[pct-l] Snow Shoes vs. Timing for snow on a thru

Mon Oct 25 19:56:01 CDT 2010

Gary is absolutely correct. Timing is everything during the thru hiking 
season.

Cross your creeks in the morning when the creek's flow should be lowest in 
volume and white-water(depends on the distance from the headwater melt to 
you and the ambient temps, of course).

Make your climbs to the passes in mid-morning, after the sun (should you 
have any) has softened the surface and you can make a foot-hold that will 
keep your footwear from slipping on traverses. Keep in mind that most 
approaches to passes are not flat, thus you'll need to kick some kind of 
foot-holds with the sides of your shoes. Once you get to the steep slopes of 
the pass, you might want to strap on those Katoola KTS devices to help with 
the sub-surface ice (if it is present). Make sure whatever devices you use 
for traction aids (vs. microspikes) will not slide off your feet when you 
have to make an emergency sidestep to catch your footing. Test out your 
choice before you have to rely on it in the backcountry!

If you start post-holing, it is too late. You'll learn how to time your 
ascents as you approach the higher elevations, in this case between Chicken 
Spring and Forester. Get up the passes while the snow is still hard 
underneath, soft enough on top to hold your shoe/traction device. Noon works 
as a general time objective if the ambient temp is not too hot. If you're in 
the midst of the thaw, you may have to make your ascents earlier in the 
morning.

Descents off the pass and the slog through the snow away from it until you 
reach mud is the next issue. Again, everything is based on the conditions of 
the day. If temps are hot and snow is melting everywhere around you, get an 
early start so that you can clear the snow fields on the other side of the 
pass before you start post-holing. The objective is not to just get over the 
pass, it is to clear the fields on the other side.

Example from this year:
Coming up from our campsite in Big Pete Meadow in LeConte canyon on July 
1st, we hit snow just above Starr's Camp at mile 836 (or at 10,800 feet) 
(major suncups in about two feet of snow). All the rest of the way to Muir 
Pass (two and a half miles) we couldn't see the trail, so navigation was by 
line of sight. From Helen Lake to the pass was late in the day (did a lot of 
filming on the way up) and we were posting on the ascent--not fun, but with 
snow shoes and going straight up by self-belaying with long ice axes, it was 
easy.

The backside, or north side in this case was a huge and long six-mile slog 
all the way down to the other end of Evolution Lake and full of wicked, 
slippery suncups best done in early to mid-morning to prevent the injurious 
post-holing we had to endure (filming too much all the way down). Snow shoes 
really don't help much with suncups, at least while they're still firm; once 
they soften, snow shoes can plow through the ridges, spanning the dips, and 
make for a safer, and less jarring ride.

Our take on Snow shoes for a thru hike:
If you leave "early" to give your schedule lots of time to reach Canada 
before the early season soft snow buries the trail and where you don't have 
to hike too many miles per day, and if there are still snow storms hitting 
the Sierra like this year (before the end of May while we were at Forester), 
snow shoes allow you to keep hiking over snow when everyone else is falling 
through and maybe getting hurt. This was the case for us when we arrived at 
Siberian Outpost on May 19th--we could not have made it through in the soft 
conditions we found there that day if we didn't have snow shoes to quickly 
and conveniently strap on (we would have either had to slog it through at 
great expense of energy and hazard of injury or stop right there and wait 
for morning and firmer snow). Snow shoes will help you with any new snow 
fall, should you get any at that time of year (we had three storms hit us 
between KM and Forester in May. No major accumulation, but really cold, 
zero-degree nights).

If you leave with the "herd," trying to optimize your Sierra entry date, you 
will probably not need snow shoes at all and be quite happy with the 
Katoolas should you have anything risky or slippery to deal with after a 
cold night. The key, here, is timing your ascents and descents so you start 
on "dry trail" in the morning and are able to end each day on similar "dry 
trail" before nightfall. Even with the high snowpack of this past winter, 
2009-2010, most thru hikers got through the Sierra adequately without snow 
shoes; we carried them because we were testing them and gathering research 
for our future Snow Guide to the PCT. (If you have any specific concerns, 
please email us and we'll help alleviate your fears, should you have any).

Four serious words of caution:
1) chronic wet feet are not happy feet, ones willing to kick foot-holds in 
hard snow, toe-up passes or heel-plunge down the back side. Test your choice 
of footwear in multi-week snow to see if that is fine with you. We never had 
wet feet, but many around us did.
2) Soft footwear that can be easily twisted in your hands may not be able to 
hold an edge in crusty snow on a steep traverse typical of those you'll have 
to negotiate on all of the higher Sierra passes.
3) By the time you get there, your tread pattern may be sufficiently worn 
down that you may not have a secure enough grasp of what traction surface 
you find, such that things may be really slippery and you're prone to falls 
in the steep stuff. Consider replacing your shoes at KM; just picking up 
Katoolas may not prevent slip and falls, should you remember to put them on 
before crossing what appears to be a slippery slope. Consider traditional 
boots from KM through the snow as they have torsional rigidity, great, deep 
tread, real heels for braking on descents, and are usually waterproofable 
along the way. Take gaitors.
4) Carry and know how to use a certified ice axe for self-arrest, uphill 
anchors, and glissade rudders.

You may encounter snow in the San Jacintos, San Bernardinos, and San 
Gorgonios. Know how to navigate the trail through the trees. Know what to 
watch for. Once above timberline, know the hazards to avoid. Depending on 
the winter preceding your thru hike attempt, how much it dumped and where, 
the timing of the thaw, and the date you started will all dictate the kind 
of conditions you'll have to deal with.

Ok, Class of 2010, chime in here to tell all of us your experiences with 
snow from the Desert Divide to Tahoe...

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
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gary Wright" <gwtmp01 at mac.com>
To: "Brick Robbins" <brick at brickrobbins.com>
Cc: "PCT" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, October 25, 2010 12:42 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] snow shoes

>
> On Oct 25, 2010, at 3:32 PM, Brick Robbins wrote:
>> Has anyone else seen anything that works?
>
> Probably not what you meant but it should be mentioned, that timing is 
> everything.
>
> 1) Wait for more snow to melt before entering the high country.
> 2) Plan to make camp so that you:
> - start crossing snow fields in mid-morning
> - cross the pass around noon
> - leave the snow fields by mid-afternoon
>
> Not always possible to do this but it helps you avoid the frozen, icy 
> conditions
> of early morning on the passes and the melting, post-holing conditions of 
> mid to
> late afternoon.  It can also help you avoid late-afternoon thunderstorms 
> at
> the passes if that is the sort of weather pattern that is in play.
>
> I did pretty well with this strategy in 2004 but ignored my own advice 
> when
> crossing Muir pass in 2007.  That was a really long slog.  I think I added 
> a
> couple miles by zig-zagging between rock outcroppings to avoid postholing.
>
> Radar
>
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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