[pct-l] Current Tahoe Backcountry Recon

[Ned Tibbits]

Hey, Paint!

I love your enthusiasm!

Mountain Education runs these 3-day Snow Basics skills courses almost every 
weekend during the winter until the ADZPCTKO when we change to teaching 
7-day Snow Intermediate and 10-day Snow Advanced courses.

- We usually have about 10 students at an average age of 40, comprising 65% 
men and 35% women.
- 4-season tents rule and 3-season tents get flattened by snowfall. It is 
not unusual for us to receive 1-3 feet of snow per trip!
- each person needs to carry a liter or two during the day over-snow.
- even though the course is for 3 days, you never know what will happen, 
weather-wise, so students bring 4 days of food.
- since we commonly get caught in snowstorms, some cooking is done inside 
out tents, so no alcohol stoves are allowed (except perhaps on the April 
trips when the weather is nicer and we can cook outside).
- routes in and out are via the Echo Summit Sno-Park parking lot trailhead 
on hwy. 50.
- everyone has snowshoes and brings a shovel to dig out their deadman tent 
anchors and an avalanche assessment snow pit or snow cave.
- crampons and microspikes are not needed because we are in powder snow, but 
we do cover the pros and cons of their use on consolidated snow.
- as far as navigational tools, we teach how to read and compare a 
1-dimensional topo map to the 3-dimensional environment, knowing where you 
are by a constant awareness of what's around you. No gadgetry. Nothing to 
break down or batteries to die.

Oh, and Paint...I will post another SBC trip report after next weekend's 
course in Oregon and I'll try to have more gory detail!



Ned Tibbits, Director
Mountain Education
www.mountaineducation.org
-----Original Message----- 
From: Paint Your Wagon
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 2:52 PM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] Current Tahoe Backcountry Recon

Ned!

Rock on with your bad self!

Your report was inspiring and brought a certain “I” as in “I- the winter
skills trainee” feel to it.
Put another way- it’s as if one of us was there beside you.
Whew! Digging the snow.

How about some gory details?

Did you have to have any permits?
How many warm bodies participated?
How many 3 season tents versus 4 season tents were there on the trek?
How much water are hikers carrying and why?
How many days of food were needed?
How many days are you out in the bush?
Who had stoves and how much fuel were they carrying, and what kind?
What was the ingress and what was the egress routes used?
Who had snowshoes?
How many had crampons and ice axes?
Did anyone also have micro spikes?
What navigational tools did the group use?
Are you packing that poo out or able to bury it, inquiring minds want to
know?
How many hikers brought a shovel?
Was there any brandy?
What about snow bunnies?
Any Playboy bunnies take the course?
For the lady hikers... any Chippendale bunnies of the male variety present?

Come on Ned- you’re teasing us with those skimpy reports.
We want the straight skinny and we want it NOW!

<>Paint<>


_______________________________________________
Pct-L mailing list
Pct-L at backcountry.net
To unsubscribe, or change options visit:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l

List Archives:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.