JIRP is, at its heart, an Earth science education and training program. We aim to teach students how to do field work in glacial environments safely, competently, and efficiently so they can understand and contribute to glacier sciences, climate sciences, and science education/communication. The JIRP safety curriculum starts from the very beginning - it’s designed to include students who have no experience in backcountry skiing, mountaineering, or even backpacking and hiking.

If you were to walk in to any science lab, you'd be expected to observe some basic safety principles. Depending on the lab those might be about close-toed shoes and safety glasses or not putting an open mug of coffee right next to a keyboard. On the Juneau Icefield, safety training is athletic and may seem complex, but it falls under the same principle: while we collect data and explore, how can we best protect ourselves, our team, our tools, and our environment?

Orientation Week

The first week of the program the whole group will stay in Atlin, British Columbia. We'll be based out of our facility there, which is situated across the road from lovely Atlin Lake. Our first week is about a whole slew of introductory lectures and activities. There will be some academics, but a lot of the material will focus on living and traveling outside in Southeast Alaska. After some time in Atlin, we will take a bus and a ferry to Juneau to do our final preparations before hiking up to the ice.

Topics we cover:

• Hydration and Nutrition

• Sun protection

• Foot care in cold/wet environments

• Bear safety

• Packing a backpack

• Layering for the weather

• Physical health + hygiene

• Mental health + hygiene

• Knot tying

• Climbing harness fitting and use

• Rope ascent/descent using prusik hitches

We'll talk about blisters from hiking boots, nutrition and hydration, packing backpacks, expedition behavior, and bear safety (among many other things). We'll practice packing our backpacks and take them on two separate day hikes to get used to carrying big packs and to break in our boots. We'll spend time learning to walk wearing crampons. We'll start to get to know each other and build relationships, because working in the backcountry is most safely done when you've got open communication with your teammates. We'll also finish up last minute errands, check everyone's gear, hopefully feast on some wild Alaskan salmon, get everyone over their jet lag, and start learning the basic knots of mountaineering. At the end of this week, when we're confident everyone can safely make the hike up to Camp 17 (our first camp), we'll head to Juneau and up to the edge of the Icefield. This Icefield approac is a hike - we'll be walking on a trail and on snow, not using skis or ropes.

Mountaineering lessons also start in camp. We go over the basics of all the skills inside where it's dry and everyone can concentrate with a mug of coffee or hot chocolate in hand. We'll go over knot tying and how to put your harness on without tangling the leg loops. When we move out to the glacier to practice crevasse rescue systems, we'll stay in a safe zone where everyone can walk around without fear of falling. We'll run through basic scenarios in teams so that it makes sense to everyone. We've budgeted in several days of practice, both inside and outside. Whether you learn better by drawing diagrams on the whiteboard, listening to someone else describe the system, running a whole scenario by yourself, or by working with a team, you'll have time to get a handle on crevasse rescue.

We'll also learn to self-arrest. Self arresting, using your knees and ice axe to stop yourself sliding down a snow slope, is an important skill for traveling in the alpine environment. We'll use the sunniest day to spend rolling around in the snow on a slope with a mellow, safe run out. 

During the whole first two weeks, Juneau Week and Safety Week, we'll be practicing keeping ourselves warm, dry, fed, and hydrated. We'll talk about layering your clothes, eating and drinking the right things (carbs, proteins, fats, and plenty of water and gatorade), and recognizing the signs of hypothermia and dehydration in yourself and your teammates. 

The culmination of Safety Week is the Micro-Traverse: One whole day on the Lemon Creek Glacier combining all the skills and practicing the equipment transitions we need the two-day trip into the middle of the Icefield.

Continuing Practice

Once everyone feels comfortable with the skills, the expedition will move forward to Camp 10 (our second camp) to start the lion's share of the summer field work. JIRPers will use their skiing and mountaineering skills every day to get themselves around on the glaciers. We will also continue to work with small groups of students on intermediate-level skills.

Topics we cover:

• Navigation by compass and by GPS

• Steep snow travel

• Intermediate-level crevasse rescue techniques

• Descending into a crevasse for exploration

• Route-finding

• Logistic planning for overnights (food, shelter, research equipment, etc.)

• Group management strategies

Working on team of mixed ability

JIRP believes whole-heartedly that we can accomplish more scientifically and as a community if we cooperate. We purposefully select a student body that has a wide range of experience in skiing, climbing, hiking, and backcountry travel. There will be students every year who are experts in some safety topics, and students who have never spent the night outside or seen snow.

For some students, some lessons will be review. Some days we will offer intermediate and advanced lessons simultaneously with beginner lessons so that everyone is learning new skills. Other days we will work in groups of mixed ability so experienced students can help out their peers. At the beginning of JIRP everyone is new to something, and everyone finds something they're already familiar with.

If skiing and mountaineering aren't yet in your skill set, Safety Week will involve a lot of new ideas. When you’ve got your feet under you, however, we will capitalize on the expert skills you did bring with you. Everyone brings something they’re good at, and we won’t be shy about asking you to help a peer learn to cook, fix a door latch, explain the finer points of math-heavy lectures, or just be a kind ear for someone who misses home. There are a million things to do on an expedition like JIRP, and everyone pitches in.

If you're already familiar with skiing and/or mountaineering, don't think for a second that this is going to be boring. There is plenty of terrain to explore during the first weeks of the summer. Additionally, we will spend significant time with experienced students getting on the same page about the systems JIRP uses. We love it when students bring experience and different perspectives to the program, but it's important we are all familiar with the same basic systems so things move smoothly.