[pct-l] Walking on Snow

[Daniel Zellman]

Thanks for this wonderfully detailed and comprehensive essay on snow, Ned.
My partner and I are planning our first thru-hike for 2013, and both found
this very interesting.

I would be interested to hear other folks' thoughts/experience regarding
crampons and microspkies, etc. Specifically, we both just purchased
Kahtoola KTS Microspikes, and Ned's description of them here as "utterly
worthless" is, to say the least, a bit concerning. Anyone else care to
comment?

Thanks....

-dz

On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 3:02 AM, Ned Tibbits <ned at mountaineducation.org>wrote:

> I’m going to cross-post this as I think it will be instructional to both
> trail groups.
>
> Walking on the surface of snow is easy as long as it is hard. The only
> issue you will have is that it is slippery. Solution, traction-aides like
> Kahtoola KTS crampons. (We, at Mountain Education, have been sponsored by
> and have tested along the PCT between Crabtree and Forester Kahtoola’s
> Microspikes and have found them to be utterly worthless—and dangerous to
> trust—when used on a traverse, however short. The issue is that they can
> roll off toward the side of your shoe just when you need them the most! (A
> clever member of our test team tried to tie them into his boot’s lacing
> system, but to no avail. They slid sideways anyway!)
>
> The snow is especially hard on the surface after warm days of sunshine
> followed by freezing nights. This frozen surface will remain hard until
> sufficiently warmed by the sun (so watch out in the shade!) The surface
> will soften gradually and your boots will get a better grip, almost
> allowing you to push off your toes again. This could be about mid-morning
> (depending on aspect), pre-thaw, in the spring sierra. Once the surface
> softens, you can plunge fairly easily with each step into the softer snow
> beneath. This is called “post-holing” and is exhausting and has the
> potential to cause serious knee and soft tissue injuries. Thus, try to
> avoid post-holing like the plague and get your day done by mid-afternoon or
> earlier.
>
> Now, you will get really good at reading snow slopes, however short (like
> those brief snow-berms that drift across the trail in places), to decide
> practically in mid-stride whether it will be safe to kick steps up the side
> of it or to go around. Once on top of the drift, you will have to adjust
> your walking technique to a more “flat-footed” manner so you don’t slip
> (pushing off your toes on snow may cause you to slip and fall), not to
> mention that you will, also, have to edge in with the uphill side of each
> foot just to get a grip and a little traction. Although we are tempted to
> hurry these snow crossings, haste only encourages a fall, so go easy and
> always test the snow surface for grip.
>
> Bigger and longer snow “fields” require the same attention to safety and
> traction assessment, but are not always on a traverse. The flat approaches
> to the bottom of pass climbs can be easy for walking (watch out for those
> suncups), but when the route you have selected (remember, the trail is
> buried and you can go wherever you want—just keep in mind where the trail
> is and parallel it) gradually shifts to a steeper traverse, you might want
> to put those Kahtoola KTSs back on! You are never a “wimp” when choosing to
> be safer. Just know when to do it!
>
> Use your poles to correct any and all sideways balance shifts, to help you
> push up the inclines (toeing in), to help you slow down on the descents,
> then put them away and grab your ice axe for the seriously steep climbs and
> glissades.
>
> Now, the good part.... “Do I need snowshoes when snow-hiking the spring
> sierra on melted, consolidated snow (hard in the mornings and soup after
> lunch)?” Our advice is that you do not. The added weight and infrequency of
> need isn’t worth it. Just be happy with the 10 to 15 miles you’ll be able
> to get in before post-holing and call it quits early.
>
> “So, how do I get my needed miles in each day?” First, change your
> thinking. You’re not on dry trail anymore and can’t go fast since you can’t
> push off your toes on slippery snow. To do so risks a slip-and-fall, so
> don’t. However, if you plan your days right, you can maximize the miles,
> even when there is snow above 10,000 feet. Do your climbs early in the
> morning when the snow is hard and get off the passes right away by sliding
> (glissading) down the back side (caution: watch out for hidden rocks!).
> Even though there may be miles of snow past the steep slide down, the
> object is to reach dry trail below snowline before you start post-holing in
> the early afternoon. Once on dry trail, fly down to the creek crossing, get
> across it (hopefully before the thaw starts and the creeks are huge and
> foaming!), and pack your way back up to the base of the next pass. Stop for
> the day. Resume the same thing tomorrow. Post-holing descents are dangerous
> and ascents are exhausting if not ridiculous.
>
> Snow bridges need to be talked about. In the early season, say before June
> first, most of the notorious creek crossings will still be covered with
> unbroken snow that, if it is thick enough, you can walk on and get over the
> slightly moving creek underneath. You have to be able to assess the
> thickness of this bridge before crossing or else you risk breaking through
> the bridge and falling into the creek below the snow pack. If you can not
> do this, search for another bridge nearby where you can see the thickness
> of the snow below where you will be walking. Once crossing, probe ahead
> with your poles to test for snow strength. You will acquire a “sense” about
> which bridges look “good” and those that spell disaster.
>
> Later, once the thaw starts (when overnight temps remain above freezing),
> these bridges will thin out and collapse while the creek grows in size with
> the increased pack melt. It is at this time when most thru hikers enter the
> sierra. The thaw can take up to a month to melt out all snow (depending on
> the depth of the winter’s accumulation) up to 11,500 or 12,000 feet and can
> start at any time (depending on the spring).
>
> So, expect to have to walk on snow through the sierra (unless it was a
> really mild winter). When you get there, the snowline may be at 9,500 and
> you’ll hit it just north of Monache Meadows or it may be at 11,000 and you
> won’t taste of it until Chicken Spring Lake. Nevertheless, expect the
> passes to have miles of snow on either sides under the worst of conditions
> with high, whitewater creek crossings below. If you plan and prepare for
> this reality, you won’t be caught off-guard and without the skills needed
> to assess and travel over snow safely!
>
>
>
> Ned Tibbits, Director
> Mountain Education
> www.mountaineducation.org
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-- 
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
    --Buddhist proverb
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Daniel Zellman, LMT, CMLDT
danielzellman at gmail.com
512.293.9315