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micronut
Trad climber
fresno, ca
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Topic Author's Original Post - Apr 12, 2010 - 04:32pm PT
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Many of you showed concerned for my three friends who had a bit of an epic Trans Sierra adventure last week, ending up overdue and yanked out by chopper. We were sweatin' these guys being overdue three days so another friend of ours called in a rescue on Wednesday am. The following report is very well done and has a lot to learn. As I mentioned in the other(original) thread, these boys are super tough and have real lifetime of alpine experience in the Sierras, Alaska and South America. Thanks for all your concern. Glad this one had a happy ending. Lemme know if you have any questions.
-Scott
Preface:
Before I get into the details of what happen this last week on our Trans-Sierra Ski trip, I would like to thank all of those that were concerned for our safety and apologize for the elevated stress on our friends and family, especially our wives, when we did not return home on time. I would also like to preface this trip report for those that don’t know me, that I am an experienced mountaineer, but by no means does that imply that I know everything or have seen everything. I continue to gain knowledge from every trip, article, and course I take. Most everyone knows it’s a never ending learning curve. This is not intended to sound conceited, arrogant, or egotistical. It is merely to add validity to what is about to be said.
Pre-trip:
Our route across the Sierra’s is known as the High Route and leaves from the Sheppard’s pass trail head and ends at the Wolverton parking lot. It is a classic and highly traveled route for skiing across the Sierra’s.
There was a lot of concern with weather leading up to our trip. I had been staying in Mammoth several days before the trip and had the luxury of stopping by the trail head on my return home to help gather information regarding a go or no-go decision. When I arrived at the trail head March 30th, there was no sign of new snow or moisture. The storm that was concerning us most had tracked north as best I could tell and was later confirmed when we got up to higher elevations on our trip. Weather forecasts the night prior to our departure had diminished from a Sunday/Monday (April 4th/5th) chance of snow to just a Monday (40% chance) and our thoughts were they would continue to diminish. We also believed that by that point in the trip we would be in the Tablelands and if it did snow/storm we would be able to still get out on time due to knowing the area from lots of previous ski trips.
Wednesday afternoon we made the decision to go on the trip based on the window of opportunity between the next storms.
Trip:
Day 1 - We left Fresno at 2:45 in the morning and arrived at the trailhead around 7:30. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. We started hiking on dirt and were on our skis within the first couple miles. We traveled a bit slower than we had intended and made it to just below Pothole that evening. Along the way we were able fill our water bottles with running water from the streams, thus saving precious fuel we would later need. We had a great evening!
Day 2 – We woke up to blue skies and cold temperatures. We quickly broke camp and headed toward Sheppard’s pass. By the time we got to Sheppard’s pass the winds had picked up and was gusting pretty strong. There was no sign of new snow from previous storms and there was no wind-loading of snow on the pass, so we went for it. The snow was firm and required crampons. The crux of the pass was the wind. By the time we got toward the top we could barely stand up without getting blown over from the gusting wind. Spindrift felt like a sand blaster on our face and literally at the top of the pass we were almost crawling on the ground so as not to get blown over. I have no idea how strong it actually was, but the rangers when we got back said there were reports of 75 to 100 mph gusts on the crests that day. The rangers had also said that the forecast for the Monday storm and changed while we were out in the field back to a Sunday/Monday storm. We had no idea of this. Also, once we crested and got over the pass an isolated storm developed and within 30-45 minutes it was snowing and visibility had dropped to a couple hundred feet. The wind had taken a lot out of us getting over the pass, so we hastily descended down toward Diamond Mesa to hunker out the storm. Later that evening the storm cleared and we could see stars before turning in for the night. Seeing the stars kept our spirits up to continue on our adventure.
