas. We were very surprised that registration was not necessary at ICE 2006.
The organizer responsible for beginners areas should be able to give all the guides a daily update on any changes to the plan and report on any incidents on the falls. There should also be an easy way for people to contact that organizer if they have any questions or comments.
The introduction of a special beginners safety briefing meeting should not add any significant cost to the ICE festival. Once you have prepared the material for that briefing it can probably be reused on following years. The extra administration needed for pre-registering beginners at the ICE festivals could be alleviated by employing someone to help the organizers do this. The costs could be covered by making a small administrative charge to each beginner who attends. They would certainly not mind doing this if they benefitted from more organization during their introductory workshops.
We think our suggestions address all the problems previously described. Please tell us what you think to them.
Regards,
Simon Chandler & Nick Willis
Our letter may, in some small way, have contributed to a change in the attitude of the organisers. Here's the official blurb for the following year's ICE festival.
In direct response to a number of ice climbing accidents in Europe last year the focus of this year’s festival is on safety whist ice climbing, and so "ICE ATTITUDE" is the theme for the whole event. Gérard Pailheiret, the festival’s organiser, explains:
Even though in ice climbing we make the same movements as in rock climbing, we find in ice climbing the same risks as in mountaineering. The ice climber has to be aware of the environment in which the sport takes place, know how to read the ground, and the conditions of the ice and the route. All these ideas will be discussed during ICE 2007, and the findings and conclusions covered in a specially written document at the end of the festival. The PGHM and CRS mountain rescue services will be present at ICEXPO for the five days of the festival to offer advice and provide information."
ICE 2007 features ice clinics, ice workshops, a trade show, ice climbing competitions, films, and pro' demonstrations.