I live in Central PA. In the past, there are some trips out west I’ve shied away from, especially early- and late-season ones, because they require technical snow travel, ie potentially use crampons or ice axes. The conventional wisdom I’ve seen time and time again is, “Don’t carry an ice axe unless you’ve been taught how to use it.” So this winter / spring, I’m looking to learn and open up some new trip opportunities.
Obviously there’s not much need for these skills where I live, but I’ve been trying to find training as close to home as I can. The best I’m coming up with is NH, the Catskills, or the Adirondacks. But typically, snow travel like I’m after (ie, beyond basic snowshoeing) is contained in mountaineering courses, requiring investment in thousands of dollars of mountaineering gear to participate. I’m not interested in mountaineering, but there’s certainly some overlap in skill sets between that and early / late season backpacking. It’s that overlap I’m after.
So with all that said, can anyone suggest training resources as close to the mid-atlantic as possible for snow travel, self-arrest, hiking crampon useage, etc? Winter navigation would also be a great offering.
