[pct-l] Snow Course

[Stephen Adams]

Would you be comfortable heading into the high mountains knowing you'll be crossing snow banks and fields not having any experience?  Do you have experience with the proper use of an axe or pole/axe?  Will you be fine if it starts snowing in the Sierra or once you get to WA and the early storms start and you are two days from a reasonable trailhead/exit?  One hiker freaked out when they were in no real danger last year and set off a misplaced search and rescue operation.  Just sayin.  Ned has a lot of experience on snow, in snow, and loves helping people get useful information that is intended to make one more comfortable in a snowy environment.  If you have the time, I'd suggest signing up.  Any experience on snow will be helpful in feeling more comfortable when it is most important rather than finding out en-route that it's freaky and have it ruin your trip like some others who post here who probably should have got a little experience beforehand.  And there may well be plenty of snow in the So Cal mountains long before you cross the Mohave if things continue as they are currently progressing.  Maybe not.  Maybe all the snow will melt off both the south and north slopes of all the high passes long before you get there, but I doubt it.  There will be snow, and the trail will be covered in many sections, and it will cross the trail in a few steep places making one quite nervous who is not familiar with anything but plodding down easy carefree safe trails.  Thus if you have the time, or can make it, the worst that will happen if you go up to Ned's is that you will meet some nice folks and have a great weekend and a taste of real Sierra backcountry.  Then when you get back up there in June it will probably be more fun when you find yourself hung out on knee deep suncups having the time of your life rather than cursing and feeling trapped in the high lonesome.  The difference at Ned's will be that it will be more winter mountaineering and you will be camping on snow probably, whereas in June you wont have to camp on snow, but there will probably be sections where you may spend a lot of time on the snow, depending on the snow pack, in my experience, it is sometimes more fun to cross snow than worrying about finding the trail right away.  
As my own suggestion and you can take this with you on your trip...  When you get in the nasty slippery ankle twisting, mood killing suncups, slow down.  Just take it slow and know if you just relax and don't get irritated you'll get to the other side.  And then the other side of the next one etc...  Getting impatient will sap your energy like no tomorrow, and then you'll be one of those wiped out thru hikers Paul was talking about who thought they could pull twenty miles a day in the high country.  It's all about attitude.  It is an absolute gift to be able to get into the High Sierra in the early season before it gets crowded.  
Ned has also taught fast water fording seminar so you could probably glean a little helpful info on that too.
Have fun.                 
On Jan 20, 2010, at 1:16 PM, Kathryn Zimmerman wrote:

> Has anyone taken the Snow Course mtnned offers?  Can you give me some
> insight as to whether this is a good idea or just not.  I've hiked the AT,
> but not done much in the mountains in serious snow.  And I'm thinking of
> leaving Campo a couple of weeks ahead of the KO so that may mean I'm in the
> Sierras a bit early, yes?
> 
> "Hard tellin' not knowin'."  - my favorite Maine expression
> 
> Bag Lady
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