Study module
FAS in Skaftafell:
Field course on ice and mountain climbing
Summary:
In this project, a group of people between the ages of 16 – 20
from the East Skaftafell County Upper Secondary School (FAS) went together to
Skaftafell, which is part of Vatnajokull national park in Iceland. There they
spent two and half days learning rock climbing and ice climbing, as well as
gaining knowledge about the geology and geography of the area.
Need project and themes:
This study model is a part of the NEED
project, that is the Northern Environmental Education Development program,
which is a collaboration between Iceland, Finland, Ireland and Norway. The
program has five main themes:
1. Elements of geology
2. Landscape
3. Natural hazards
4. Geological materials in society and their sustainable use
5. Climate change
This particular study model can be categorized in three of them, that is:
Elements of geology, landscape, and natural hazards.
Level:
16 -20 year old
Objectives:
To understand the behavior of glaciers and learn about the
geology and geography of their microenvironment, also how to use the nature
in sustainable ways in relation to nature-based and adventure tourism.
Curriculum links: Learning to move and travel on glacier, as well as safety
precautions. Introduce the work in this field and what kind of education is
required to work as glacier guide. Learn to recognize types of rock where it is
safe to climb and understand how these types of rock are formed.
Time required:
1 - 1, 5 hours before trip to Skaftafell (Vatnajökull national
park). 2, 5 days in Skaftafell. ½ - 1 hour after visit.
Materials needed in Skaftafell:
Headlight, harness, rope, axe,
crampons, proper outdoor clothing, sleeping bag and food.
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Activities / tasks in the learning process:
Before leaving:
1. Explain to the participants how the trip will be
2. Participants as a group decide things such as what to cook and who
should so what
3. Discussions about what participants expect from this field course.
4. Look at a map of the area and see where the group will go
First day in Skaftafell:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Mountain guides meet the group
Basic knots taught
Discussions about how and why teamwork is important
Equipment testing
Second day in Skaftafell
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Mountain guides meet the group and go through the plan of the day
Group goes to rock climbing area in Hnappavellir
Mountain guides explain types of rocks which are suitable for climbing
Everyone climbs and tries the equipment
Group goes to glacier
Lesson in walking on the glacier on crampons and about the technique
which is necessary to do so
7. What to be careful about on glacier and how to choose a safe path
8. Knowledge given about moulins
Day three in Skaftafell
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Mountain guides meet the group and go through the plan of the day
Exercise in the field with robes and equipment
Walk on glacier, looking for good crevices
Risk assessment
Practice on crevice rescue procedures
After trip
1. Discussions
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Before trip to Skaftafell
The plan of the course is introduced
and discussed so everyone knows
what to expect. Together the group
makes decisions about certain
things, like what do cook and what
they need to bring with them. The
group looks at a map of Iceland to
see where we are going and what
glaciers we will be climbing on. The
group talks about what they expect
from this trip, what they think that
they will learn and if they think that
they will be challenged in this trip in
any way.
First day in Skaftafell
The professional mountain
guides meet the group and
start teaching the basic
knots and give information
about the environment how
the weather is and what can
be expected when people
travel on glacier. How the
glacier moves and what has
to be avoided there,
reasons for urgency of
teamwork
introduced.
Everyone gets a harness
and learns how to put it on and the basic things about the equipment. After
the lesson, the next day is prepared and the group goes to sleep.
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Second day in Skaftafell
The day starts early and the mountain guides go through the plan of the day,
check if everyone has the equipment what they should have. First place to go
to are the Hnappavellir cliffs which are Iceland’s best rock climbing area. Basic
knowledge is given about the
climbing technique. What kind of
rocks are safe to climb in and why
some are safe and some not. When
everyone has tried the equipment
and feels safe using it, it is time to
go on the glacier. The distance
between these two places is only 20
km, so the time required to travel is
not long. The lesson starts on basic
knowledge about how to put the
crampons on and what to be aware
of in relation to this. How to walk on glacier on crampons is far from being
commonsense and needs to be taught. The mountain guides help the group to
master the technique and when that is finished it is possible to go walking
further on to the glacier. On the way
knowledge is given about the
glacier, how it moves and how it is
possible to see were the glacier was
in the past, how the mountains can
give us ideas on how it was, why we
can find moulins on the glacier and
how dangerous they can be. When
a suitalbe crevice is found the ice
climbing can start and the rest of
the day is spent there.
Third day in Skaftafell
Starts early like the other one, at
this time it is still dark and everyone
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has to wear a headlight. The first thing to do is rope work in the field close to
the cabin were we slept. This day will be used to teach crevice rescue, and basic
knowledge about how to get people up if they fall into a crevice. There is more
than one way is to this, it depends on the situation of the fallen climber is after
the fall, e.g. whether he is injured or not. The weather has also a great deal of
influence on this work. Mountain guides teach the group about how the
crevices can close and how the glacier moves. One of the things which are
important when traveling on a glacier is risk assessment and the group is
taught how to choose the best and the safest route on the glacier. Because of
frequent changes of the glacier it is important to be aware of the risks that
follow with this kind of traveling. This work takes all day and the group goes
down from glacier at 16:00. Everyone packs their belongings and drives home.
After the Trip
The group meets and discusses what they learned and if the course fulfilled
their expectations. Questions asked are e.g. “were any challenges in this trip
and if there were, what kind of challenges?”
Evaluation
After the pilot course was over it was easy to see what could have been done
differently to make the trip more effective. In the beginning it would have been
good to have better maps of the area to teach the students about curve lines
and other things in mapreading. A question list for each and everyone would
have been good idea, the group answered questions together which is fine
considering the teamwork that we want to see. It would have been good idea
to give them something to read about geology of the area, but it is also good to
use a trip like this to increase interest in things like geology and geography
which are strongly related to activities like ice and rock climbing. A course like
this is built on known methods in experimental learning. Work is now in
progress at FAS in the development of a new programme of studies about
mountain guiding. To teach that kind of curriculum, trips and occupational
education is necessary. Therefore this pilot field course was useful for us in
many ways and will be good experience for us in our continuing work on
developing the programme on mountain and glacier guiding.
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