Day 3 – We awoke to a beautiful morning. The winds had subsided and the sky was clear. New snow from the previous night’s storm was insignificant and there was no indication that more storms would continue, so moved on. We descended down toward Milestone creek, filled up our water bottles along the way (again saving fuel) and moved toward Milestone pass. After 2pm the skies started to turn grey and the winds picked up again. By the time we got to the base of Milestone it was engulfed in clouds and it was starting to snow again. We made the safe decision to wait until morning to try for the pass and not to push our luck. We dug in our Megamids (floorless tee-pee like tents), melted snow for water and ate some delicious freeze-dried meals! Again before bed, the skies had cleared and we could see stars. The weather trends were starting to give us a feel of summer, where it storms in the afternoon and clears by night.
Day 4 – Amazingly enough, we awoke to yet another beautiful cold morning. New snow again was insignificant and we made the decision to continue. Our plan was to get up early, not melt snow and move quickly since we were about a half day behind our intended schedule. Being acclimated and now feeling like we had a handle on the weather pattern we headed out for a big move to get back on schedule. As we headed toward the pass, I can remember looking back at Mt. Whitney and seeing a Lenticular cloud form over the top. Within the hour, the winds had resorted back to gust that would barely allow us to move. I’ve been in lots of windy, harsh conditions, where ropes stand on end and you have to lean on your axes to stand, but this was one of the harshest. We found ourselves resting during gust and trying to move when they subsided. The pass was firm and required crampons. The sky was dark and a pass that should have taken an hour or two tops, took four and half due to the conditions. I was the first up the pass and waited for the others, during which I was freezing cold! Due to the nasty weather we didn’t stop to eat a formal lunch and our water bottles had frozen several hours earlier. The notch of a pass was gusting similar speeds as Sheppard’s pass several days earlier and we found ourselves in whiteout conditions with snow starting to fall. Putting skis on with the wind, snow, and cold was almost impossible. We had to stay close together due to the whiteout and for the first time in my life I experienced vertigo. At times I thought I was moving forward, but I was still and at other times I thought I was stopped, but I was moving backwards. It made me nauseous and I felt like I was going to throw-up. A ski decent that should have taken 20 minutes lasted hours as we moved cautiously not knowing what was in front of us. Without eating or drinking much, weather taking its toll, and not covering much ground our spirits sunk and we desperately found a place to wait out the storm below Colby pass. We were all in horrible condition from being dehydrated, hungry and weathered. We quickly melted snow and started the process of re-hydrating ourselves. We set up our tents and hunkered yet another storm. The difference this time was the snow was coming down heavier and was actually accumulating. By that evening a foot or so had accumulated. We started to come to the realization that we were not going to make it out on time. We started brainstorming on bail out routes and options. We decided to start rationing our food and fuel not knowing how long the storm would last. The storm didn’t clear that night and we didn’t sleep. Throughout the night we had to dig out the tents and everything was covered with spindrift.
Day 5 – I would love to say we awoke that morning, but we never slept. The winds felt like they were going to rip our tents out of the snow and the accumulation of new snow was depressing. There was no sign of let up. All day we worried about what our wives were going to feel over the next 24 to 48 hours. We questioned whether a rescue would have to take place and if our food and fuel would be enough to get us out. Fuel of course is the most important since it was our only means of turning snow into water. We were depressed all day long as snow just kept falling. By the end of the day the storm finally let up and about 4 feet of new snow had fell in that 36 hour period. The evening was amazing! Spirits rose and we formulated plans to be self sufficient and get ourselves back to our families. At this point we realized that there was no way we were going to be out on time or even close. We made a commitment to make the safe moves come out alive instead of expediently and not to push it. Our big concerns were moving during the time when avalanches conditions are at their highest. That evening we ate our rationed food, and were positive about our plans. The plan was to move the next day closer to our pass, dig a bit and test the avalanche conditions. If they were not positive, we would wait until they things were stabilized enough to continue. If things didn’t get better, we would drop elevation to try and get running water and try a different aspect to get back on route. Worst case scenario if we ran out of fuel we would drop even more elevation and build a fire to melt water.
