[pct-l] Forester Pass this year

[Ned Tibbits]

Due to family medical concerns, Mountain Education did not run its "First-In" Snow Advanced Course up Forester this spring, so we were not able to cut the usual path across Forester's steep ice chute.

If you do not have an ice axe for belay or hiking crampons for secure traction, base camp at the base of the climb and go up without packs to assess it when you get there. If it feels too scary, based on your ability and experience, when you look at it (keep in mind the chute is only about 50 or 80 feet wide), do not attempt to cross. The run-out is very steep and has rocks on both sides. If you fall and slide to basecamp, you will reach speeds without self-arrest that may be fatal.

There is an alternate route to the east! The next saddle over was the old way over, pre-Forester, and commonly used still by ski-mountaineers in the winter-spring. The south side is a simple ramp up, but the north side can have some steep descents. Heel-plunging or a seated glissade with axe-at-the-ready would be the way to go. Well within the skill sets of thru hikers where the chute in Forester can be deadly if there isn't a trough to walk in.

Ned Tibbits, Director
Mountain Education
www.mountaineducation.org