[pct-l] Winter PCT Attempt Update

[Ned Tibbits]

Somewhere along the line I had heard a distant rumor that someone was thinking of doing, or at least about to try to do the PCT during the winter months. 

As I’m sure Mr. Dittli can attest, the sierra can be a very deadly place to be in the winter while 
-  waiting out deep powder snow storms, 
-  waiting even longer for new snow to settle for avalanche dangers to lower (a bit) before venturing out, 
-  fearing self-triggered avalanches because you think you just have to keep going rather than waiting, 
-  risking serious hypothermia and frostbite from living in cold, wet, winter conditions day after day with exits out being twice to three times as long to accomplish as during the summer,
-  camping in what you considered in the dark the night before to be a safe avy-free zone only to hear an avalanche slide by you during the night, and
-  struggling in waist-deep powder, packing down snow to make a trail, and consuming tons of energy, just to go a quarter of a mile in an hour,

I question his prior winter snow experience. Mountain Education is out in the lower-elevation, not-so-steep, Tahoe backcountry from January to June camping and snowshoeing in powder snow. It is a common event to be buried under up to 5 feet of new snow over 3 days. It is part of the lifestyle to recognize that those nights will be spent getting up every hour of so, putting on all your thermals and shells, gloves and hats, just to go outside and dig out the tent so it doesn’t collapse under the weight of the new snow. It must be anticipated and planned for that any progress in powder snow will not be on top of it, but rather through it, an arduous process that consumes tons of energy and uses muscles rarely asked to perform and which will complain and cramp up after no time at all.

Even while ski patrolling during nasty snow storms before the ski area decides to shut down for the event, working and even just moving around in the powder is no fun and only done because we have huts and lodges in which we can immediately dry out and warm up. If you fall (and all of us do in these conditions), it may take a while to get up and stand in bad storms. I hope this guy has a realistic understanding of what it’s going to take to do what he thinks he can do, other than the idealistic “extreme” snowboarding videos shot during selected low-risk conditions, otherwise not only will the undertaking be futile, but he might just become the wrong kind of statistic....

I understand he is going South-bound. Joy! I was just up on the PCT this past mid-June on the 30 miles south of the Canadian border while the area still had up to 3 feet of consolidated snow everywhere and it was a highly dangerous place to be, perhaps even more dangerous than the central sierra! No kidding. The slopes are steep! The traversing summer trail is often carved into the hillside with steep slopes down right at the edge of the trail bed and lots of trees beneath you to slide into should you fall. Nothing except the ridgelines and creek beds will be “flat” to walk on. Avalanche paths are everywhere, as attested to by the snapped-off swaths of 12-inch trees in numerous slide paths all over the place. The weather is nasty up there with frequent days of just fog, which on snow means “white-out” conditions where you don’t know where to go and which end is up.

There are certain things best left not done. Now, I know that some of our famous early sierra explorers travelled the sierra in the winter, but I’m sure the conditions were not the best, took a lot of wisdom to know what not to do, and took a lot of time, fuel, and effort. I suppose the venture could be done, but with a lot of time spent off-trail waiting for friendlier conditions post-storm, selecting safer moments between storms to accomplish minimal risky trail miles (either direction), and fearing avalanches nearby or self-triggered far from convenient rescue at a ski area.

No thanks. I’ll take springtime, consolidated snow anytime over powder! (Just ask the PCT class of 2013 that was on-trail during the late September storm of last season what it was like to wallow through deep powder in the North Cascades!). It’s a different animal entirely....


Ned Tibbits, Director
Mountain Education, Inc.
www.mountaineducation.org 
ned at mountaineducation.org 


Mission:
"To minimize wilderness accidents, injury, and illness in order to maximize wilderness enjoyment, safety, and personal growth, all through experiential education and risk awareness training."

From: mailto:JohnMuirTrail_Sidebar at yahoogroups.com 
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2014 2:19 PM
To: Sidebar 
Subject: [JohnMuirTrail_Sidebar] Winter PCT Attempt Update [feedly]

  

Justin Lichter is one of the world's most accomplished hikers, in the top 2 hikers in my opinion (only Andrew Skurka is a peer).

Winter PCT Attempt Update
http://www.justinlichter.com/winter-pct-attempt-update/

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