[pct-l] Heights

[Tom Grundy]

The wind is a strong bias, so not only are our rating systems different,
but we probably had amazingly different conditions.  On our windy trip I'd
give it a 2 to 4 on the mainly-westward ridgeline, then a 4 to 6 on the
southward ridge line.  To me, the knowledge that you couldn't fall far due
to all the tussock grass was a big help.  I don't remember any numbers
below treeline.  If it were not windy, I would guess at 0-3 for all of the
ridgeline, but who knows.

But, we didn't stumble or fall anywhere - just had to stop at most
windbreak opportunities.  While a few parts of the PCT gave bigger numbers,
I'd say the average on the PCT was WAY lower.  We went on Routeburn Track
also - that has some significant pucker factor while working northward on
the west-facing slope, but it is all gorgeous.

On Tue, Mar 15, 2016 at 1:17 PM, Lachlan Fysh <lachy94 at iinet.net.au> wrote:

> Hey Tom,
>
> As we have a common point of reference how would you rate the Kepler on
> your 0-10 scale? I've done it a couple of times without concern for the
> heights, I expect the PCT offers up scarier moments?
>
> Interesting no one has mentioned Forester Pass? I would have thought the
> nature of the snow chute crossing makes it pretty nervy...
>
> Cheers, Lachlan
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On 16 Mar 2016, at 6:53 AM, Tom Grundy <caver456 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > We went on the Kepler Track about 10 years ago.  The hut warden on night
> > one said "you folks are lucky, the walkers yesterday had to deal with 80
> > mph wind and snow just below freezing."  I asked if anyone had been blown
> > off that trail and she said "Of course."  Interesting.  She mentioned
> that
> > most folks crawled in high wind.  We lucked out and got mixed clouds with
> > probably 30mph gusts most of the day but not quite bad enough to crawl.
> > The trail is mostly nice and wide with thick tussocks of grass on the
> > slopes so the 'numbers' were very low.  Seems like it got a lot more
> > interesting when the ridge curves south and you are perpendicular to the
> > wind, with the metal stairs atop the ridgeline.
> >
> >> On Tue, Mar 15, 2016 at 12:43 PM, Rod Miller <rod at rodmiller.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> On the New Zealand South Island Kepler Track, and possibly
> >> others in NZ, the Track traverses in several spots a knife
> >> edge ridge. I traversed that track during a storm and was
> >> OK walking the ridge going slowly and not lifting one foot
> >> until the other foot and both poles were firmly planted.
> >> When I related the experience to a hut, he told me that he
> >> had at times crawled across some of those edges. So add
> >> crawling to your bag of tricks.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Rod Miller
> >> Handcraftsman
> >> ===
> >> Custom 2-rail O Scale Models: Drives,  |   O Scale West / S West
> >> Repairs, Steam Loco Building, More     |   2016 Meet is May 5 - 7
> >> http://www.rodmiller.com               |   http://www.oscalewest.com
> >>
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