Day 6 – The most amazing morning ever! The Sierra’s were covered with a blanket of powder! We broke camp and moved toward a no name pass. There were point release avalanches everywhere and several soft slides that reached from top to bottom of ridges. We dug a pit on an aspect similar to what we were needing to cross to stay on route and it had a Q1 shear at about 90 cm down at about 15 on the compression test. Visually the snow was unstable everywhere. We decided it would be safer not to move anymore further in fear of getting swept away in an avalanche. We made a new camp. The skies were clear, the winds low, and the radiant heat was hot. We laid everything out to dry and spent a big part of the day worrying about our families. We kept saying, “If only they knew we were fine and just being precautious and trying to make the safe calls”. That afternoon, feeling guilty about it, but knowing there was nothing better to do, we ripped (skied) some low angled trees. The turns were incredible! The sky stayed clear and for the first time on the trip we didn’t set up the tents, just slept under the stars.
Day 7 – We got up super early, and went back to where we dug the pit, conditions seemed better, but we didn’t want to push our luck, so we dropped elevation an went down to the Kaweah Kern river and moved up a wide open valley in search for a alternate route to get up and over Triple divide pass. We had rationed two days worth of food and fuel and were moving at a pretty good pace. We figured we probably could be out in the next 48 hours, weather permitting of course. It was about 11am when I pulled out the GPS to re-evaluate where we were at and going when we heard the thumping of a chopper. They flew over and I gave them the tapping of the head signaling we were okay. They circled for a while then left. We thought, “Awesome our wives will know we are okay now, and we have the food and fuel to make it, things are going to be fine”. A few minutes later they flew back toward us and landed. One of the NPS crew got out and headed toward us and took off their helmet. It was someone we knew (not going to say names in case this is posted online), an old customer from Outfitters, fellow skier, and friend of friends! Then the next crew member came out and it was a neighbor of a fellow skier and a guy one of us had been at a party with just two weeks earlier! It was all so surreal. They said we had to come back with them. Only two of us could go at a time, so they shuttled us to Ash Mountain station. The trip took less than 13 minutes to make it back.
Debrief:
After the chopper had dropped all of us off we had to debrief the NPS rangers on what happened. We went through the story and at the end they commented that we made all the right calls for a safe and healthy return. It took them just 27 minutes to find us and less than an hour to evacuate all of us. They picked our brains on what we could share with them to help future groups doing the route and then shuttled us up to our car. All the NPS people were amazing!
The trip ended with a surprise from a friend, who left beverages, Tapito, and Fritos at the car for us and lots of hugs and warm welcomes from family as we returned!
Someone asked me if I would do it again. The answer is yes, and I will, but I certainly will learn from this experience to make the next trip less stressful on our families and friends. Ultimately, the delayed return was due to weather. The storms on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were not forecasted when we left. Our decision making in difficult situations was safe and the NPS rangers conceded this. Next time we will be more conservative on our distances covered and allow for more of a window between storms.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Apr 12, 2010 - 04:35pm PT
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They said we had to come back with them.
?????????????
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ron gomez
Trad climber
fallbrook,ca
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Apr 12, 2010 - 04:46pm PT
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FINALLY a GOOD story from outa the mountains!!!! Glad for all your team, your good knowledge,preparation and judgments. Hope your friends and family are understanding and many more great mountain adventures for you all!
Peace
with a BIG smile!
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Apr 12, 2010 - 04:46pm PT
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Thanks for the post, Scott. Even with the fairly substantial local news coverage, I learned much from it.
It's interesting to me that the Megamids did not seem to be a problem. I'd always figured they were good for summer, but not such a great idea for winter.
Thanks again.
John
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micronut
Trad climber
fresno, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 12, 2010 - 04:47pm PT
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The SAR team that landed turned out to be comprised of personal friends of these guys.
My understanding, though I wasn't there, was that the conversation was like...."Shut up and get in the chopper."
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Apr 12, 2010 - 05:42pm PT
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I don't suppose the helo crew could provide supplemental supplies in the ordinary course of things, and then let the team continue?
i.e. the rationale is something like this... if they needed support, then they didn't need to have us come look for you, so if we came looking for you, necessarily you need to come out because you would be wasting additional dollars on a second rescue should you require an additional supplemental food/fuel drop?
see where I'm going with this?
i.e. by refusing the evac, do you thereby give up future choice to be rescued by being pulled out now?
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