Skiing the JMT

[Klas Eklof]

Based on SPOT and NOAA, he went over Mather today in these conditions:

Cloudy and cold, with a steady temperature around 3. Wind chill values as low as -17. West wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Total daytime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

– klas

[Greg Mihalik]

"Kevin has decided to abort his attempt. He is on the Bishop Pass Trail heading out."

This is posted on Kevin's Google Buzz site.

Edit: Click "Expand this Post' under March 27 to get the details.

He is fine, just hammered by weather and snow.

[Ed Engel]

I give him credit for following a dream of his. Sounds like he gave it his all. He certainly did not fail in any way. I have no idea what physical and mental hardships he went through. Good job Kevin.

[Jim W.]

Even with weather, fresh snow, breaking trail he put in a good pace. It's bad when you can't glide downhill!

I had always thought of the JMT as a monthlong ski expedition. Of course I also can't imagine hiking it in less than 12 days vs Kevin's 4 day record.

Looks like he's walking all the way down South Lake road to Bishop- Somebody drive out there and pick him up!

Jim

Edit: Here's another story on James Lutz' website about skiing the length in '92 with Jeremy Sommer: http://www.jamesalutz.com/index_JMT1.htm

[Kevin Sawchuk]

I'm home and a full report will follow. Conditions started out great on Saturday with well consolidated snow and lovely corn/freeze cycles. Despite being a competitive ultrarunner and experienced backcountry skier my partner just wasn't ready for the incessant miles and bailed over Shephard Pass after two days.

I was able to pick up the pace and hammered out 25 miles over Forester and Glen passes on Monday. The descent of Forester was about as much fun as you can have on a ski day.

Monday night a storm moved in with temperatures in the single digits and wind chills much below–winds over the passes had gusts to 50 MPH. I proceeded cautiously over Pinchot Pass in the winds and light snow making it further than I had expected in the morning and having pushed my limits significantly. I learned a new technique for stabilizing myself in the wind gusts by bending over and sticking my knees and ski tips into the snow. (skis were carried in pack as I cramponed up the very steep last 600' of the pass)

Tuesday night 10-12" of powder had fallen on the south side of Mather but the winds had abated. The heavy powder and very cold temperatures slowed my pace to ~1.5 MPH. The north side of Mather had 20+" of heavy powder and I couldn't even ski downhill except on the steepest slopes with skis pointed straight down (and then at the pace of a beginner on a bunny slope). It took 1 hour to cross lower Palisade lake (~.6 miles) another to go the .3 to the top of the Golden Staircase before descending exhausted into Deer Flat at its base. 10 hours of hard skiing had netted me less than 10 miles.

The storm cleared Thursday but the cold and heavy snow remained. It took 6 hard hours to cover 7 miles and I'd lost 1500' and gained only 500'. Doing the pace/miles calculations I would run out of food 2 days before I got to my cache. And another cold winter storm with 3 feet of new snow was predicted to hit on Sunday. I decided the only safe option was to abandon the trip over Bishop Pass.

I'll be back to finish the trail later this year or next year. There's certainly enough snow up there and hopefully my food remains securely cached. With a partner to help break trail and ease the burden of camp chores it might be fun–even in these conditions.A

[Bob Bankhead]

Skill and experience knows when to call it quits while ego would drive us on. Good object lesson here…….

"Tho' I've belted you an' flayed you,
By the livin' Gawd that made you,
You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!"

by Rudyard Kipling

[Kevin Sawchuk]

There was no ego involved. Each decision was based on moving forward safely into challenging conditions. These were the most challenging conditions I've ever faced but only by a notch or two. My repertoire was expanded but I was never out of control–except a bit descending a steep gully on the Golden Staircase…..:-0

[Paul McLaughlin]

Kevin – I'm curious as to your reasons for starting so early. It seems like the prime spring skiing in the Sierra usually starts about mid-April, when the corn is getting ripe and the big storms are mostly done. DId you have particular reasons for starting in March?

[Kevin Sawchuk]

No really good reason. I initially wanted to do it in "winter" but was really hoping for spring conditions despite it being "winter." We started a week after spring this year.

