[pct-l] Snow Hiking: Don't Fall!

[ned at mountaineducation.org]

Snow Hiking: Preventing Slip-and-Falls!

 

You will be thru hiking the Pacific Crest Trail northbound or out in the
Sierra during "early season" on the John Muir Trail and suspect that the
high and steep terrain will be covered in snow. You've heard about hikers
slipping/postholing on steep slopes and tumbling into rocks, lakes, trees,
or creeks below, getting seriously hurt, and having to end their
expeditionary hikes.

 

"How do I best prevent myself from falling? How do I best stop that fast and
crazy tumble or slide?"

 

1. Maintain your balance with two poles, but not used like you would while
summer, dry-trail hiking. Your poles are extensions of your arms out and
down to the snow to keep you from tipping over and falling. Dry-trail hikers
swing their poles next to their feet and place the poles into the ground out
ahead of them as they walk.

Not the best idea when on snow, however. Pole-plant placement will be within
an arc from 2 o'clock to 5 o'clock on the right side and the equivalent on
the left and far enough away, out from the body, to create a triangle to the
feet for strength and balance. When going downhill, the poles should be
placed out in front to 2 and 10 o'clock for braking. When going uphill, they
should be placed in back at 5 and 7 o'clock, but near to the feet, for
pushing forward.

Good pole placement when snow-hiking is crucial to prevent a stumble,
slip-out, sideways foot-slide, and to maintain control of where your
top-heavy body is going.

Realize, that little unpredictable movements at the feet when on snow
translate to bigger balance corrections with your upper body while keeping
yourself from falling. Use those poles constantly to keep yourself on your
feet!

 

2. Traction-aides! Most to the falls we see while teaching PCT thru hikers
their steep snow skills in the southern Sierra are caused by the use of the
wrong footwear! To compensate for the bad-edging and slip-prone nature of
what thru hikers commonly want to wear, some form of traction-aide should be
used in the more slippery areas. This is to prevent the slip, itself.

So, you've got your balance maintained to stay on top of your feet, but the
shoes still slip. Wear something like Kahtoola Microspikes or K-10 hiking
crampons to increase the grip your feet need to have when on steep and
slippery snow. Of course, first, you've got to have the training or
experience to recognize when the conditions ahead of you look sketchy
requiring you to stop and put them on in the first place (for most thru
hikers, this is the hardest part).

 

3. Stopping the tumble down the hill. This is arresting the fall, itself,
and called Self-Arrest. You can't predict when you're going to slip and
fall. You can assess a slope and select a route that may minimize such a
possibility, but even the most experienced and cautious can't say, "I'm
probably going to fall somewhere in there!"

 

Ice Axe vs. Self-Arrest pole: The answer of which to invest in and take is
simple - which is in your hand all the time and ready to deploy the instant
you realize you are falling? The self-arrest pole!

 

Ice axes are cool for the hiker to carry, but that's just it, most of the
time you'll be carrying it and when you're tumbling down the hill, it will
be nicely strapped to the back of your pack and useless to stop your descent
into the rocks or trees below. They are the definitive tool, however, for
the mountaineer who needs to self-belay, make snow-anchors, and deal with
ice, but for the most part, snow-hikers don't do those things.

 

For the snow-hiker, the combination device called self-arrest poles provide
the best of the two things you need most, balance control and immediate
self-arrest.

 

Self-arresting your fall and subsequent slide or tumble is something that
gets out-of-control real fast and, thus, must be a reflexive action to
prevent injury during the event before you stop. This requires training and
practice on similar snow, slopes, and conditions you expect to encounter to
deploy quickly. Most of the time, slides and tumbles are not pretty, so
however you select to gain this training, make sure you end up practicing
spontaneous and ridiculous falls to include head-first, rolls, and
head-down-on-your-back slides with your pack on where you have to fight
gravity and momentum to get yourself in the "self-arrest position" and
affect a safe stop.

 

Mountain Education has been offering this kind of training for 34 years via
its Snow Basics and Advanced Courses.

Keep in mind that we offer a unique course just for PCT and JMT Thru-hikers
Only (PTO) that comes to you right on the trail right where you first may
encounter deep and steep snow near Cottonwood Pass in the southern sierra
and for several days thereafter we explain the needed knowledge, demonstrate
the required safety skills, and help you practice enough to get a good
enough grasp of what it takes to stay safe out there.

Any questions?

(c) 2016 Mountain Education, Inc.

 

 

Ned Tibbits, Director

Mountain Education, Inc.

ned at mountaineducation.org <mailto:ned at mountaineducation.org>