[pct-l] Traction on snow, gaitors, pants, and the reality of the whole mess

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

Granted I went through in 2008, a normal snow year, but this does not  
mirror my experience at all.

Mornings were lucky to have that nice consolidated snow that your  
feet stick to. But within a few hours or less, it was soft and a  
little bit slippery.

Most of the time there were deep sun cups. You step on the ridges,  
not in the cups. The only "postholing" on sun cups would be to step  
in the cups.

Approaching a pass, the snow became more expansive, hiding the trail.  
It was wet but firm. I never postholed unless I stepped too close to  
a big boulder.

Going over a pass too early meant the snow could be icy on the north  
side. At that time, the traction aids would be useful. Crampons are  
really hard to walk on over rocks and the snow was usually patchy,  
forcing you to walk a long way over rocks, then a ways over snow,  
then back to rocks. If your crampons weren't easy to put on and take  
off, it was likely you wouldn't bother with them. This could be a  
mistake.

Most of the time, traction aids were not needed unless you summitted  
a pass too early and someone had glissaded on their bottoms all over  
the north side leaving only ice chutes to walk on. Without crampons,  
you'll either slide in the ice chutes, which hurt and aren't fun, or  
you'll have to sit up there for a few hours and wait.

Going over a pass later in the afternoon meant my feet got a lot  
wetter in the wet snow. I still rarely postholed. Maybe it was  
because I am short, small and relatively light (compared to a larger  
man with a larger pack.)

So, the conditions vary a lot depending on what the snow is like. I'd  
say if you get to Forester and it's just a bunch of sun cups to the  
base, a bit of clear trail, and a small, no-big-deal snowfield at the  
top that leaves you wondering what all the fuss is about, then you  
probably won't have the kind of experience Ned described.


On Mar 11, 2011, at 8:56 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> Consider this daily, Springtime Sierra scenario:
>
> It was almost freezing last night, so you get started in the  
> morning on a
> light crust of hardened and consolidated snow that is easy to walk  
> on when
> the going is flat. But, of course, most of the route (note, not  
> "trail,"
> since we are almost always going up or down in the Sierras) is not  
> only not
> flat, but sloped either up, down, or sideways to one degree or too  
> many. So,
> you have to be a little cautious with every step since the outer snow
> surface is slippery (depending on your footwear, its lug pattern  
> and depth,
> and whether you have any traction aide device available). Now,  
> think, have
> you ever walked on an ice arena; now, tip it a little bit...).
>
> Within a few hours, or maybe even just one, depending on how  
> intense the sun
> is, whether the thaw has truly started, if you are in shade, the  
> aspect of
> the slope you are on, and the proximity of the submerged objects just
> beneath your feet that have been warming, too, the surface of the  
> snow will
> start softening, half an inch, an inch, two inches, then as time  
> goes by
> (maybe by 9 or 10 o'clock in the morning, you will find yourself  
> popping
> through the recent freeze-layer that is beneath the surface freeze- 
> layer to
> greater depths on your leg, which is what we affectionately call,
> "post-holing."
>
> Ok, at first this is no big deal. You have soft-soled trail runners  
> on with
> low "dirty-girl" gaitors that rise up to just above your ankles and  
> at this
> point you only feel the cold and wet of the snow against your lower  
> legs
> since you're wearing shorts. You've got your microspikes on and you're
> primarily concerned about choosing a route up the south side of  
> Mather Pass.
> The snow is still "good" and you only pop through to mid-shin once  
> in a
> while, sometimes noticing rocks at the bottom of the holes. Edge  
> control up
> the Pass was a serious issue, but you make it and celebrate on top  
> with
> friends.
>
> Now it is about noon and hot. When you start out again, the snow is  
> very
> slippery because of how loose and wet it has become on top and you  
> post-hole
> almost immediately once you leave the dry haven you enjoyed for  
> lunch on top
> of a big, flat boulder. No big deal. "I'll just glissade my way  
> down to the
> dry trail below," is your plan. Just to get over to the crest of  
> the slope
> where you can begin a, hopefully, safe slide down that pitch, you  
> have to
> suffer through several deep posts that rise above the knees. You  
> also look
> ahead and see that once the glissade-able pitch ends, you will have  
> 4 or 5
> miles of moderately sloped snow "over" which to walk on suncups in the
> afternoon sun. Joy!
>
> As you post awhile in the noon sun-warmed snow, you realize that  
> the inner,
> lower layer of old frozen snow seriously scrapes your legs, almost  
> to the
> point of cutting them in numerous places. You ignore it, largely,  
> because
> your legs are numb to a degree, anyway. You struggle out of one  
> post hole
> just to plunge into the next, however this time your leg slides  
> down the
> granite edge of a large, submerged boulder that you didn't notice  
> as it was
> just a hump in the surface snow. Your leg is stuck beneath it and  
> bleeding.
> With a little wrestling and rolling about on the snow, you are able  
> to get
> out of the hole and do a damage assessment. You'll be fine, but  
> cursing
> nevertheless.
>
> How to avoid such a routine, daily injury? Wear taller gaitors and  
> pants
> that will protect your legs from abrasion and the sun. Consider  
> starting
> your hike earlier in the season so that you cruise through the high
> elevation snow while it is still hard, before the thaw starts  
> (don't forget,
> once the thaw starts and finds you in the deep, long canyons of the  
> Sierra
> where there is lots of collective run-off, the creeks will become  
> deep,
> fast, and dangerous to the untrained and unpracticed) and post-holing
> becomes a daily mess. Consider starting your day earlier so that  
> you not
> only get over the Pass while the snow is hard, but you can get down  
> and over
> the 5-mile descent to "dry" trail before post-holing starts. Do not go
> faster in slippery conditions for obvious reasons. Reduce your  
> daily mileage
> needs. Double your food intake so you have the energy to deal, make  
> sound
> decisions, and think before you move ahead.
>
> Mountain Education video-documented this whole daily routine last year
> during "thru hiker season" (still tied up in production) over each  
> of the
> major Sierra Passes from Cottonwood to Muir, complete with showing the
> skills to safely climb and descend the Passes and cross the creeks.  
> We've
> been teaching Sierra snow-travel safety since 1982. Been there,  
> done that,
> now want to help other be safer out there. Now it is your turn as a  
> PCT thru
> hiker, 2011--listen to, take, and apply our advice and experience  
> to your
> trip preparation and daily choices or not. What was written above  
> is usually
> the "reality" of the day in the high, Spring Sierra.