Re: [pct-l] Re; ice axe

[Brick <brick@fastpack.com>]

"Joanne Lennox" <goforth@cio.net> wrote

>>I have noticed <snip> the snow hardens <snip>and it doesn't soften until
about 10
o'clock the next morning, much later on steep North slopes.  During this
time, you have to use crampons. <<

Not necessarily, and not really applicable to a through hike.....

I hiked the Sierra in early July in 95', passing over Forester Pass on July
13th. The heavy snowpack and the late melt made 95 one of the snowiest
seasons on record, almost as bad as this year. To see how Forester pass
looked that day, see: http://www.fastpack.com/brick/forester.html.

Instead of using an Ice Axe, I elected to use a Ramer "Terminator" self
arrest ski pole handle, which is sort of like a very short plastic ice axe.
The handle is detachable from the pole, so I carried only it, not the whole
pole. You can see what the pole looks like  at
http://www.offpiste.com/Poles.html. I found it adequate for all but about 5
miles of the trip (most of which was in Kerrick Canyon - where I was
thoroughly terrified - Cal Guidebook I5-I6). In hindsight, I would use an
aluminum Ice Axe instead.

My normal daily routine started at a lower elevation in the morning, where
I slept hoping for a warmer night. I would start climbing about 7-8am, and
would reach the snow about 9-10 am. Usually the first snow would not be too
steep, and the tread on my running shoes would grip the hoar frost well. By
the time I reached steeper snow, things would have softened up, but
occasionally I would have to chop steps with my improvised Ice Axe. Not
fast, but not impossible. In any event, chopping was warmer than sitting
still waiting. Anyplace I couldn't chop with my plastic pick, I couldn't
self arrest, so I wouldn't go there - this seldom happened. 

I remember hiking up the snow towards Selden Pass early one morning. I had
been stopped early the previous day by a thunderstorm/whiteout, camped
higher than usual, so started my day on snow that was still quite firm. I
was traipsing along in my running shoes with my ultralight gear, and I came
upon 3 hikers with plastic boots wearing crampons, Ice Axes in hand, and
snowshoes on their large packs. These guys were tripping all over
themselves, and one guy had trashed his gaiter and gouged his boot with a
misstep. They were using the crampons because they had them, not because
they were needed.

An hour later I was trying to balance on the ridges of suncups, post holing
every third step. With their heavier packs, these guys would have been
waist deep.

In all, I found soft snow and sun cups to be much more of a problem than
steep hard snow. Hiking the PCT is NOT mountaineering, and you just don't
need the same gear. You only need one tool, no crampons, no ropes, no
belays, no ice screws.

I do concur that light weight SMALL snow shoes like the MSR, or the old
Ramer Assaults could be helpful - much more so than crampons. However I'm
not sure that anything will make rotten suncups easily passable.

I agree with Jardine on this one. You just don't need crampons for a PCT hike.

Hike Your Own Hike.

-Brick

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