Winter Conditions beginning tomorrow

[DoctorBreaks]

@Hokiehead hey I am new to winter mountaineering as well and while I am still learning I have a bit of advice that might help. So the temps won't be much lower than freezing even if that low. When you are hiking you get pretty hot even if it's cool. I have a top and bottom base layer wind/water resistant heavy pants, a fleece 1/4 zip second top layer, and a nice down jacket from Mountain Hardwear. I think it's the Nitrous Jacket? Even when I went to Handies this weekend and it was completely covered in snow, I did fine with no traction, an ax but never needed it, barely even needed my fleece second layer as my wool base layer was more than enough. In fact I had my sleeves rolled up most of the day lol. This was with virtually no wind and I believe temps were around 40? Snowshoes would be nice especially late in the day as the snow gets softer and you post hole a lot more. Not sure if any of this helps, but my first 14er was Gray's on June 6th where you could literally not even see the trail and I did it with no gear and horrible choice of clothing. The next weekend I did Torrey's in horrible cold and windy condition with the same clothes lol.

[spiderman]

I hear your pain, hokiehead. It is expensive to get outfitted for 4 season trips. My wife never stops complaining at the costs of new toys. I highly recommend getting a GPS and a SPOT if you are travelling in the winter with your daughter. It is much easier to get in trouble or get lost in a white out. They each serve a different purpose and each could save your life. Learn to navigate by waypoints alone.

Also do get an ice axe and learn how to use it. It might not be necessary in October, but could start becoming critical between November-July. I have found myself on steep icy slopes way too many times in my life. Without an ice axe and proper experience it is quite easy to slide to your death. IMHO, sign up for a beginner's ice climbing class. Learning to climb slopes that are 60+ degrees will help you out when you unexpectedly get onto 45-55 degree slopes and don't have a rope.

HOT TIP. Sierra Trading Post (STP): allows you to get gear for two people at the price of REI for one person; look for 45% off coupons to boost the normal discount. Also access it through the link on 14ers.com.

[meg383]

Thx for the post Axeman - I'm looking at either Antero or Harvard (or both) for Sunday/Monday, as I only have those two left in the Sawatch. Would love to get those outta the way and concentrate on better mtns this winter, so I'd appreciate any weather updates for the weekend!

[polar]

(...)
We have zero winter climbing experience and no winter climbing gear.
(...)
Clothing and layers -- I think we're OK (not great, but OK for recent North Carolina transplants),
(...)

I picked out the above two points from your post. By "zero winter climbing experience", I take it that you've never gone hiking or snowshoeing in Colorado winter before, especially since you just moved here from NC recently? In that case, may I suggest that 14ers may not be the best place to start learning about hiking in winter conditions? Why not start with some easier snow hiking / snowshoeing trips without trying to summit anything first, just to get some experience. Decalibron is not hard by any means, but "winter conditions" can make even a simple outing into a serious undertaking, and any mistake in "winter conditions" can have very serious consequences. Most of the questions you ask can be easily answered by yourself if you go out a few times in winter to test the waters. Condition in the mountains can change dramatically in a day, or even within hours. Not having adequate gear or clothing in winter is not just simply "maybe get cold due to non-optimal clothing -- then learn more for next time". Wind chill is a huge deal. Freezing temperature in calm conditions and freezing temperature in 30 mph wind are totally different. It's a rare day to go above treeline and not have any wind on you at all. When you're way above treeline, if wind suddenly picks up and knocks you around, not having adequate gear can be downright dangerous.

I've been looking at the weather forecast this weekend as well. The mountains are supposed to get some snow Thursday through Friday, Saturday looks good, and Sunday starts to get bad again. I would recommend start with some easy hike near treeline first, get your clothing/layering system dialed, make sure your footwear of choice works in snow, figure out your backpack situation and what kind of drink/snack/food works for you in colder weather. Build up your experience first before trying to summit a 14er with snow in the forecast. I mean, you may get lucky and just need a baselayer when you go, but you may also get unlucky and get into full on whiteout conditions. It's better to get all your systems dialed first so when you're in a whiteout you're focused on important things like route finding and risk management, not on things like "how do I strap my snowshoes to my backpack" or "my glasses are frosting up, how do I see?"

[rijaca]

Hokiehead:

A couple friendly suggestions:

Start at 0700. No need to start when it's dark and cold. Very little chance of t-storms developing.

Balaclava/goggles (or other suitable face protection) are essential in winter-conditions. Have the ability to cover ALL skin.

Bungee cords work.

Make sure your boots are waterproof. Wear gaitors. Cold is one thing, cold and wet is dangerous.

Be prepared to start your hike below the summer TH. Most summer THs are not accessible once the snow starts accumulating.

Have fun and be safe.

[AlexeyD]

Polar brings up a good point. Have you ever been above treeline in whiteout conditions? If not, I might recommend not doing the decalibron in Sunday given the forecast.

[hokiehead]

rijaca -- thanks, that response is exactly what I was hoping and looking for.

polar: Moved here last Sept -- I have limited snow shoeing experience on relatively level ground (2x for ~2 miles each outing), and did my best to hike through the winter last year (turned around a few times because snow was too deep and I didn't have equipment). Found that thread you linked, and it answered a lot (but of course not all) of my questions.

