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DukeJH wrote:I think the equation changes when the group is guided clients versus a group of experienced mountaineers.

Mexico was a guided trip and the guide roped us up, it might have been a more than 12 feet but it seemed pretty close to me. I believe his intent was for safety to have the shear mass of the team stop the fall. We had 4 on rope and the slopes weren't particularly steep although an uncontrolled fall would result in one hell of a ride. The largest crevasse we saw on the Jamapa Glacier was 6" wide and nobody stubbed their toe. A guide from another team took a client down to the hut and was returning to her team, unroped, which I think demonstrates the guide/client versus experienced mountaineer difference.

In my experience (I've done business with 3 different services and a total of 5 guides), guides tend to rope up their teams any time they're on a glacier whether or not experience or conditions indicate the possibility for concealed crevasses. I've come to the conclusion this is because they feel the mass of the rope team will likely stop a slip. In Switzerland, we did not rope up on lower portions of the Wildstrubelglacier because it was not snow covered and crevasses could easily be seen. Clear blue water ice. We did rope up once we reached the snowline and there were indications of some crevasses opening up based on the apparent slumping of snow bridges.