[pct-l] Long-Distance Hiking with Crampons?!

[shutterbugg313 at yahoo.com (Shutterbug steiner)]

I'd not be so quick to jump on the NO CRAMPON kick ---- this year in Idllewild the mountaineering store ran out of crampons.  Most people that did do fuller ridge at least that first week of May had an ice axe and/or at least insteps.  The sierras this year will be even be more treacharous.  I hope to be able to do Tahoe South to Kennedy Meadows in August and unless weather can change my mind I will take an ice axe and the 4 cleat insteps.  My life is worth that extra little bit of weight.
 
Shutterbugg

Joanne Lennox <goforth@cnw.com> wrote:
VEry few hikers carry crampons onthe PCT, even early in the season in the
sierras. Even fewer use them. In June the snows seems to be either very hard
or very soft with little in between. As the season progresses, the snow
will get firmer and firmer and if it is there by september, may simply be
ice You are unlikely to even need an ice ax that late in the season, but if
there is a large snow field and it is cold and early in the day, and the
snow is icey, wait a while. Monitor the snow levels over the high Sierras
passes when you get 500 miles done and you will have a better idea of your
need for an ice ax. You will have the advantage of all those hikers in front
of you, and Saufleys at Agua Dulce have always been very helpful in this
regard. In August of a very high snow year near the Palisades at my camp,
I took a very painful fall on a flat meter wide patch of snow early morning.
It was ice!! I could easily have just stepped around it, but it was such a
small piece of snow I gave it no thought. A couple hours later it was slosh.

I have used Crampons in the sierras every morning for a week, but I was
going cross country and climbing. So the opportunity to use crampons is
there, but generally not on the PCT.

Leave the crampons at home without another thought!!

Goforth

/listinfo/pct-l
>

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Donnay" 
To: "PCT-L" 

Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2005 12:02 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Long-Distance Hiking with Crampons?!


> Hi,
> I've thru-hiked the AT and never needed an ice axe as there was no
> significant snow on steep slopes where and when I was hiking.
>
> Now I'm planning on section hiking the PCT in 2-3 sections over the
> next 2-3 summers. I know I'll need an ice axe for safe travel even in
> mid-summer. I keep hearing on this List about hikers using crampons
> (some even with running shoes!) to travel over some of the high passes
> on the PCT. Is this required gear? Are all PCT thru-hikers carrying
> crampons? I'll be hiking from Campo (21 June) to TM (5 August) this
> summer. Do I need crampons? If so, can anyone recommend some models?
>
> Any thoughts on using small snowshoes with built-in crampons like those
> by MSR to guard against post-holing?
>
> Thanks for your advice!
>
>
>
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