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theHUNGERian
Feb 23, 2006

Hey guys,

Assuming that a mountain is easily hikable in summer months (no technical skills required), what gear and skills are required to hike up that mountain in the snow? How do I best acquire those skills?

When I was young, we would go skiing once a year. I remember going on hikes that went up the ski slopes, and it was not an issue. Of course going up a simple (non-double black diamond) ski slope is one thing. Hiking up a mountain with steeper slopes to the left and to the right is another. What's the best way to get my feet wet doing such hikes? I live in an area that does not receive snow, but I could easily visit an area not far away (Los Angeles) that does. In particular, I am eyeing hiking up Mt. Baldy in the snow.

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lavaca
Jun 11, 2010
If there's a lot of snow, you will need snowshoes, poles and winter boots. If the snow is particularly deep, gaiters are a good idea.

If there's just a little bit of snow, you do not need snowshoes. Microspikes will help a lot of it's slippery. Don't be that guy in tennis shoes who falls down every 200 feet.

Here is everything you need to know about snowshoeing:
1. Wear layers and carry extra dry clothing in your pack. Sweating is bad when it's cold out.
2. Be reasonable about how far you can go in a day. Snowshoeing is slower and more strenuous than hiking.
3. You will probably die in an avalanche. Read a current avalanche forecast before going out, avoid sketchy slopes and recognize that a lot of summer routes make for very bad winter routes.
4. Failing that, you will get lost and have to spend the night in the woods. It is easy to get lost in the woods when the ground is buried in snow, so stick to marked routes unless you really know what you are doing. Also, bring extra food.
5. The biggest rear end in a top hat on the mountain is the guy who snowshoes down the middle of the groomed ski trail.

Many ski resorts now have places where you can rent snowshoes and try them out on a well-marked route. Go there if you're not sure whether you'd like it or not. Somebody else will have to try to sell you on the joys of skinning.

theHUNGERian
Feb 23, 2006

Thanks for the input. What you wrote sounds very reasonable. I'll be sure to track down some experts and tag along with them on my first trip out.

meselfs
Sep 26, 2015

The body may die, but the soul is always rotten
For Mt Baldy, you may be fine with just warm clothes and a solid idea of a safe route (I'd recommend go straight up the ski area or take the lifts and follow the ridge NW to the peak). It's not terribly steep, though depending on how the snow is settled you may have a slippery narrow ridge to straddle.

The standard extra equipment for snow (snow. Not glacier, not ice) travel is an ice axe & crampons, as you hopefully have heard, and if the mountain is thoroughly covered with a lot of consolidated (packed, firm, slippery) snow I'd take them. You may want to take them anyway (if money isn't an issue) just to familiarize yourself with this basic equipment.

You can look up what these are for. There's a lot of variations to choose from, but for basic walking on up to 45° non-icy slopes a single longish/straight handled ice axe and basically any crampon that fits your shoes will do fine.

lavaca
Jun 11, 2010

meselfs posted:

For Mt Baldy, you may be fine with just warm clothes and a solid idea of a safe route (I'd recommend go straight up the ski area or take the lifts and follow the ridge NW to the peak). It's not terribly steep, though depending on how the snow is settled you may have a slippery narrow ridge to straddle.

The standard extra equipment for snow (snow. Not glacier, not ice) travel is an ice axe & crampons, as you hopefully have heard, and if the mountain is thoroughly covered with a lot of consolidated (packed, firm, slippery) snow I'd take them. You may want to take them anyway (if money isn't an issue) just to familiarize yourself with this basic equipment.

You can look up what these are for. There's a lot of variations to choose from, but for basic walking on up to 45° non-icy slopes a single longish/straight handled ice axe and basically any crampon that fits your shoes will do fine.

This is probably better advice than mine if you are actually climbing a mountain with steep open slopes and not just following an uphill trail through the woods.

meselfs
Sep 26, 2015

The body may die, but the soul is always rotten

lavaca posted:

This is probably better advice than mine if you are actually climbing a mountain with steep open slopes and not just following an uphill trail through the woods.

I disagree, ice axe + crampons won't help in an avalanche or if he starts to freeze to death :)

Blackhawk
Nov 15, 2004

As has been said:

- Check avalanche forecasts
- Check known winter routes where you're going, especially for notes on natural hazards
- Avoid walking up places that present a significant avalanche risk, I'm no snow expert but slopes from 24 to 45 degrees are the worst because snow can build up to form unstable slabs (lower angle and the snow is stable, higher and it never builds up). Also walking up chutes is bad because anything that falls will get funneled towards you, easier routes tend to go up ridgelines
- When you're on a ridge or towards the summit be careful of cornices, if you get too close to the edge of a cliff you may actually already be out on a section of overhanging snow which could give way at any time
- If you're using crampons that strap onto hiking boots (and not boots with specific crampon mounting points) make sure they strap on nice and securely, last thing you want is to be on a steep icy slope and have your shoe pull free of the crampons
- When walking with crampons concentrate on keeping your feet apart, you don't want to scuff your feet together while walking, catch a crampon point on something and trip over
- Assuming you're not on a steep slope crampons work best if you can keep as many points into the snow/ice as possible. Obviously don't use them unless it's icy otherwise you'll just be walking around with huge lumps of snow stuck to your feet
- Bring a range of clothes for all conditions, first aid kit, head torch, map etc. Locator beacon if you're not going to be in a very well traveled place
- If you're going to be carrying an ice axe then learn how to self arrest with it and maybe practice otherwise you'll probably stab yourself in the face with the adze