The low snow of two years ago made me aim for an earlier start. However every year is different and with our well above average snowpack this year late April or even May would have been a better choice.

For me to potentially have partners I had to plan months in advance–well before I knew the snow conditions. Once plans are made they're hard to change. One of my partners was a teacher and could only do the trip on his spring break week.

[Paul McLaughlin]

Boy, I know what you mean about the scheduling. Every year I plan a week-long backcountry ski trip in the Sierra and I have to pick the dates in December or January. Sometimes I've had to revise where I go to suit the snow conditions – it's tougher when you're trying to do one particular route – and even tougher when it's that long. The corn window is sometimes no more than two weeks, and it moves around.
If you try to do something in winter conditions, timing is almost impossible – two weeks of good weather and decent snow conditions prior to mid-april essentially doesn't happen – the best you can do is to assume some stormy weather and deep snow slogging in your window and plan accordingly.
This year for me, it looks like plenty of snow, but I'm a little worried that there will be too much fresh stuff and consequently too much avalanche danger to be able to do what I have planned. We'll see – gotta take what the mountains are giving.

[Bob Gross]

If you miss the corn window, you end up in the soft ice cream.

–B.G.–

[Klas Eklof]

Kevin,

Great attempt, and great job getting out. A party of three on the High Route last week ended up being rescued with a copter.

If you are able to share a gearlist, I'd love to know what you carried.

Thanks,

– Klas

[Aaron Sorensen]

No kidding Kevin, that was amazing to even get that far.

You wouldn't happen to have any good pictures?

[Klas Eklof]

Hey Aaron,
Kevin's pics are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ksawchuk/20100403JMTSkiTrip#

Also, if anyone cares, the report from the other party which were picked up by the NPS chopper is here:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1138632

[Kevin Sawchuk]

After reading the trip report of the three who were taken out by chopper I'm REALLY glad I abandoned the route on Friday.

I'll get a gear list posted sometime–on call this week.

[Paul McLaughlin]

Kevin – very interested to hear how the boots worked out for you.

[Kevin Sawchuk]

Is this Paul of Marmot, heroic boot fitter? The Rossignol BC X11s were dreamy on the touring parts of the trip. Their lack of insulation combined with the extreme cold (-1F at worst without the 30MPH winds) did leave me with frostbite and numb toes that are only now–a month later–almost back to normal.

They were adequate on downhill skiing–especially for me who learned telemark on similar boots and can revert to "old school" tele style skiing. They sucked on any icy traverses–I probably should take the 20mm risers off of the skis as it would probably allow better traversing with such a light boot.

[Paul McLaughlin]

Nope, not that Paul. Just curious, as I'm always thinking about lighter boots and how they'd do on a multi-day tour, particularly as regards warmth and dryness. Sounds like they are not too warm – though the temps you encountered are colder than I usually experience on my sierra spring tours, where I rarely see anything much below 20 degrees. Did they stay dry?

[Kevin Sawchuk]

The boots stayed reasonably dry. I did use vapor barrier socks which helped.

[Jim W.]

Kevin,

I just looked at your album. Great photos- especially those nice squiggles coming down Bishop Pass. Makes me want to get out there.

How did the wood stove work out for you? I've had a Sierra Zip stove for years but it seemed in winter the available fuel is limited.

Did you pull dead branches and pine cones off trees? Did you use any tools to break the wood up?

Thanks,
Jim

[Kevin Sawchuk]

I pulled dead wood off of trees when I couldn't find downed wood. There is some blowdown but not a lot. I tried to pick trees with multiple branches and pick a couple off of each tree. Although I can't be sure (everything's covered), I don't think I camped in any high use areas so the visual impact was minimal. The Bush Buddy uses about three branches per night even melting snow and I broke them up by hand. You really don't need more than thumb sized wood for the BB.

[Klas Eklof]

Kevin, would really really love to see what you carried.
Thanks.

[Kevin Sawchuk]

Ryan/BPL will be publishing the article I wrote and it will include a gear list. I'm not sure I should publish it here with publication in BPL eminent.

[Author]

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