Slipped down a gully descending Yahoo: learn from my mistakes

[kyrawhitworth]

I wasn’t really going to tell anyone outside of my close friends (because well it's really embarrassing) but I think people can learn from my mistake.

The days objectives were ones we’d eyed for shoulder season due to the non complicated terrain and good access: Rito Alto, Hermit, and Yahoo from Hermit Pass. My husband dropped me off with my hiking partner for the day around 9200 on the road and he went on to the Comanche/Venable trailhead to do the three 13ers there. We drove up another 400ft on the road and then started up in the dark. The road miles went quickly even as we began to step through 3 or so inches of fresh snow on the road. We looked up at our planned route for the day and one point and noticed a few gullies in the cliff band below Yahoo. They were a mix of snow and rock and some lines didn’t have any weird cliffy spots in them so we said we’d evaluate that as a descent route as we could easily get from the base of one of the gullies back to the road.

The ridge to Rito Alto had a mix of rock and snow and then more snow on the final summit ridge to where we were stepping through maybe 5 inches of soft fluff. We put on spikes at the summit of Rito Alto and enjoyed the views. We retraced our steps to the pass then continued to Hermit where that slow was much harder snow but our miscrospikes gave the perfect grip. It was noon when we left the summit of Hermit to continue to the unranked Yahoo. We encountered similar conditions and made good time to Yahoo. We pulled up slope shading on caltopo (it’s so nice to have service sometimes) and saw that indeed one of the gullies didn’t exceed light red and even then it was a short red followed by orange and then yellow as the gully mellowed out.

We decided to go to the top of the gully and take a look—it would be worth it to not re-ascend over Hermit and would avoid some of the longer road sections up high. As we descended to top of the gully the snow was fluff on a crust beneath. This was the first time all day we were on a more NE aspect and was a detail I should have weighed considerably. I cruised down this fluff crust as my spikes gripped perfectly. I was nearing the top of the first gully so I peered over and waited for my partner. We could see animal tracks and a couple snow covered ledges with a less steep more open base that led to a talus field. We decided to continue to the gully we’d seen from below and looked at on caltopo as the ledges could be tricky and I didn’t want to navigate any talus.

At the top of the gully the view confirmed it was absolutely the one we eyed earlier in the day. There was a rib next to the gully that I remarked might work even better if the snow was poor as there was more rock we could lower ourselves down on. “If the worst case happened and one of us did fall, the steep section is short and the runout is good with no large rocks—you’d end up in that willow patch.” I remarked. The gully had more snow than the slope we descended to the top of it so I figured it was likely all fluff being so inset that it wouldn’t be sun affected. We decided to commit. I went first and aimed for the most inset part of the gully. The first few steps were good and then I could tell it was very little fluff with a very hard crust. My poles were a nuisance so I put them in one hand. I was maybe 15 feet from the entrance. “I’m going to try to get over closer to these rocks so I can have one good hand as I’m not getting much traction at all.” I said. I took a side step and instantly I was sliding/falling. I screamed my partner's name but I couldn’t even see anything—I was going too fast I knew. I tried to roll over and use my hands to no avail as I felt my body bump some rocks. Finally the angle eased and I could stop myself.

I breathed. f**k. I yelled up to my partner that I was OK. I looked up and was roughly 150ft below where I was just seconds before. My poles were who knows where and I yelled up to ask if he could spot them. He said he’d try as he descended. I said to not worry about it if they weren’t right on his path sort of thing. My partner now had a daunting task of descending. He was able to stay mostly on the rock rib but had some minor scary slips as well. Miraculously he was able to fling my poles to where I could up climb to get them. He continued slowly and carefully down. One slip he slid a bit and his pole caught on a rock and yanked his finger—it clearly hurt bad but he didn’t think it was broken or dislocated. We just needed to somehow get through the mistake we’d made without another incident. The entire time he was calm and collected despite witnessing me take a bad slip/fall and having to navigate the same terrain. I should have told him how thankful I was for this demeanor as it helped me stay calm. As he made his way to me I could tell my right side was banged up—elbow, knee, shin, and outer thigh. I was able to move around just fine so nothing was broken or torn (just badly bruised). Even my fake nails were unscathed and my water bottle was a few feet away from me where I could get to it.

We reconvened and had a little bit of the gully to go before reaching open terrain with some willows. We each went for a more controlled and deliberate short slide as we still couldn’t get any grip with our spikes. It was frustrating and we both felt incredibly stupid. We arrived at the willows and looked back up—the gully looked even less steep from below than it did from above which confirmed the slope angle shading. We both agreed that when dry it even with consolidated snow, the gully would be a great shortcut. We crossed the short willow patches and a stream before going across a grass slope to reach the road. There we took a good break. Adrenaline is exhausting so we both knew we had to refuel and recollect to make efficient work of the road walking. We talked about how stupid we were. We did not talk about luck. The road walking was pleasant in the warm sun and after a while the gully seemed ever so distant. We met up with my husband who had descended a ridge then a gully to get to Venable lakes—he could see from up high that the phantom terrace was snowy and not a viable option. He made all the right choices. I would receive no words of comfort from my husband as he was frustrated that I would make a decision that could lead to something that bad. And he’s right. There’s no excuse—he was on a separate hike and getting home safe together and ensuring the safety of my partner should have mattered more than any shortcut.