Basically prepare and be sensible, learn as much as you can about where you want to go before you go like what the routes are, how long the walk will take you etc. Keep an eye on the weather and the time, if things are looking bad or if you're taking too much time turn around. Don't try to carry too much but carry enough to cover all conditions, if something feels sketchy then you probably shouldn't do it.

theHUNGERian
Feb 23, 2006

Thanks for the extensive list.

SulfurMonoxideCute
Feb 9, 2008

I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

Reviving this thread because 5 people died after walking out onto a cornice. If you go up a mountain, stay the gently caress AWAY from the edge of a ridge.

http://globalnews.ca/news/3366530/breaking-news-search-for-missing-climbers-near-lions-bay/

Landsknecht
Oct 27, 2009
I hope this person is trolling, nobody can be so unfunny and dumb
ice axe is an ok idea, but know how to self arrest

pons are kinda useful if you're on hardpack, but tbh your biggest issue in snow is sinking through, especially if it goes iso during the day

many snowshoes now have some crampon-like feature which will provide more than enough traction on unpacked snow

theHUNGERian
Feb 23, 2006

Picnic Princess posted:

Reviving this thread because 5 people died after walking out onto a cornice. If you go up a mountain, stay the gently caress AWAY from the edge of a ridge.

http://globalnews.ca/news/3366530/breaking-news-search-for-missing-climbers-near-lions-bay/

I wasn't going to revive the thread just for a trip report, but now that you guys have revived it ...

I ended up scheduling the trip for April 14th hoping that most (but not all) of the snow/ice would have disappeared by then. The days before the actual hike I was panicking because satellite images and webcam footage still showed lots of snow and the weather forecast suggested freeze-thaw conditions - not good for hiking. It was also around then that I read stories of how many people had died on Mt. Baldy this year - not very reassuring. Fortunately, there was far less snow than satellite images suggested. The Devil's backbone trail up to Mt. Baldy has a couple of very narrow spots with steep slopes on either side, and I was not looking forward to crossing those if they had been covered by snow/ice. I also spent quite a bit of time reading about identifying snow cornices, watching youtube videos on using crampons, and how to do self arrests with an ice axe.

In the end, it was a fantastic hike. There were a couple of harmless snowbanks I had to cross, and while none of them required crampons, I did put them on for one of the snowbanks just for safety. I'm happy to report that I managed to cut down my ascent time from 4.5 hours (last year) to 3.25 hours even though I was not rushing. The best thing was that unlike last year, I felt zero altitude sickness this time. This confirmed that last years hike was such a terrible disaster because I was dehydrated and in poor physical shape (but I still made it to the top). This time, I took more liquids (+ electrolytes) and I spent a lot more time exercising before the actual hike. Click for pictures.

I now have my eyes on Mt. St. Helens.

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SulfurMonoxideCute
Feb 9, 2008

I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

Trip reports are the best reason to revive a thread, especially when you're the OP.

Suspect Bucket
Jan 15, 2012

SHRIMPDOR WAS A MAN
I mean, HE WAS A SHRIMP MAN
er, maybe also A DRAGON
or possibly
A MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM
BUT HE WAS STILL
SHRIMPDOR
Can't wait to get some wifi to view those pics!

theHUNGERian
Feb 23, 2006

Suspect Bucket posted:

Can't wait to get some wifi to view those pics!

They are all lousy cell pictures, so don't get too excited.

a cute sea otter
Apr 24, 2017

I shall personally eat your entrails on my tummy!
Is the snow cover in CA a lot more this year vs. last? We did King's Canyon in mid-June last year and significant portions were still covered. It's a well-packed trail so we got on pretty good without micros (we are also poor rear end students). All the same, I wouldn't want to try it again with what I've been reading about how much snowfall you got this year.

Beautiful hike, what was the distance covered?

I hear you on the elevation thing. I'm thinking about packing a mini o2 tank or something next time - does anyone have experience with one of those?

Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME
Oh yeah there's a poo poo ton more snow this year. A June trip of that route would probably be quite a bit different especially over Glenn Pass

e: Rae Lakes is a pretty area though. I wanted to do a trip to Gardiner Basin last year but never got to it for various reasons

Levitate fucked around with this message at 15:32 on Apr 29, 2017

theHUNGERian
Feb 23, 2006

a cute sea otter posted:


Beautiful hike, what was the distance covered?


~12 miles. I could have shortened it to ~10 miles if I had taken a different route, but given the snow I didn't want to take an unfamiliar route.

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meselfs
Sep 26, 2015

The body may die, but the soul is always rotten
Congrats man, well done!

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