backcountry route for first-time snow camper

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.
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rs44
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Re: backcountry route for first-time snow camper

Post by rs44 »

c9h13no3 wrote: Mon Jan 06, 2020 1:45 pm You guize know this thread was four years old right?
I, umm, apparently don't know how to read.
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CAMERONM
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Re: backcountry route for first-time snow camper

Post by CAMERONM »

Four years?
Well then, whats the news, did he survive the trip?
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Gogd
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Re: backcountry route for first-time snow camper

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A lot to learn! You need to read up a bunch, even before setting out. I'll mention just a very few things that are obvious, but I bet you didn't consider until reading them, here. The more you know before hand, the quicker you will learn from lessons in the field. Learning from a friend is fun, but consider learning the critical safety issues from trained professionals.

Your car.

Many people escape bad weather on their hike, only to find themselves stranded at the trailhead because their car cannot get them on the road. You may scoff at some of this advice, but being stuck at the trailhead in summer is a inconvenience; however, being stranded in the winter can turn into a real emergency.
  1. Check with the local highway department, and assure you won't end up with your vehicle on the wrong side of a road closure gate.
  2. Make sure you can walk whatever the distance required to safety, should an unplowed road stymie your route home.
  3. Check the anticipated temperature range. Make sure you have proper weight motor oil for winter temps. Summer weight oil may become too viscous to crank the engine, if the battery is low on charge, due to the cold. On that note, add some jumper cables and consider bringing starter fluid.
  4. Check your antifreeze, and confirm it'll handle the anticipated temps.
  5. Make sure you can get your car unstuck. Park it, facing your exit direction. Pack along a BIG snow shovel and long handled digging shovel. Your car may get snowed in, and you'll need to dig it out. The digging shovel is for busting the debris a snow plow may deposit while clearing the road, and inadvertently blocking your ability to drive onto the road. Consider also bringing old rugs and a bag of kitty litter to deal with lost traction.
  6. Speaking of traction, bring tire chains or equivalent traction devices.
  7. Disconnect the battery from the car, so clocks and other accessories don't drain the battery while you are out.
  8. Consider stashing a bear canister of food at the trailhead. You may need this if you cannot drive away.
  9. Extra blankets, in case your camping gear is sodden, and you are stranded at the car.
  10. Make sure your exhaust pipe is clear of snow, before running the engine; otherwise you may risk carbon monoxide poisoning.
  11. I like to bring a folding chair - it makes donning and removing all of the snow gear and boots a lot easier.
Your person
  1. Slow Down! Try to avoid getting sweaty, as it is hard to stay warm in damp clothing.
  2. Stay super hydrated. Dehydration is a major contributing factor in exhaustion, altitude sickness, and hypothermia.
  3. Eat a big snack or meal just before bed. Digesting food generates heat.
About water
  1. Fetch water from flowing sources whenever possible. This will save BIG TIME on fuel demands. Consider the science: It takes one calorie of heat to raise one CC of water 1˚C. But it takes 10 calories of heat to cause one CC of water at 0˚C to transform from a solid (frozen) into a liquid state; and 10 calories of heat to cause one CC of water at 100˚C to transform from a liquid state, into a gas state (boiling). Thus melting ice and snow uses LOTS of fuel as does bringing water to a boil. Lesson: avoid melting and boiling whenever possible.
  2. Use trekking poles, coat hanger, carabineer, or other stuff to devise a water fetching gizmo. This will enable you to dip a pot or water bottle into a stream from a safe distance, precluding you accidentally falling in. The gizmo must be be foolproof, you don't want the pot or water bottle coming off and getting lost in the stream.
  3. Avoid getting close to streams whenever possible!
Camp comfort
  1. It is actually warmer (and quieter) sheltering in a snow cave (or other shelter built into the snow) than in a tent on the snow. Learn how to create these shelters, cook stances, fire pits, benches, revetments, and other snow camp structures.
  2. If you are sheltering in the snow, choose a location in the shade, else sun warmed melt water may percolate into your shelter. If camped on the snow, choose a location that gets early morning sun but also out of the wind, so you may warm up soon as possible.
  3. Cover your pack with a large dark trash bag. It prevents falling/drifting snow from freezing on it, and protects it from UV rays.
  4. Put away gear when not in use. If it snows while you are away from camp or while you sleep, any gear left out will be lost under the snow.
  5. Safeguard your food from creatures just as you do in the summer. They are out there, often more brazen in winter, and will walk right into your camp if they think there is food for the taking.
  6. Learn the proper ways to deal with Poop!
  7. Always a good idea to bring a closed cell (blue) foam sleeping mat, even if you are bringing any kind of air mat. Repair kits don't always work in the cold. If you can't repair a leaky air mat, that would be a major comfort issue without a backup.
  8. Learn about vapor barrier liners. You may not like the sensation of inhabiting a giant zip lock bag, but knowing how to apply the concept may be crucial in an emergency
  9. LOTS more than this.
Specifics about sleeping bag care.
  1. Try to minimize accumulating water vapor in your sleeping bag. The following tips are practices that can keep your sleeping bag providing maximum warmth performance.
  2. Unfurl your bag just prior to bedding down for the evening. If you unfurl your bag some time before you go to bed, the fluffed up insulating fill will entrap air that always has some level of moisture. That air will cool as the night progresses, with the moisture condensing/freezing onto the insulating fill material of the unoccupied bag. At the very least this will add weight to your bag, but may build up ice within the insulation, compromising the effectiveness of the fill material to act as insulation from the cold. It is even more imperative to minimize the opportunity for ice to form in the insulation fill if you have a down bag.
  3. The moisture passing through your sleeping bag will condense and freeze once it has traveled sufficiently from your body to a zone where ambient temperature is at the freeze point. If that freeze zone lies within the insulation layer you bag, it will accumulate frost in the insulation. One way to reduce this occurrence and prevent frost from forming on the surface of your bag is to cover it with a lightweight sheet of nylon fabric. The moisture will then pass through the outer fabric of the sleeping bag, but adhere to the lightweight sheet, because the lightweight sheet usually becomes the new frost point layer.
  4. Likewise the first thing you should do upon exiting your bag in the morning is compressing all of the air out of it completely and stashing it away in the stuff sack. This will minimize the amount of air in the insulation that absorbed your sweat throughout the night from cooling causing ice to accumulate in the insulation materials.
  5. Also consider availing to using a sleeping bag vapor barrier liner.
  6. Lastly take the opportunity on rest and meal breaks to unpack your sleeping bag, fluff it and place it in a large black plastic trash bag, then lay the trash bag out on top of your pack to absorb solar rays. Return to the bag every 15 minutes and squeeze all of the air out of the trash bag and re-fluff the sleeping bag. The solar heat will evaporate any ice or condensed moisture, and compressing the bag will expel this moisture. Repack your bag in the stuff sack at the end of the break and continue about your business until you get an opportunity to repeat this process.
Safe travel.

