[pct-l] Steep Snow Travel

Fri Feb 10 16:18:14 CST 2017

Ned,

I have been following your insights quite actively and I agree that the subjective risks are higher, but classifying 70% of this years class as inexperienced because they have not done a thru hike might be a stretch. imho. At 48, I have intentionally left thru-hiking until now for time and career reasons but in the last 20 years I have also found the time for and bagged significant peaks and walls in the Sierra, Wind Rivers, Rockies, Cascades, Desert Towers, etc. Those experiences are not pure winter mountaineering per se, as the goal was and is usually always a pure technical rock climb on traditional gear, generally between 10,000 - 14,000+ feet, but snow it has and snow it will, lightning even more so. Everyone should be prepared to be pinned down involuntarily (not the same as unplanned bivy for clarity sake), let alone be “forced” to wait out the night on the southern side of a significant crossing. I am sure that you cover this in your training, but I will be sticking (mostly) to the Mantra of start early, finish early and I will have an axe and crampons and micro spikes, all of which I am comfortable using and most likely a boot of some sort which I will have to deal with getting wet. 

With that said. I am in complete agreement with you that everyone who embarks on this epic trip needs to understand both the objective and subjective dangers and reconcile those with their own experience and physical limitations. For myself I have gotten comfortable with the ramifications of an early season entry into the Sierra and what that will mean to timing, resupply strategy, gear selection and mental and physical preparation. Having the good fortune of being from San Diego I will be able to preview the Southern Section mountains (primarily San Jacinto) on training hikes for the next few months while they are still under a decent amount of snow before I start my actual hike. That experience can help inform (to a very small degree) the conditions and associated data that will be available about the pack as we move towards KM in “late” Spring and "early" Summer (Using the summer solstice as the boundary between those two for arbitrary date purposes, not necessarily for what to expect in the back country as that is most clearly not defined by a date alone) 

As you know, the mountains make their own weather. I have woken for a dawn patrol start on what would become a sunny, beautiful morning at Iceberg Lake in July only to scramble off the summit of Russell in an electrical storm at 3:30 PM, grateful for the “shelter” of the Whitney/Russell col., which as you are aware, ain’t very sheltered. Shoot, in the Rockies you can set your watch to 2:00PM almost without fail for for the daily deluge of rain, snow, sleet, ice or all of the above in the mountains of the front range and around RMNP . 

I think it is worth noting for those that are thinking about flipping and coming back to the Sierra, that later in July and August for sure are often the hottest time of year in the Owens Valley. The rising latent heat and the cool moist air that can come over from the west side can be a recipe for some pretty spicy electrical storms up high depending on the moisture in the atmosphere that is being blown over from the West side. In certain areas those “storms" can creep in very quickly without a lot of warning, like almost no warning. I’d rather take the extra time and slow it down in the early season and remember to be patient with things like post-holing down slopes in the afternoon than get caught in a High Sierra afternoon thunderstorm unprotected going over ANY pass along the PCT. I’ve been in those, and although modern helmets generally do not have metal straps, in the past they did, and it brings a new meaning to the word fear when you feel electrical “zaps” arching between your helmet strap and your cheeks, standing on something way up draped in aircraft aluminum climbing gear and cannot count a full 1, 1000 between the flash and the crack. This is a place no one “wants” to be…….ever.

For those with zero high country experience I would say that some training beforehand would be advisable for sure. The hands on kind that includes taking whippers down steep slopes on purpose and arresting successfully under controlled and protected circumstances. As well as backcountry basics, a couple of which you have already mentioned.

I looked back at some old photo’s from the early 90’s in what had been decent snow years around Temple Crag/Mt. Sill and farther north at Bear Creek Spire with a nice size ’schrund at the bottom of the spire and was reminded how beautiful and fun it can be when you slow down and let it happen organically. Challenges will be, embrace the stink!

Cheers to everyone, look forward to meeting those that are hiking on the trail if and as paths cross and send a big thanks to Ned for providing a voice of reason to help everyone gut check what their actual goals are on this journey and if they are prepared to meet the challenges head on safely.

-Todd

> On Feb 10, 2017, at 7:44 AM, ned at mountaineducation.org wrote:
> 
> Wow. Couldn't agree more! 
> 
> I was just relaying to the Forest Service that the number of inexperienced
> people about to swarm Inyo, alone, this spring and summer is going to
> skyrocket. The PCTA anticipates somewhere around 3,000 permits issued this
> season and with 70% being novices, that will be 2,100 very foolish people
> trying to hike on steep snow with "tennis shoes" and cross swollen creeks
> where the trail does because to search for a safer crossing will only get
> them lost...
> 
> Yes, happens every year and we're screaming to get words of wisdom out.
> 
> 
> Ned Tibbits, Director
> Mountain Education, Inc.
> ned at mountaineducation.org 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Pct-L [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Stephen
> Adams
> Sent: Thursday, February 9, 2017 7:26 PM
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Steep Snow Travel
> 
> Yeah, I feel your pain.  I have tried to teach people what I believe to be
> proper "hiking pole etiquette".  It aint easy.  Folks just don't seem to
> want to listen.  There was once upon a time when I just got up to the Muir
> Hut and there was a lady all bloody and beat up cause she had been using
> poles in talus and they tripped her up and she took a bad header into the
> rocks.  IT's pretty simple.  In talus and steep slippery snow... put the
> poles away, at least carry them on one hand.  When I have more time I'll
> make my shpeel on the subject, but I have been using hiking poles for almost
> twenty years because of bad foot issues.  But I have a strong belief that
> there is a right way and wrong way to use them.
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