A developing situation in the frozen north land:

http://q13fox.com/2016/04/11/rescuers-try-to-find-skiers-stuck-on-alaska-glacier-for-days/


It will be interesting to learn more about this unfolding situation...

An update:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/rescue-team-closer-hikers-stranded-alaska-glacier-38331607

Quite a contrast to the previous situation discussed previously, although low tech snow caves are involved. What does one carry on a glacier day trip? any provision for bad weather that disrupts your schedule?

I always count on the unexpected emergency, and carry the necessary gear. On a glacier, I would carry shelter/warmth, water, and signalling as the priority items. You just never know what can happen.

An update on the situation: http://www.adn.com/article/20160412/rescue-team-gets-closer-hikers-stranded-kenai-peninsula-glacier

It sounds like they had some sort of tent, which didn't last long in the weather. They are now dug into a snow cave. A PJ team hopes to reach them today. The article says the PJs parachuted in, but I think that is an error. My understanding is they were inserted by helo at a lower elevation (as far up as the helo could get in the weather). It will be interesting to get the whole story after they are rescued.

I would probably start with about the same that one would carry on a day climb of a glaciated peak such as Rainier or Hood. Then add a few extra items because of the remote location. There is always a problem deciding how much to carry on a day trip.

Parachuting onto a heavily crevassed glacier, as Bear Glacier apparently is, is not my idea of fun. I'll take the helicopter, thank you....

If the weather would not allow a helo, they definitely did not parachute in. A helo can handle worse weather than a parachute can.

New update:
http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/helicopter...o-land/38987658

A helo was able to spot their location from the air this AM, but was still unable to land due to weather. A peloaded text this morning from the subjects indicated they were OK.

Hopefully the PJs will be able to reach them today.

Okay... so the protocol is for the rescuees to sit tight in their cave and let SAR come to them, rather than the rescuees moving to a lower elevation. Makes sense -- hug a tree. If the rescuees tried to go to the helo, SAR would end up with a moving target.

Does self-rescue (to a lower elevation) have any role whatsoever? If a helo can drop off a team at lower elevation they could do a pick up. What if the rescuees had good comms with SAR?

There isn't really any standard protocol. It is totally situation dependent. Self rescue is always worth considering, but other factors can come into play. I don't really know too much more about this specific incident than has been published, but here are some things to think about:

How strong are the search subjects at this point? Remember, they were out on a day drip on Friday. So they have been holed up in difficult circumstances for 4 days beyond what they thought was a day trip. They may be significantly weakened by this point. If they are reasonably sheltered in a snow cave, it may make better sense to stay put and let rescue come to them.

If they move, how easy would it be to rendezvous with an approaching SAR team? If visibility is poor, they could walk right past each other on that glacier. Since the rescuers have their coordinates, again it might make more sense to stay put.

What is the terrain like between them and the rescuers? They were dropped off, apparently for a day ski (in more mellow terrain?), high up on the glacier . As the photos with the articles show, the lower part of the glacier is heavily crevassed. A team of 2, even if roped up, can have a very difficult time if one falls in a crevasse. If we assume they are already cold and weakened, extricating someone from a crevasse would be even more difficult.

Note that the team of 4 PJs are the gold standard for rescue. They are Air Force Spec Ops, and are super fit, and highly trained. I assume they landed on the glacier with the full expectation that it might take several days to reach the subjects, and brought the appropriate gear for a multi day mission.

In this case it probably makes good sense for the subjects not to move. Other situations may call for a different answer.

Good news! The were rescued successfully, apparently in good condition, by helo:

http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/helicopter...o-land/38987658

I'm speculating here, but it looks like the PJs probably had two plans going. Given a break in the weather, pick them up by helicopter. If no break in the weather, have a ground team going in as well. Sounds like the weather cleared before the ground team got there.