Did I ever tell you about the time…..

     I was hiking in Glacier (Park, of course) one really fine spring day.  I had chosen an overnight hike that I had done before - one of my favorites, as I had not yet visited that area this season.  It was a fairly easy trail, open & high, that allowed for really exquisite views as well as close up enjoyment of lots of beautiful wild flowers just breaking their way through the melting snow.  This trail was remote enough to avoid a lot of the day-tripper crowd, but relaxed enough to always have some traffic, especially on such fine days.  I was by myself, as usual.  I almost always hiked & camped alone in Glacier.  This was mostly my habit, and preference, and more often than not I strove to avoid any human contact at all.  It wasn’t difficult in those days, and was more in line with my reasons for being there.  Aside from just soaking in the beauty of it all, I was totally into the ‘communing with nature’ thing, 1 on 1.  

     This day was different though.  I was feeling a bit more sociable, not minding meeting the occasional hiker in passing.  I may even have been showing off a little.  As I recall, this was my 3^rd or 4^th season in the park, and I was getting to feel comfortable, experienced, & well equipped.  I was sporting a top-of-the-line pack, with a hi-tech snow tent.  I had a down mummy bag & a down parka.  Svea stove and freeze-dried food, about the latest of everything, carefully & gradually acquired over the years.  This trip, I was even sporting nice new gators, crampons, & an ice axe.  I was the picture of ‘pro’.  
     The ice gear was because this trail, at this time of year, crossed a really nice snowfield part way up.  In the fall, it would be a fairly easy walk across this steep scree slope, but until then the trail was lost under this immense field of ice & snow, which tended to get really slick, especially in the afternoons when the sun warmed it just enough to melt the surface.  As you know, there is nothing slipperier than wet ice, and I had seen people fall here several times before - ending up in really undignified tangles of gear & limbs & lost clothing, etc.  Hence the ice gear - Not going to happen to me!  (Yeah, right.)  

     So, 2^nd day, on the way out, here I was, cruising along about the middle of the snowfield, enjoying everything about the day, and instantly - I mean, No warning at all - I’m upside down in mid air.  Not much confusion, just total surprise - I slipped!  (I mean, dude!, I’m wearing crampons!, I have 50 pounds in my pack!, I have an ice axe in my hand!  How could I have just slipped like that?!?).  Next instant, Slam!, Flat on my back, already sliding Fast down the slope.  OK, no panic, here’s where mental preparedness kicks in, I have the gear for this, I know what to do.  Emergency release buckle gets me out of the pack quickly.  I flip over onto my chest, draw my ice axe underneath me (it is attached to my wrist with a leather thong, so it’s right there when I need it), and sliding now feet first, twist the point into the ice, (all the while of course keeping my knees bent, feet in the air - don’t want to chance catching the crampons in the ice during this maneuver as that would only flip me head-over-heals, bad idea!)  

     Nothing happens.  I seemingly don’t even slow down.  Starting to worry - this isn’t how it’s supposed to go.  I seize the shaft of the axe two handed, and slam the spike into the ice with all my weight & strength - bounces right out.  Again, same result.  Now I’m going Really fast, & running out of snowfield.  I have no idea what’s below it - can’t see that from the trail.  Interestingly, I’m also very aware of the fact that there are several people on the trail above watching all this, must be interesting.  I hit a ridge in the snowfield & become momentarily airborne - I am really moving now.  

     The ice below this ridge is different, clear, very hard, but also wet.  Time for one last try, tuck the axe under again & twist in the point, same result - nothing.  I’m off balance now & sliding almost sideways when Slam - I hit the cornice at the edge of the ice.  It’s like a frozen wave, or dune, at the very edge of the ice formed when the snow curled up there in the wind during some past blizzard… and it stops me.  About a half a second later my pack slams into me & also stops.  Amazing.  

     We just rest there for a bit, recuperate, catch our breath.  I think I tried to peer over the cornice, but I couldn’t see anything, so - not going there.  Check my self over - sore knee, nothing major (no blood).  Check my gear - all there.  Tie my pack to my belt with a cord so it follows along, 10 feet behind or so, and proceed to very carefully cut steps into the ice with the axe that I can anchor my crampon toes into.  Thusly, I creep slowly back up to the trail, no further incidents.  

     That whole adventure took about an hour, and I now have the trail to myself again.  With much more care I finished the crossing, stowed my crampons, and walked back out to my waiting truck.  At one point farther down the slope, I was able to look back and see that the cornice that stopped me was actually hanging over the edge of a cliff (where they typically form), some 400 feet above a pile of broken rock.  

Don’t know why I woke up thinking about this, it was some 40 yrs ago.  Just a reminder of how short life could have been, I guess.