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Re: 2014 Feb 1 Kern River Snow survey
Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 9:16 am
by jimmeans
John,
How do you get up/down Horseshoe Meadows Rd to perform the survey? Does Inyo County unlock the gate at the bottom for you, or are you hiking it up and down?
Jim
Re: 2014 Feb 1 Kern River Snow survey
Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 12:42 pm
by John Dittli
jimmeans wrote:John,
How do you get up/down Horseshoe Meadows Rd to perform the survey? Does Inyo County unlock the gate at the bottom for you, or are you hiking it up and down?
Jim
The USFS drives us up to the snow line.
Re: 2014 Feb 1 Kern River Snow survey
Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 11:10 pm
by tomba
Don't you worry that "skiing" on dirt will damage the skis?
Re: 2014 Feb 1 Kern River Snow survey
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 11:48 am
by John Harper
How many in your party? How do you rig up your pack to carry skis, poles, boots? Do you carry tent, sleeping gear, and food too?
Seems like it would be awfully heavy, especially climbing Cottonwood Pass. I had no idea anyone would be out there mid winter.
Thanks for the info, great read.
John
Re: 2014 Feb 1 Kern River Snow survey
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 6:58 am
by rileySB
This brings me hope that I can still find water sources out near Cottonwood Lakes basin for a backpack trip this early summer! Like an earlier poster said, let's hope for a wet March, and a wet spring! What we hear in the news about the drought makes me think that the southern sierras are BONE dry. But it's uplifting to see actual snow on the ground at this time. Thanks for sharing!
Re: 2014 Feb 1 Kern River Snow survey
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 8:29 am
by ndwoods
Thanks for sharing....LOVE that photo "Little Whitney Meadow."
Re: 2014 Feb 1 Kern River Snow survey
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 9:09 am
by John Dittli
tomba wrote:Don't you worry that "skiing" on dirt will damage the skis?
For trips such as this, we have "rock" skis (skis that have already been damaged). We take them off for long dirt stretches, but when the are short and frequent, they stay on.
Re: 2014 Feb 1 Kern River Snow survey
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 11:08 am
by John Dittli
John Harper wrote:How many in your party? How do you rig up your pack to carry skis, poles, boots? Do you carry tent, sleeping gear, and food too?
Seems like it would be awfully heavy, especially climbing Cottonwood Pass. I had no idea anyone would be out there mid winter.
Thanks for the info, great read.
John
We usually travel in pairs, sometimes three. If we have to hike (rare), we put the boots in the bindings then slide the skis thru the packs compression straps.
_MG_2359.jpg
We carry day gear and about 5 lbs of sampling equipment each.
The vast majority of the time we stay in snow survey cabins that are stocked with food, wood and sleeping bags. On this particular survey, we were to return via the Kern River, so we carried 30° bags no tent, some food and a tin can for cooking over a fire (ie. cowboy camping).
082_29_D1A.jpg