Snow travel gear dilema
Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:13 am
I had all bases covered when I went over Mono Pass this last week. All this did was make my pack heavy! The problem is I only have two hands, so taking both trekking poles and an ice axe really did not make a lot of sense. What to take, when snow is like it is now, drastically varying from ice to slush on steep slopes is always a difficult decision for me. A few observations and mistakes I made.
1. Crampons. Going in early in the morning, I needed, and used my crampons. Problem is that I failed to really inspect them after I used them last summer. They are older aluminum flexible crampons. The front and back part are connected by a bar with a T-end. One "T" broke half way across, which made for very interesting traverse. You are committed once on a traverse on steep snow- cannot stop and fix anything until you get across. Inspecting the good crampon when I did get across, I saw that it too had started to bend.
2. I have two sets of trekking poles. Just out of habit I took my lighter Leki's which happen to have one missing point, and the other worn down. No problem on dirt trails, but were nearly worthless on icy snow. I should have taken my heavier Black Diamond poles which have good points.
3. Micro-spikes. Met two backpackers when I went out- it was about noon and the snow was softer and very wet. They had micro-spikes, which in those conditions did not help, in fact were worse than going without. This is because the snow was very prone to "balling". I think most hikers who buy micro-spikes are not aware of "balling", which make the bottom of your micro-spikes a mass of snow and ice. Same thing happens with crampons. Traction devices are great for hard snow and ice, but if collect snow on the bottom, you absolutely need to knock off the snow (with trekking pole) about every other step. At some point that does not work either. The ironic thing, is that these two were wearing actual mountaineering boots with deep aggressive tread, which actually work better in soft snow. The advantage of traction devices, is that it allows you to travel snow any time of the day. This is very useful, when snow becomes miserably soft by afternoon- so an early start will allow more miles before the snow becomes too soft. Once over Mono Pass, you get to go through a mile of sun-cup hell, which is much easier on harder snow. But, please, know the limitations of your traction devices.
4. Ice axe- the purpose of the ice axe is to allow you to self arrest. On hard icy steep slopes, the chance of really arresting if you fall (especially with a pack on) is not good. Therefore, I prefer crampons and trekking poles and just hope I do not fall! If the snow is soft, then you can effectively stop using an ice axe and feet. But you will just cartwheel over if you have on crampons. Never tried to self arrest with micro-spikes, so not sure they would do the same. In soft snow, it is your feet that will quickly stop the fall. My feeling is that on softer snow, a good tread shoe or boot and ice axe is the safest.
5. Run-out. Be aware of what is below. Mono Pass has two snow bowls that you traverse above. The first has a rock band that you would crash into. The second although steeper is just a snow bowl where you would get a little beat up but not likely serious. Most people seemed to be ignorantly blissful with regard to where they would end up if they fell.
6. Slope. Snow slope is not necessarily the same as the topographic slope. Snow not only falls, it drifts creating steeper slopes than shown on the topographic map. The extreme example is a cornice. You may look on a map and think you do not need to take gear for steep slopes, but once there, you could run into much steeper slopes than expected.
7. Unstable snow- no gear is going to save you from this. The trail under the snow. Someone goes across the first time, and then, a "snow trail" is gradually made by others. The path established is not necessarily directly above the actual trail. As the snow melts, especially in late afternoon, the "path" could collapse, you along with it, particularly in spots where the snow "path" crosses rock slabs which melt out from the base. Directly above the trail is usually more stable, but then, who knows where the trail actually is located? Again, all the day-hikers on Mono Pass seemed oblivious to this. Personally I do not like to cross any steep snow slope late in the day, regardless of what gear I am carrying.
1. Crampons. Going in early in the morning, I needed, and used my crampons. Problem is that I failed to really inspect them after I used them last summer. They are older aluminum flexible crampons. The front and back part are connected by a bar with a T-end. One "T" broke half way across, which made for very interesting traverse. You are committed once on a traverse on steep snow- cannot stop and fix anything until you get across. Inspecting the good crampon when I did get across, I saw that it too had started to bend.
2. I have two sets of trekking poles. Just out of habit I took my lighter Leki's which happen to have one missing point, and the other worn down. No problem on dirt trails, but were nearly worthless on icy snow. I should have taken my heavier Black Diamond poles which have good points.
3. Micro-spikes. Met two backpackers when I went out- it was about noon and the snow was softer and very wet. They had micro-spikes, which in those conditions did not help, in fact were worse than going without. This is because the snow was very prone to "balling". I think most hikers who buy micro-spikes are not aware of "balling", which make the bottom of your micro-spikes a mass of snow and ice. Same thing happens with crampons. Traction devices are great for hard snow and ice, but if collect snow on the bottom, you absolutely need to knock off the snow (with trekking pole) about every other step. At some point that does not work either. The ironic thing, is that these two were wearing actual mountaineering boots with deep aggressive tread, which actually work better in soft snow. The advantage of traction devices, is that it allows you to travel snow any time of the day. This is very useful, when snow becomes miserably soft by afternoon- so an early start will allow more miles before the snow becomes too soft. Once over Mono Pass, you get to go through a mile of sun-cup hell, which is much easier on harder snow. But, please, know the limitations of your traction devices.
4. Ice axe- the purpose of the ice axe is to allow you to self arrest. On hard icy steep slopes, the chance of really arresting if you fall (especially with a pack on) is not good. Therefore, I prefer crampons and trekking poles and just hope I do not fall! If the snow is soft, then you can effectively stop using an ice axe and feet. But you will just cartwheel over if you have on crampons. Never tried to self arrest with micro-spikes, so not sure they would do the same. In soft snow, it is your feet that will quickly stop the fall. My feeling is that on softer snow, a good tread shoe or boot and ice axe is the safest.
5. Run-out. Be aware of what is below. Mono Pass has two snow bowls that you traverse above. The first has a rock band that you would crash into. The second although steeper is just a snow bowl where you would get a little beat up but not likely serious. Most people seemed to be ignorantly blissful with regard to where they would end up if they fell.
6. Slope. Snow slope is not necessarily the same as the topographic slope. Snow not only falls, it drifts creating steeper slopes than shown on the topographic map. The extreme example is a cornice. You may look on a map and think you do not need to take gear for steep slopes, but once there, you could run into much steeper slopes than expected.
7. Unstable snow- no gear is going to save you from this. The trail under the snow. Someone goes across the first time, and then, a "snow trail" is gradually made by others. The path established is not necessarily directly above the actual trail. As the snow melts, especially in late afternoon, the "path" could collapse, you along with it, particularly in spots where the snow "path" crosses rock slabs which melt out from the base. Directly above the trail is usually more stable, but then, who knows where the trail actually is located? Again, all the day-hikers on Mono Pass seemed oblivious to this. Personally I do not like to cross any steep snow slope late in the day, regardless of what gear I am carrying.