Winter Mountaineering

[kilian]

Hi,
Im not so new to climbing mountains, but i have never tried to climb one in any type of winte conditions. I would appreciate any advice on any techniques that might differ from summer climbing, gear differences, and differences in the challenges up there. I hopefully will be trying out quandary as my first 14er in winter conditions, and i would also appreciate any advice on the best way to climb it!

Thx

[KansanClimber]

check out this link for some ideas. best of luck!

viewtopic.php?t=21832

[robby40]

a winter class/classes is/are an excellent idea, smart and fun.

http://www.cmcboulder.org/bms/basicSnow.html

[GIS_Dave]

http://www.totalclimbing.com/page.php?pname=guided/options

also check out Colorado Mountain School. they have all kinsd of courses and trainings from one day to multiday, in different winter disciplines. i too will be taking many courses over the next few years as i begin my transition from resort skiing to ski mountaineering.

[Scott P]

You may be interested in this winter practice trip?

http://14ers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21725

[Dex]

Hi,
Im not so new to climbing mountains, but i have never tried to climb one in any type of winte conditions.
Thx

There is a lot of things to learn for even winter hiking/snowshoeing. Climbing is even a higher level of expertise.

Here is my equipment list - no climbing equipment
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=22194

[sgladbach]

This page has some excellent camping tips:
http://www.backpacking.net/wintertips.html

My $.02, Carry MITTENS. Gloves can be in addition, but never instead of, mittens. For the first few trips, find a more experienced partner who can give some tips and a second partner, more similar to your experience, to share the learning curve.

Steve

[Bodhi]

Kilian,

You'll be able to find a load of great advice for winter gear and winter classes here so I won't repeat what's pretty easily found. My first winter/winter-conditions hike was Quandary last year. ( I was very prepared with everything but great mitts and a little common sense ...man, you can't beat a great pair of mitts!! And bring extra ones if you can. )

Being my first winter 14'er I focused a lot on the cold but didn't factor in the extra effort. Depending on conditions, I would expect at least 50% more effort on a winter 14'er as compared to a summer one (yeah, that's a very subjective figure...it could be much less in great conditions...much, much worse in bad winter conditions). Sure, you might have one of those glorious days where you can actually drive to the normal trailhead, somebody has already done all the post-holing for you, there's no wind, your pack feels light and the temps are in the 30's & 40's. What you should come prepared for though are those days when you have to park a couple miles below the summer TH, wind chill reaches well into the negative numbers, it's windy with blowing snow, you have to expect a fair amount of deep snow to break through and you need to start pretty early to make it back to the car/truck before dark (if hiking in the dark isn't your thing ).

While I had a great day up there on Quandary, it could have been worse in relativley benign conditions and I learned a few useful rookie lessons: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=5516&parmpeak=Quandary+Peak&start=75&cpgm=tripmain&ski=Include

If you've got the gear, feel free to come with us on Saturday!

[timf]

x2 what Bodhi said. Below treeline and depending on timing you'll be doing some postholing even with snowshoes. On the Sawatch 14ers it's almost guaranteed. If you're locked into a 14er, Bierstadt, Sherman, and Quandary are good starting points.

Be flexible, have a backup plan, and convey that backup plan to friends and family not going with you. Simple example you plan to do Sherman from the Leavick side. Then the cornice between it and Sheridan looks a little daunting. Put Sheridan and/or Horseshoe and Peerless on your itinerary. Those are well known and reasonable13ers. Or something like Silverheels. Or Guyot from the northwest. It amazes me how many are still locked into the 14ers. In winter conditions, looking at the 13ers or 12ers opens up your options exponentially.

Take an avy class and one that does in classroom lecture as well as a field trip that includes doing the different snowpack tests as well as beacon and probe practice. It is a very enlightening experience to see the effort it takes to probe and dig out buried items. I did mine through Bryant Mountain Nordic.

I agree with Steve's idea on the mittens until you get a system down. People poo poo mittens because you loose dexterity, but do a windblown route like Sniktau and Grizzly D to get your gear system down. Also do a small nalgene for an inside pocket in case your other liquid freezes in your pack.

Tmi