[pct-l] Winter Thru-hike

[Ned Tibbits]

Well, we can't pass this one up, it's our favorite thing to do!!!

Postholer, AsABat, Steel-Eye, and Eric are all right on. I have skied (both 
with a pack and a sled), snowshoed, and glissaded the JMT in the winter and 
the spring (mostly) and must say that unless you seek to write a Jack London 
type story like "To Build A Fire," or have massive planning and support, I 
wouldn't do it in the dead of winter.Beware of the armchair theories! Unless 
you have specifically trained for this and you, both know when to get out or 
stay put for a week and wait for the avalanches to settle down and are very 
blessed by God's protection in such an endeavor, it can easily kill you.

That said...on to planning and support:
It could be done (as Bartholomew did) and it would be a kick in the ass, but 
it would require the following:
    - long skis and sleds
        (you don't lift your feet in powder that deep with snowshoes on. It 
is far                 easier to slide your feet and attempt to keep your 
tips up).
        (don't expect to be able to "downhill ski" the descents with your 
gear. The             pros don't ever do this unless they have first blasted 
the slope for                     avalanches and have immediate rescue at 
the ready. One mistake this             remote = death. This is one trip 
idea not to romanticize, gloss over, use             to seek celebrity 
status, or do for the fun of it. It will be cold, wet, long, 
hard, full of typical winter dangers, you will get buried a lot, you will 
have many scary, risky moments, your skis may break at least once, 
you will have much heavier gear and more of it, you will experience 
wonderful, jubilant days with awesome views (that could have been 
had during a safer, spring season), you will fall--a lot, and so on).
    - numerous resupplies, self-placed in buckets in trees or carried/flown 
in by             others. (Lots of prep. but an easier aspect of the 
adventure).
    - major, durable gear--your life will depend on its predictable 
performance.
            Crampons and axe are obvious; you will find wind-blown slopes 
that are all ice, yet, on the other side of the hill will be 6-10 feet deep 
powder!
    - taking a year off. Your daily slog will reduce your mileage to 5-10 
miles at             best in the dead-of-winter months. You'll really be 
looking forward to             the "hard" spring snow and the mud that 
follows.
    - reliable communications. You'll be placing yourself and rescue teams 
at risk             with this idea (right, L-Rod?), so don't leave home 
without it.
    - teamwork. This is not something you do alone. You'll need a 
trail-breaker             and an off-trail support crew that is ready and 
willing to come to your             aid as little problems, like a 
delaminating boot sole that won't stay in its             binding, become a 
replacement issue (if the glue you brought won't                 hold) and 
going out for the repair is too strenuous. You must practice 
with these people in the winter months preceding the trip and find you 
work well together, and equally motivated, physically very strong and 
able, and have lots of prior experience, individually. A risk by one is a 
danger to all.
These are just a few of the issues that come off the top of my head right 
now. I am not saying it can't be done, but that the danger and failure rate 
are high Given the "right" team, the right gear, a predictable winter, 
tremendous skill, wisdom, planning, and support, like I said, it could be a 
gas.

Tread carefully,

Mtnned
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gracie Sorbello" <onewheelforlife at gmail.com>
To: "PCT Forum Post" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Friday, June 06, 2008 8:02 AM
Subject: [pct-l] Winter Thru-hike


> Hi,
> I have been thinking about doing a thru-hike for several years, and in all
> my pondering began to wonder what it would be like to thru-hike the PCT in
> the winter.  I'm sure someone out there has at some point, but does anyone
> have info on such a trip?  This is something I'm very interested in doing,
> and an informative resource would be really helpful.
>
> Further questions I would have include:
> - will any sections become simply impassable during the winter?
> - do any trail guidebooks include GPS coordinates for the entire PCT?
> - are there many sections of the trail that are particularly prone to
> avalanches?
> - would MSR Denali Ascent snowshoes (with flotation tails) be enough for
> both flotation on snow and traction on ice?  or would I need crampons as
> well?
>
> Thanks!
> Gracie
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