Everytime you plan hikes in uncovered terrain, it’s helpful to plan out escape routes in case an surprising thunderstorm storm or blizzard blows in, you encounter white-out situations, avalanche situations, flash floods, forest fires, or it is advisable evacuate a companion.
I do contingency planning like this when mountaineering throughout uncovered terrain with out a lot cowl, above-treeline, or in winter, when there’s an actual danger of bodily hurt or loss of life if issues go pear-shaped. Relying on rescue or extraction in such excessive situations seldom pays off and the one technique to save your butt is to put it aside your self.
Whereas native information, specifically planning with somebody who is aware of the native terrain properly is beneficial, you don’t at all times have entry to it. Conversely, since you are native, complacency could be harmful until you suppose out the professionals and cons of various routes together with your companions prematurely.
An instance is so as. Whereas this may show most helpful for White Mountain winter hikers, it makes some common factors about methods to plan winter escape routes which are relevant for anybody planning an above-treeline hike or ski tour.
Winter Escape Routes within the Presidential Vary
The Presidential Vary is a mountain vary in New Hampshire’s White Mountains that hyperlinks Mt Washington’s northern and southern ridges. The vary contains 9 mountain summits which are 4000 toes or greater, together with Mts. Madison, Adams, Jefferson, Clay, Washington, Monroe, Eisenhower, Pierce, and Jackson. A full nineteen-mile traverse of those peaks known as a Presidential Traverse and contains 9 miles of above-treeline mountaineering with 9,000-10,000 toes of cumulative elevation achieve. Quite a few winter hikers additionally climb the person peaks or subsets of the total traverse.
The ridge is bounded to the east and west by steep ravines and glacial cirques. Whereas a number of dozens mountaineering trails climb to the ridgeline, most are too harmful or distant to make use of in winter, limiting the variety of good winter escape routes accessible.
The perfect winter escape routes (marked in black) within the Presidential Vary are:
- Valley Means Path – Straightforward to search out from the Madison Springs Hut (closed in winter). Closely wooded under treeline (4500′) offering good safety. Runs immediately to the Appalachia Trailhead and Rt 2.
- Lowes Path – Could be tough to observe with out a compass from Thunderstorm Junction to treeline in unhealthy visibility, however results in the Grey Knob cabin which is manned and has a radio. Runs on to Lowes Storage and Rt 2.
- Jewell Path – The highest of the path is uncovered, however is straightforward to observe by means of Krummholz. Runs on to the Cog Railroad lot with good winter highway entry.
- The Cog Railroad – Exhausting to overlook. Comply with the railroad monitor right down to the Cog station. It has good highway entry year-round.
- Ammonoosuc Path – Straightforward to search out from Lakes of the Clouds Hut (closed in winter). Very icy on the high and a bit arduous to observe in poor visibility. Traces a protected route down the ravine and runs on to Cog railroad lot with good winter highway entry.
- Edmands Path – High could be blocked by deep snow, however drops into the timber shortly and results in a highway with good snowmobile entry. As soon as down, you possibly can stroll out to the AMC Highland Heart and Rt 302 in Crawford Notch.
All of those routes keep away from harmful terrain and serve to get you under treeline and into cowl as shortly as attainable. Most are simple to observe with a compass in a white-out or as a result of they observe apparent geographic options that power you to hike in the best path. In lots of instances, they’re additionally the one protected route off the ridgeline and out to security, as a result of different routes are too harmful to observe.
Winter Hazards
Should you take a look at a map of the Presidential Vary, there are about two dozen trails that lead above-treeline to the summits alongside the ridge. Why are most of them impassable in winter? What makes a path that’s protected for three-season use, harmful in winter situations?
Avalanche Zones
The prevailing winds that sweep the Presidential Vary run from the west to the east, blowing snow off the ridge into the japanese cirques and ravines that are liable to avalanche exercise. Whereas avalanche forecasting is offered for Tuckerman Ravine and Huntington Ravine on the east aspect of Mt Washington (due to their recognition with skiers and ice climbers) avalanche situations can happen in different places, together with north and western-facing slopes comparable to King Ravine, Citadel Ravine, and the Ammonoosuc Ravine. Whereas a 35-45 diploma slope angle is a helpful avalanche forecasting heuristic, slides do happen on slope angles higher than 45 levels within the Presidential Vary. The perfect technique is to take an avalanche consciousness class and discover ways to learn the snow pack.
Visibility
Above-treeline trails are marked with rock cairns that could be very tough to observe in dense fog or white-out situations as a result of they mix in with the boulder-strewn panorama. Trails which are simple to observe the remainder of the 12 months, can simply vanish below snow cowl and turn into very tough to search out. It’s not that uncommon to observe a compass bearing when mountaineering above-treeline in winter when landmarks or trails aren’t seen.
Snow depth
Climbing off the ridge and into an space with deep snow needs to be averted due to the effort and time required to hike out. For instance, you wouldn’t need to hike down into Oakes Gulf within the Dry River Wilderness since you’d have to interrupt path for miles to get again to a highway. That may be just about not possible with out a large group.
Publicity
The typical wind pace on Mt Washington is 40-45 mph from January by means of March. Whereas wind speeds are typically a bit decrease on the opposite Presidential peaks, frostbite is at all times an enormous concern above-treeline making many exit routes much less fascinating than others. For instance, you wouldn’t need to hike down the Osgood Path, the Airline Path, the Howker Ridge Path, or the Citadel Path in winter as a result of they’ve a lot unprotected publicity to the wind and precipitation. The Mt Washington Auto Highway additionally has an amazing quantity of publicity, though it may be used as a final resort off Washington in unhealthy visibility as a result of the highway is simpler to search out than most above-treeline trails.
Poor Highway Entry
Many roads shut and turn into inaccessible in backcountry areas throughout winter, which might additionally make escape routes much less fascinating. For instance, mountaineering out the highly-exposed Caps Ridge Path from Mt Jefferson results in a seasonal highway that’s impassable and closed in winter, apart from snowmobile site visitors. When planning a winter journey, it’s vital to find out about seasonal highway closures and entry.
Choice Factors
Whereas escape route planning is a crucial side of winter navigation, you shouldn’t overlook the necessity to plan out choice factors throughout your hike or tour. These are places the place you’ll determine to maintain going alongside your supposed route, flip round, or hike out certainly one of your pre-planned escape routes (maybe to a pre-planned automobile spot.) These choice factors ought to embody the junction of your route with every pre-planned escape route, amongst others.
When planning a call level, it’s vital to specify the place the choice will happen and the factors you’ll use to make your choice, notably when you’re main a bunch or mountaineering in a bunch of friends with out a designated chief. Whereas the dynamics of group decision-making are past the scope of this text, this matter is roofed closely in AIARE avalanche consciousness programs, which I like to recommend you are taking when you plan to hike, ski, or climb above the treeline in winter.
Up to date 2023.
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