There are so many considerations under this topic, I'll just say you need to know when it is safe to travel on snow, where it is safe to do so, and how to do it safely. Strongly consider taking a snow safety seminar. Yep, these classes are not cheap. How much is your life worth? Do not trust a friend will remember all the considerations, or share them in an effective manner. There is much more than avalanche safety to consider. For example:
  1. Do not ski, walk or snowshoe down the bottom of a ravine, there may be a stream beneath the snow and you may plunge through the snow and get soaked. Worse, you may ski over a lip in the snow, and discover it is actually the edge of a water fall, with open water and rocks at the bottom of the other side, ready to soak you and break bones on impact. People die from this mistake!
  2. Avoid traveling on frozen lakes. Yea folks do it all the time - and folks plunge through and die from it all the time. So, do you feel lucky? Don't learn critical winter skills by trial and error, some things have no margin for mistakes.
  3. TONS more than this
As for good beginner areas. Tom's Place is a good spot. You can rent a cabin, but practice everything you need to learn, including setting a camp in a mountain setting that offers a range of terrain from gentle to intense. Badger Pass ski area and Mammoth Mountain ski area both offer XC ski instruction ranging from beginner to expert level. I know there are quite a few guide services operating out of Owens Valley that offer a range of courses and programs - try googling by a keyword describing what you want to do. I believe the Sierra Club also offers various winter programs. I know some members of the HST community are professional guides and ski instructors - consider posting a thread to the HST community for recommended instructors and guide services, if you choose to avail these resources.

Ed
I like soloing with friends.
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