It wasn’t until I thought about it more that I gathered why such a thing happened. Mistakes in the mountains are almost never one bad call but a series of small things that compound. 1. We were trying to save time, vert, and mileage. We knew that shortcuts have an element of risk and we accepted that risk.
2. We’d encountered a variety of snow conditions on the route but none of the route was on that aspect until right above the gully. The fluff and slight crust should have been a major red flag that a more inset feature that didn’t get sun could be more icy. Aspect matters significantly when it comes to snow.
3. We’d been able to evaluate the gully from below, above, and via map before committing and this gave us a false sense of confidence. All those are good things to consider but the reality is that if you didn’t go up it, you really can’t take away all of the unknowns.
4. After the first couple steps where I noticed there was very little fluff and mostly crust, I did not re-evaluate. I wasn’t fully committed 15 feet down and likely could have up climbed and tried to take the rib instead or even better discuss the prospect of returning the way we came.

I hope this helps someone in some way. In complete honesty my most haunting mistake was something that didn’t go wrong compared to the slip/fall/slide that I took here in the Sangres. It was on Hagerman just past the car on a shaded icy snow slope. I booted across with my poles in one hand and my skies in another instead of putting on crampons and getting out my axe and strapping my skis to my pack. A slip would have landed me thousands of feet below in a raging river and would have certainly been fatal. I got across fine but it keeps me awake at night that I was so blind to the risk at the time (I actually feel sick as I type this).

It is rarely one single mistake in the mountains but a series of small compounding decisions.

Here is at the base looking up. You can see some of our tracks and my hiking partner seated.

IMG_6274.jpg

Here is further back showing the view from near the road. I am actually having trouble pinpointing the exact route we went down in this photo but it is one of the lines left of the prominent rock in the center. I wish I would have taken one looking down at it from above.

IMG_6276.jpg

My track and slope angle shading

caltopo.png

[bdloftin77]

Glad you're okay, Kyra! Thanks for sharing.

[desertdog]

Thanks for sharing and glad you’re ok! I think it’s really important to talk about missteps, accidents, errors, etc.,as well as, our success. I applaud you for taking the time to write this up. Wish we would do more of this to help people learn that mountains can be pretty unforgiving. I’ve had a couple accidents myself and it can be pretty scary.

[Mtnman200]

Yikes! I’m glad you’re okay.

[d_baker]

Having and showing humility and then sharing your self reflection on your incident are good characteristics...

Early season reminders.

Did your spikes slide to the side of your foot? I could see that happening if I were to side step.
An additional question, what condition are your spikes in? Still "pointy" or starting to round?
When I do the incline in winter, there is often steep sections of packed snow/ice that is sloped because the steps have filled in. If my spikes are starting to round, I lose confidence and control quickly.

Lastly, I am glad you're ok! Don't beat yourself up about it. We all have moments in the mountains to learn from.

[JROSKA]

Thanks for sharing.

On a pride level it’s tough for any of us to share some of our weaker moments in front of the forum. But there ate lots of people in here (from newcomers to old guys like me) that need to be reminded that climbing peaks in shoulder seasons with a few inches of snow is not the same ballgame as summer hiking. It’s always easier and more natural for a community to learn (or be reminded) of realities like this if people are willing to share their stories. Thanks again for being transparent for the greater good.

[ColoNativeGal]

I'm glad you are okay overall. Thank you for sharing. Valuable information for all of us. I am curious about the spike question on what the points look like. I started to notice on simple hikes my spikes were losing their traction, then I looked and the points and they were completed rounded. I bought a new pair. It might not have mattered for the crust you encountered, but I was really surprised to compare the old pair with the new pair and realize they wear down pretty quickly when they get a lot of use. Thanks again for sharing!

[kyrawhitworth]

Having and showing humility and then sharing your self reflection on your incident are good characteristics...

Early season reminders.

Did your spikes slide to the side of your foot? I could see that happening if I were to side step.
An additional question, what condition are your spikes in? Still "pointy" or starting to round?
When I do the incline in winter, there is often steep sections of packed snow/ice that is sloped because the steps have filled in. If my spikes are starting to round, I lose confidence and control quickly.

Lastly, I am glad you're ok! Don't beat yourself up about it. We all have moments in the mountains to learn from.

The spikes stayed in the same position on my boot (didn't slide to the side). They are admittedly getting worn and not as pointy as new pair but not totally rounded after a ton of use sort of thing. My partner had a totally different brand of microspikes and he was also struggling with traction due to how hard the layer under the fluff was.

[kyrawhitworth]

I'm glad you are okay overall. Thank you for sharing. Valuable information for all of us. I am curious about the spike question on what the points look like. I started to notice on simple hikes my spikes were losing their traction, then I looked and the points and they were completed rounded. I bought a new pair. It might not have mattered for the crust you encountered, but I was really surprised to compare the old pair with the new pair and realize they wear down pretty quickly when they get a lot of use. Thanks again for sharing!

They are admittedly getting worn and not as pointy as new pair but not totally rounded after a ton of use sort of thing. I do tend to abuse my microspikes so maybe a new pair should be in my near future lol

[seano]

Yikes, glad you're okay! FWIW, I'd use KTS crampons and a light axe for stuff like this. Or at least a whippet -- it's nice to be able to stop if you get going, so you at least have a chance to correct a mistake.

[kyrawhitworth]

Yikes, glad you're okay! FWIW, I'd use KTS crampons and a light axe for stuff like this. Or at least a whippet -- it's nice to be able to stop if you get going, so you at least have a chance to correct a mistake.

Yes, normally if I'm doing anything steep it's always crampons and axe for me. That would have been not needed at all for the normal route which is why I didn't bring them. That gear choice should have played a larger role in the decision to take the gully (or to not take it) so that is a compounding factor for sure! I've had to self arrest with my axe once and boy was I glad I had it in my hand.

[two lunches]

hey kyra- thank you so much for sharing, and i'm glad you're okay!!

instagram heard me bitching about the broken set that i zip-tied together on sherman a couple years ago and directed me to kahtoola's website to get some renewed spikes for winter/spring: https://kahtoola.com/traction/renewed-m ... DZh96YyD0I

hold onto the dull ones for your summer scree set, though--