It is raining and windy outside as I sit transcribing my memories of an unforgettable winter trip. It's a pleasant storm to watch from inside my home while sipping a hot cup of tea. I'm especially happy to be home as I imagine the tempestuous High Sierra where yet another unusually late, cold winter storm buffets the rugged peaks and drops a soft blanket of impeding snow, forcing spring to an abrupt halt. I could be in middle of this storm on my ninth day skiing the John Muir Trail. If I was there it's likely that I'd be out of food and unable to ski. I know what this storm is like, because just a few days ago I endured a similar one. Despite being unable to complete my trip, I am content right where I am.
This is a story of a challenging trek on skis generally following the 223-mile John Muir Trail (JMT) in spring and winter conditions. The trip was supposed to include a thru-ski of the entire JMT. Ironically the one thing that makes skiing possible - snow - can also make skiing very difficult. On the fifth day of my trip, a cold winter storm dumped deep, heavy snow which slowed my average pace to one mile per hour. "Skiing" down all but the steepest slopes became a trudging slog. After eighty-five miles of skiing I reluctantly decided to abandon the trip, with another eighteen miles of skiing to the nearest trailhead. Had I continued, I would have run out of food two days before arriving at my only food cache. With another two to three feet of snow forecast and no warming to consolidate the already deep snowpack, it's likely my pace would have slowed even further. Being stuck without bailout options or food in the middle of the Sierra during a prolonged winter storm was not a reality I wished to face.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Who's Coming With Me?!
- All By Myself...
- Forester and Glen Passes
- Do I Stay or Do I Go?
- Mather Pass, Nearly Blind
- I Didn't Need Those Fingers Anyway
- Finding the Edge of Reason
# WORDS: 4090
# PHOTOS: 14
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Discussion
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Kevin – without getting into where you cached, I'd be interested to hear about your mode of cacheing, as I am considering a cache for a ski trip next year and have been mulling the alternatives.
My criteria were:
1. I had to be able to get there in the fall reasonably conveniently.
2. The spot had to be easy to find in winter.
3. The spot had to be at least 1/4-1/2 mile from any trail or camp.
4. The cache could not be located in an avalanche prone area.
I considered burying or ground level caches but with the very deep Sierra snowpack felt thay wouldn't be safe.
I considered setting it on the ground beside a huge exposed bolder (many are wind scoured and free of snow around the edges) but wasn't sure which bolder wouldn't be buried.
I considered stashing it in a bear box but for reasons of security and snow depth discarded this idea.
I ended up using a BearVault canister, double wrapped with a heavy gague plastic trash bag and in a stuff sack. I hung it hung from and secured it to a tree (a climbable one) with heavy spectra rope. I knew bears couldn't get to the food but if they knocked it down and it became buried under snow away from where I hung it I'd never find it. I avoided hollows where snow would accumulate instead chose a small knoll.
I marked the spot with GPS coordinates but it was so distinct I didn't really need them. There are many other possibilities depending on snow depth and available terrain. Just choose someplace very distinct, consider what it will look like in the winter, mark it with GPS (I also considered marking with surveyor's tape a specific distance and bearing from the cache for a ground level cache).
Kevin – thanks for the details. That sounds very much like what I had been thinking of doing – if I end up doing it.
"However I'd be surprised if a full skins off/skins on cycle could be accomplished in 50 seconds."
check out these videos – meant for newbie training, not even competition footage:
http://www.ussma.org/cosmic/learn/technique/technique-videos
So about 1:30 down to up and :30 up to down–he could probably be ~20 seconds faster if he wasn't talking so it's close to a minute.
by the way – I am pretty much set to do the JMT on AT gear next winter – I’m using this year to do some gear testing and to set up caches later in the year with a special late fall trip. Been there 15 times in spring/summer/fall, so it’s time to push the envelope into the 4th season.
anyone have similar plans for March and/or April 2012?
I’m using Dynafit bindings with Scarpa F1 boots, full skins, and I generally leave them on as much as I can, because I am no real downhill skier to begin with. I just chose this gear for its clear advantages on all sorts of snow, including fresh powder, crampon compatibility, floatation, etc.
by the way – not sure if this past posted here on BPL – another JMT on Tele ski:
JMT April 2010
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