[pct-l] Ice Axe -- Forrester Pass

[dude@coruscant.net (dude@coruscant.net)]

I crossed Forrester pass without an axe in August of 1998, a very 
heavy snow year.  There was substantial snow on the north side 
(traveling N->S) as I started over.  At first, I was skeptical of 
being able to make it over safely, but quickly found that the snow 
had been carved into perfect steps by the many 100's of travelers 
that had crossed it by that time.

I made it over with ease by using the steps that all the previous 
hikers had cut out and packed down.  However, if my hiking buddy or I 
would have fallen, there is a good chance that we would have slipped 
and slid down the mountain which would have most likely caused 
serious injury or death.  I never was fearful and felt very stable 
during the whole climb.  I was even wearing running shoes with no 
tread.   

I am sure that many experienced hikers/climbers would not have felt 
secure doing what I did and may have refused to attempt going over 
the pass.  That's what hiking and climbing are all about: testing 
your own _personal_ limits.  Just because I decide to go over a snow 
covered pass with no ice axe doesn't mean that someone else (with 
equal or more experience) will feel comfortable doing the same thing. 
And there is no judgment in that.  Climbers encourage each other to 
bail if one doesn't _feel_safe_.  

If you are not experienced enough to feel comfortable making those 
types of decisions in the mountains by yourself, then you have no 
business putting yourself in the position to have to make the 
decision.  Don't put yourself in a situation where you have to make a 
decision that you are not prepared to make and don't have the 
resources/experience that are required to do so.   

Again, its just a matter of how much risk you can personally 
tolerate, assuming you know what you are getting into.  If you want 
to do a thru-hike and have never been in the Sierras (or similar 
mountains)before, then you may want to consider doing some winter 
training so you will be more prepared to make those decisions.  
Perhaps, take a weekend winter skills course at a minimum.  If you 
have never dealt with snow and mountains and winter travel, used an 
ice axe before, etc, then deciding to cross a steep snow covered pass 
would be like diving off a cliff into a lake that you had never swam 
in before and not knowing how to swim.  Any sane person would want to 
make sure (s)he knew how to swim before getting in the water and 
would want to check the water depth before (s)he dove in.  Same thing 
with mountaineering:  If you have never even used an ice axe before, 
don't assume anything!  

hope that helps.

peace,
dude

> 
> Strider writes:
> > Having done technical ice climbing in the High Sierras and on Mt. 
Rainier I 
> > WOULD NOT attempt to cross Forrester Pass (remember 13,200 feet!) 
without an 
> > ice axe before late August in ANY year.  Perhaps my limitations - 
fears - 
> > reservations are greater than yours, but I'd have to say, IMHO, 
you must be 
> > highly confident on steep ice with deathly exposure to make this 
statement.   
> 
> I think that's being a bit overly conservative.  I crossed 
Forrester on
> July 13, 2000 and on July 1, 2001.  Both times were about the 
same:  no
> snow at all on the south side or at the top of the pass, some snow 
obscuring
> the trail on the north side, but nothing that couldn't be traversed 
quite
> comfortably.
> 
> Note that these data points are not relevant for early- or normal-
season
> thru-hikers.  But, based on my experience, late-season thru-hikers 
may very
> well get away with leaving the ice axe in the bounce box.
> 
> --John
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> <br>

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