[pct-l] Snow Skills Course

[Meredith Dicey Ishida]

Hi everyone, I'm reporting in from the trail at Warner Springs.  
Before I started my thruhike a week ago, I took Mountain Education's Basic Snow 
Skills Course and I learned all kinds of useful stuff.  I wouldn't want to do 
the PCT without it.  But I also wanted to say this:  It was Fun!  I thought I'd 
be miserable and cold and not understand anything but it was fine and I learned 
how to not be too cold and I eventually picked up the skills.  Most of all my 
confidence increased and I feel that I can be safe to enter the Sierras this 
year.  I hope that any prospective thruhikers will take this course.  


See below for a more detailed description.  

Well time to hit the trail again!  

Skinny D
postholer.com/dicey



Snow Course 4/22-4/24

What we did:
Snowshoed 6 miles, as the snow slowly started to fall, over lakes, hills, and
small valleys
Pitched tents at basecamp, gathered water with numb hands
Cooked inside - or ate cold potatoes
Shivered or sweated through the first night
Awoke to find it still windy and snowing, with condensation-wet bags
Sat around the snow table learning principles and strategy
Practiced ascent/descent techniques - edge in!
Spent the rest of the day inside tents as the wind gusted, snow pounded down
Woke to find even more wind and snow, half-burying us in
Saw the sun peek out for a minute or two here and there
Practiced glissading and self-arrest, then self-belay
Walked over frozen water - Easter morning! - as the snow swirled around our feet

and pierced our skin.


What I learned:
That I can in fact survive three days and two nights surrounded by nothing but
snow
How to snowshoe, read topo maps, use an ice axe, follow a hidden trail
To take fire and heat and life into a tent - and not burn it all down
That wherever you go you will find good people and small kindnesses
Staying warm, dry, and strong is more important than making big miles
It's ok to slow down and enjoy yourself.
Stop, Think, Observe, Plan
That I'm much stronger than I think when I work with the weather and land; I'm
much weaker than I think when I try to make things happen MY way.
Having other people around doesn't make it any warmer but it makes it a little
less scary.
Hiking smart sometimes can mean staying in the tent until the weather lifts
Even snow can be beautiful.
The divine is everywhere out here and it calls me out too.


Some favorite moments:
Seeing the first individual flakes of snow falling from grey skies
Going to bed with numb feet then waking up surprised to find myself warm
Peeking out the tiny windows of my tent to watch the snow swirling in eddies
Seeking and finding the trail signs and blazes, PCT emblems light blue like bird
eggs
Beating Ned 4 times in the row at gin rummy :)
Long conversations in the tent about life, hiking, pain, spirit.
Careening down the hill at top speed head first, belly up
Walking across the lakes with sled and dog, white out all around like Arctic
explorers
Returning to the other world, eating in a restaurant and then saying goodbye