Posted by: Jimshaw
hiking protection on snow and ice - 07/24/12 02:28 PM
Many of you will run into a section of trail that is snowy or icey and steep [exposed]. What do you do?
A buddy of mine slipped on a 45 degree snow slope one June and dug in his fingers and slid about 75 feet until he stopped, at the bottom of the snow pile. He could not stop himself even on such an easy snow field - what if there had been a cliff at the bottom instead of a nice grassy valley floor?
I once slipped on a high snow field and slid all the way to the bottom of the mountain at over 60 mph with my pack on and stopped uninjured after steering sround rock outcroppings and forest. After that I spent some time contmplating crossing snowy slopes more safely. Well now I know we were on an avolanche slope anyway. DO YOU KNOW WHAT AN AVOLANCHE SLOPE IS AND CAN YOU IDENTIFY ONE?
SO HOW DO YOU STOP? Remember that what you do in the first couple of seconds MAY determine your survival. You must arrest the downward slide before you gain momentum or it will be a ride to the bottom.
Many people carry poles. If you slip, grab the handle of one pole firmly in your hand while sliding the other hand down that pole to right above the bale [the round thingy on the end] and dig the point into the snow while pressing down with both hands - the idea is to use the carbide tip of your pole to dig in and stop you - hang on tightly to the pole. This technique is used in extreme skiing to get your skis below you after a fall so that you may continue to ski vs roll. It works much better than plastic iceaxe handles for your poles - I discarded mine.
After the pole thing, the next thing up is a light ice axe meant for serious self arrest but not really for climbing - mine is a grivel airtech weighing around 16 ounces with a rubber coated shaft - which keeps your hands a lot warmer. Learning to use a ice axe for self arrest is not hard but its best if someone shows you that understands the pit falls. Basically the head of the axe is tightly held in one hand just below your chin level while the other hand slides down the shaft of the axe and holds the head in the ice at the correct angle. The chin hand forces the blade down into the ice with your weight on it.
After an iceaxe, crampons, microspikes or other foot traction device [skis] become the next level up in protection. You can die wearing crampons without an iceaxe [because it can make you flip], so the iceaxe is required for crampons use. Crampons and traction devices help you climb and hopefully prevent slips. which you will arrest with the axe. An axe and crampons is the safest, however many will attest that crampons can be more dangerous to your health than a grizzly bear or a chainsaw. Just kick yourself sometime wearing front points...
A hiking staff could also work if used properly - especially with a metal tip - and again - practice BEFORE your life depends on your reaction time. I guess theres an attitude thing here - I LOVE to do EXTREMELY DANGEROUS things in the mountains - solo rock climbing, etc, and I am prepared for the worst and I call it fun and the worse it gets the more fun it is. Others will be happier preparing for more gentle pursuits. There is no need to be extreme to have fun, but when the gentle situation goes to extreme, I will be having fun sort of safely while others will be a very bad way.
Jim
A buddy of mine slipped on a 45 degree snow slope one June and dug in his fingers and slid about 75 feet until he stopped, at the bottom of the snow pile. He could not stop himself even on such an easy snow field - what if there had been a cliff at the bottom instead of a nice grassy valley floor?
I once slipped on a high snow field and slid all the way to the bottom of the mountain at over 60 mph with my pack on and stopped uninjured after steering sround rock outcroppings and forest. After that I spent some time contmplating crossing snowy slopes more safely. Well now I know we were on an avolanche slope anyway. DO YOU KNOW WHAT AN AVOLANCHE SLOPE IS AND CAN YOU IDENTIFY ONE?
SO HOW DO YOU STOP? Remember that what you do in the first couple of seconds MAY determine your survival. You must arrest the downward slide before you gain momentum or it will be a ride to the bottom.
Many people carry poles. If you slip, grab the handle of one pole firmly in your hand while sliding the other hand down that pole to right above the bale [the round thingy on the end] and dig the point into the snow while pressing down with both hands - the idea is to use the carbide tip of your pole to dig in and stop you - hang on tightly to the pole. This technique is used in extreme skiing to get your skis below you after a fall so that you may continue to ski vs roll. It works much better than plastic iceaxe handles for your poles - I discarded mine.
After the pole thing, the next thing up is a light ice axe meant for serious self arrest but not really for climbing - mine is a grivel airtech weighing around 16 ounces with a rubber coated shaft - which keeps your hands a lot warmer. Learning to use a ice axe for self arrest is not hard but its best if someone shows you that understands the pit falls. Basically the head of the axe is tightly held in one hand just below your chin level while the other hand slides down the shaft of the axe and holds the head in the ice at the correct angle. The chin hand forces the blade down into the ice with your weight on it.
After an iceaxe, crampons, microspikes or other foot traction device [skis] become the next level up in protection. You can die wearing crampons without an iceaxe [because it can make you flip], so the iceaxe is required for crampons use. Crampons and traction devices help you climb and hopefully prevent slips. which you will arrest with the axe. An axe and crampons is the safest, however many will attest that crampons can be more dangerous to your health than a grizzly bear or a chainsaw. Just kick yourself sometime wearing front points...
A hiking staff could also work if used properly - especially with a metal tip - and again - practice BEFORE your life depends on your reaction time. I guess theres an attitude thing here - I LOVE to do EXTREMELY DANGEROUS things in the mountains - solo rock climbing, etc, and I am prepared for the worst and I call it fun and the worse it gets the more fun it is. Others will be happier preparing for more gentle pursuits. There is no need to be extreme to have fun, but when the gentle situation goes to extreme, I will be having fun sort of safely while others will be a very bad way.
Jim