Discussion about winter adventure sports in the Sierra Nevada mountains including but not limited to; winter backpacking and camping, mountaineering, downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, etc.
If there was ever a year to do a winter trip, this is the year. It was actually really nice when we started out - you can see Andy wearing shorts & a t-shirt. I was listening to the weather report as I was driving up from SoCal - we knew it was going to be warm & sunny - but the report on the radio mentioned 60 mph gusts. I thought maybe I had misheard.
Kristine (Gazelle) had shown me how to ping the weather report for the DeLorme, so I was obsessively checking the weather for our specific GPS location every few hours. All they had for the summary was 'windy' for that evening. Yeah, windy is right.
Anyway, it was a lot of fun. I highly recommend getting out if you are able. I think Sonora pass is closed, but the CalTrans road signs indicated Carson pass was open. Long way around, but still ...
With another storm on the way, the snowpack isn't getting a chance to melt. The last accessible melt water pools we could reach (with a bottle on a string) were at Long lake. Since we were camped above that, it was time to boil (a lot) of water. We were able to drive just past Parchers before the closure, but the road side was 3-4' deep at 9,500'. We spoke to a ranger the next day, and everyone is freaked out about a sudden melt later this spring/summer. LA DWP is already at capacity with their daily draw down. South lake was completely empty to be able to handle the melt. On the way home, huge portions of the Owens valley along the Owens river basin were swampy.
Last edited by Hobbes on Sun May 14, 2017 12:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Hobbes wrote:If there was ever a year to do a winter trip, this is the year. It was actually really nice when we started out - you can see Andy wearing shorts & a t-shirt. I was listening to the weather report as I was driving up from SoCal - we knew it was going to be warm & sunny - but the report on the radio mentioned 60 mph gusts. I thought maybe I had misheard.
I think the Donner party tried that once, but that was a long time ago..
This may seem weird, but I was going through contingencies in my head during the night. We both had very secure tents/guy lines and proper clothing and equipment for the conditions. But of course, it's easy for your mind to wander and imagine things as the wind is shrieking and trying to tear everything apart.
So, my what if scenario was for "someone else" to have been caught up there. It was definitely the type of situation where you could quickly freeze to death. My resolution was, if your tent blew away, you would have to quickly abandon all hope of securing your bag, pack, etc and immediately start running/sliding down the mountain with as much clothing as you could grab. We were only 5-6 miles above Parchers, so let's say it took 2-3 hours of moving quickly.
That in itself could possibly burn enough calories to say alive. It was a full moon, so there would be enough visibility to see where you were going. Of course, you would have absolutely no chance to stop and figure out any kind of route - you'd have to follow your own tracks from coming up. Once you made it to the road, you'd still need to run/walk quickly down to a lower elevation, but I think you could make it.
Still a nice report, and yes, the contingency thing at night happens a lot. My last winter trip was in '90 up from the gate at tioga pass in January, on skis, for the first time, into as you stated 60 mph winds. We stuck it out for 4 days, and had the adventure of our lives. I learned how to successfully face-plant on skis with full pack; then put my lenses back in my glasses. Had about 6" of snow after the wind, which was fine and a nice fire that melted down about 10' of snow.
I would love to see the pictures, not showing for me either. I think you 2 were in the White Mountain station picking up your permit at the same time we were picking up ours for Hilton Lakes.
Great report and it was a fun trip Hobbes! Too bad about the photos, it was beautiful out there. I ended up going back out (to Big Pine) like you and Mav suggested. The Palisades must have blocked the wind because it was calm enough to cowboy camp the next night.
I got back late last night/early this morning and will post photos after Mothers Day festivities.
BTW, I forgot to mention that the trick to removing snow anchors is to pour hot water on them. I finally figured this out after breaking the tip off of a trekking pole while wrestling with frozen snow anchors one cold morning.
Yes, very nice report Hobbes. Shows once again the enormity of all the snow this year (dare I say it looks like type 2 fun ). Glad the tents held up!
Pardon me if I missed it, but I wonder if you carried a shovel...perhaps a snow cave as a contingency?
The first time I went up the South Lake trail head was April 30, 2007. It must have been a year of low snow fall as I went up Hurd Peak without issue. The outlet of Long Lake had visible water and it was warm enough to cause significant post holing h*ll on the way out.
Alright, I went ahead and created a new Flickr account. Google changed its photo sharing service, so after many years there, I'll go through Flickr now.
Andy has a lot of photos he's currently reviewing, but he sent this one he took of me looking at one of the few melt water pools along the way:
As for tents, I'm not sure if Andy had his own creation. I too have made many tarps, but finally broke down and bought a new backpacking tent earlier this year. I decided to spring for the new Copper Spur HV UL2.
What really impressed me is the new central hub pole system. Previously the 2-man had hoops at both the front & back connected with a central spine. All other tents (including the 1-person CS) I tested still used the hoop/spine technique, along with various requirements for tie outs. I figured if I was going to get a tent, I was going to get a true free standing.
With the fly and guy lines secured, it was really interesting watching the tent flex from inside. Talk about a real-life field test - as the wind blew, the poles receiving the brunt of the pressure flexed back, offloading the spring action to the rear poles via the central hub. Truly a well thought out engineering design - I can't recommend it highly enough.
h >>>Our original plan was to camp at Bishop lake, but because the forecast was calling for 50+ mph winds, we needed to stay a bit lower within some stunted trees.
Good adventure read. Thanks for the report. Surprised you went up with that wind forecast. At the Sierra Crest winds often are over 100mph though there are very few gauges. The pass with that long open unblocked terrain, could have been brutal with no where to hide. Am an old alpine skier that often powder skis during minor cold storms because the fresh fluff is so much more enjoyable. However one thing I avoid is windy conditions whether stormy or even on cold sunny days. Done that and learned I can deal with it yeah as I have the gear, but cannot say it is pleasant. One has to have the best head gear so nothing is exposed except nostrils. Very easy to understand how quickly one could freeze to death if something bad happened like getting stuck in a well, creek or brush hole. The most wind protected zone is between Spearhead and Margaret Lakes, a wonderful zone during summer few visit.
Was surprised you two were on shoes so researched and see the new generation with crampon teeth on the frame are well reviewed. Also like the lifter and powder extender features. My old Tubbs are lousy on steeps or traverses the firmer the snow. Also travel through deeper fresh snow can be utterly exhausting. New era snowshoes is something will be thinking of making a purchase for. I have not winter backpacked inyears but now that I am retired expect will have time.
Have you tried using Flickr? 