[pct-l] Mtn. Education trailers and Snow Guide to come

[ned at mountaineducation.org]

As we are just getting our post-production acts together, the one trailer on "The making of the Snow Guide to the PCT" is the first out of the barn.

When we decided to do this project, there were many subjects for which we wanted to create films that will help our students learn how to be safer and wiser in the backcountry. As they are created (this summer, fall, winter), we will post trailers for them on our website (yet another reconstruction!) and the longer, more comprehensive and complete versions, will be made available for sale in conjunction with the Snow Guide. 

All of the video is intended to show future thru hikers just what the trail looks like when under snow at about the time thru hikers will have to travel the route. For the most part, the length of trail shown is from Kennedy Meadows (south) to the Muir Trail Ranch. Thrus encounter snow usually before there in Southern California along the Desert Divide, across San Jacinto, and over Fuller Ridge and through the San Bernardino's. Due to scheduling complications, we did not cover these areas on video this year, but fully intend to include them in the Snow Guide on video next year. In the meantime, the techniques shown on the videos will get you through.

It must be stated that watching a skill performed does not teach you how to do it - only practice and experience can. So, it goes with out saying that we hope these skill videos encourage you to enroll in a class somewhere near you where you can be taught how to do them with an instructor at your side. Self-arrest and glissading look easy and fun, but demand a level of practice to make them reflexive and safe. Mountain Education does offer free, 3-day snow skills training weekends throughout the winter to help you prepare for your trip, realize just how strenuous it is, how much food you will really need, and just how far you can realistically go in a day. Please visit our website, www.mountaineducation.org  for more info. (yes, it is still being remodeled!).

We have to add that we met numerous thru hikers along the trail this season while filming in the snow during the months of May, June, and July who had no idea or pre-training about how to get around in the snow. During our on-trail conversations, some filmed, many stories were shared of harrowing crossings of creeks and passes where injury or near-injury occurred. They all confessed that they could have been easily avoided if they had only practiced some required skills beforehand. We hope that the videos which show route-finding, creek-crossing, or pass-climbing along the PCT from Kennedy Meadows to the northern end of Kings Canyon N. P. will make you ask yourself, "Do I have enough experience to do this or do I need to take a class?" 

All too many thru hikers assume the trail will be simple enough and that they can learn from "someone along the way" if they really need a specific skill to negotiate a dangerous stretch or that the carrying of a particular piece of gear (they don't know how to use yet) will keep them safe enough. Whether you encounter six inches or six feet of snow on your hike, the techniques of getting through it (and the creeks) are the same. Thus, the techniques encouraged or taught apply to keeping you safe and found no matter where you are.

Some of the subject areas will be:
Navigation over Snow, In The Woods and Out in The Open - Clues for Knowing Where the Trail is and how to follow it.

Snow Hazards, Those You Can See and Those You May Not.

Product Reviews, tested out on the trail, demonstrated and discussed right where you'll be using them (examples will be, Tents, Bags, Pads, Stoves, Electronics, Boots, Clothing Layers, Snowshoes, Poles, etc.).

General Over-Snow Mountaineering Skills - Demonstrated and taught just where you're going to need them (examples will be, Self-arrest, Self-Belay, Glissade Techniques, Ascending and Descending Techniques to include route selection, edge control. pole use, clothing, ice axes and traction devices, and more.

The Big Sierra Creeks, how to cross them safely, what to look for, timing, and techniques.

The Snow Guide to The Pacific Crest Trail will help you realize what it takes to safely and realistically travel the trail when covered with snow or an icy crust. It will cover the following subjects (at the moment...):

Why?
Pre-Hike Planning and Preparation for the snow (to include Diet, Foods, Halfmile's Maps, Realistic Strategy, Clothing and Gear, Timing, etc.).
The Skills needed and why.
The Challenges you'll face and how to prepare for them. (This will include the physical, mental, and emotional ones).
Quotes and Advice from past Thru Hikers--what worked for them and what they'd recommend for you.
The Route where snow may be encountered in detail.

If this project is of interest to you and you have something to contribute, we'd like to hear from you, whether it be your stories, advice, product reviews, menus, or encouragement. This Guide is intended to be a PCT Community effort, a "giving-back" from past thru hikers to all future ones, so that their hike will be safe, fun, and life-answering. If you have an area of expertise which would fit right in like nutrition, maps, shipping info, logistics, etc., please contact us. This is a joint project based on the collective experience of those we select to be a part. 

Although Mountain Education's Snow Skills Training Courses are free, the Guide and accessory DVDs (Navigation and Skills) will not be. We have to stay alive somehow. As a non-profit, we will endeavor to keep the cost down. We hope to have it available in some initial form prior to publication for the Class of 2011 to use for their Planning and Preparation stage, say this winter (2010). There is a lot to do, write, edit, list, and draw (cartoons), so hang in there. Stay tuned to our website for updated info.




Ned Tibbits, Director
Mountain Education
1106A Ski Run Blvd
South Lake Tahoe, Ca. 96150
    P: 888-996-8333
    F: 530-541-1456
    C: 530-721-1551
    http://www.mountaineducation.org