I would recommend start with some easy hike near treeline first, get your clothing/layering system dialed, make sure your footwear of choice works in snow, figure out your backpack situation and what kind of drink/snack/food works for you in colder weather. Build up your experience first before trying to summit a 14er with snow in the forecast.

sigh. despite my strong desire to get back on a high peak (or 4), I can't find fault with this logic. I'm going to weigh your comments carefully as I continue to watch the CR's and forecast -- very much appreciated, I do want to be smart about this.

AlexeyD -- No -- I haven't been above treeline in whiteout conditions....

So, I guess the next question is, what are likely good winter hikes/snow shoeing, near the tree line, preferably in the Front Range area? (I'll invest time searching tonight, but if anyone feels compelled to link the appropriate thread, that would be great)

Also AlexeyD, I will definitely appreciate any reports on conditions of those peaks from your Saturday climbs. thanks in advance.

[peter303]

Plus these alternating weeks of snow and Indian summer can create avalanche conditions.
Start taking along you avy gear just in case.
Newbies should considering listening to one one of the frequent avy awareness lectures at REI and take a weekend field course.

[AlexeyD]

rijaca -- thanks, that response is exactly what I was hoping and looking for.

polar: Moved here last Sept -- I have limited snow shoeing experience on relatively level ground (2x for ~2 miles each outing), and did my best to hike through the winter last year (turned around a few times because snow was too deep and I didn't have equipment). Found that thread you linked, and it answered a lot (but of course not all) of my questions.

I would recommend start with some easy hike near treeline first, get your clothing/layering system dialed, make sure your footwear of choice works in snow, figure out your backpack situation and what kind of drink/snack/food works for you in colder weather. Build up your experience first before trying to summit a 14er with snow in the forecast.

sigh. despite my strong desire to get back on a high peak (or 4), I can't find fault with this logic. I'm going to weigh your comments carefully as I continue to watch the CR's and forecast -- very much appreciated, I do want to be smart about this.

AlexeyD -- No -- I haven't been above treeline in whiteout conditions....

So, I guess the next question is, what are likely good winter hikes/snow shoeing, near the tree line, preferably in the Front Range area? (I'll invest time searching tonight, but if anyone feels compelled to link the appropriate thread, that would be great)

Also AlexeyD, I will definitely appreciate any reports on conditions of those peaks from your Saturday climbs. thanks in advance.

Out of curiosity, are you specifically tied to Sunday? The reason I ask is, I wouldn't necessarily discourage you from trying the Decalibron, or Quandary or Bierstadt or something like that. After all, there's no way to get experience with hiking above treeline other than hiking above treeline, and in some ways the popular 14ers are a better place to do that than some more obscure lower peak, because they tend to see more traffic and have more reliable information (thanks in large part to this site). I just wouldn't do it on Sunday, that's all. I'm also a relative newcomer to CO, but I have a long background of winter hiking in the White Mts of New England, and know first-hand how scary and disorienting it can be to find yourself in that environment where the wind is howling, the snow covers your tracks in seconds, and you can't see 10 feet in front of you. Granted, we'd usually hiked on well-cairned trails that we knew like the back of our hand, and could usually follow blindfolded, but when you haven't been there before it's very different...besides which, in my experience the CO trails are not always as well marked, and snow tends to pile up a lot deeper. In good weather, though, by all means go up there and experience the snow, wind and surreal beauty of the landscape for yourself. You seem like a smart and rational guy, I'm sure you'll be fine. As far as your daughter, hey, kids are probably at least some degree of insurance against making poor decisions

If you insist on going somewhere this Sunday, I might suggest some of the trails of Rocky Mountain National Park off the Bear Lake corridor. Easy paved access, spectacular scenery even below treeline, and a variety of destinations to choose from. I don't know if there will be enough snow for snowshoes at those elevations, but there will likely be at least some. Also, RMNP regularly updates trail conditions here: http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/t ... itions.htm. Might not be too relevant to you with new snow expected on Sunday, but still a good resource.

[hokiehead]

thanks again AlexyD -- yeah, i'm tied to Sunday, that's the only day my daughter is off. and yes, her being along makes me even more risk adverse.

[gunnison_garrett14]

Hokiehead, I might recommend the west ridge on Loveland Pass. It is a good hike to build up some experience in winter conditions. The top of Loveland Pass is just below 12,000 feet. The whole hike is above treeline. First you hike up to pt 12,915. That part is fairly easy and then you can hike over to Cupid peak which is an easy 13er. If you still want more than you can continue on towards Grizzly peak which is a much more difficult 13er than cupid. Round trip to Grizzly peak is around 7 miles I believe.

[mtree]

Snow is one thing.
A snowstorm is another. Getting disoriented above treeline is serious business. My weather guru says the first storm will drop 7-14 inches in the Sangre de Cristos. More in select locations. Up to 8 inches expected in the central and northern mountains. The second storm will be a faster moving system and will impact the central and northern mountains more than southern areas. Snow levels down to 8000ft. Fast moving storms usually mean winds, blowing snow, and whiteout conditions. Timing of Sunday's storm is a bit iffy. Best guess is noonish. Much colder system, too.

Take that advice for what its worth and plan accordingly.