snow and ice – Page 23

August 21, 2010August 20, 2010

another June Tour de Mont Blanc

Richard Tulloch’s amusing summary of his early season trek on one of the very best hikes in the world.

The full circuit of Europe’s highest range is some 170km long and takes about 60 hours of walking. Most people do it in 8-12 days. ….

It’s staggeringly beautiful terrain – or is that my pack making me stagger? …

Doing it in June is risky:

… We’re in a bit of trouble on our hike, high on Switzerland’s Col d’Emaney. It’s blowing a gale and there’s frozen snow on a treacherously steep slope. My Dutch companions are carrying ice axes, but I’m not roping myself to anyone who learned their mountaineering below sea level in Amsterdam. …

Click through to see how they got out of this situation …

TOUR DE MONT BLANC – the Swiss section

And while you’re there, click through on HIKING for Richard’s adventures in New Zealand, Australia, Europe and more.

→ besthike TMB information page

August 3, 2010August 4, 2010

Wonderland Trail in 63hrs

Dr. Jeni McNeal and Dave Adlard, founding members of Team Adventure Sports Week, along with an unofficial support crew of Rick McCharles of BestHike.com completed the 94 mile/47,000 feet elevation Wonderland Trail in 63:03, June 25 – 28.

The two carried their own gear, and took only a few hours sleep time in completing what some have said is one of the fastest unsupported, July circumnavigations yet. Almost 10% of the trail was still snowed in, requiring route finding and snow travel. Most hikers completing the trail require 8 – 12 days to finish.

They climbed and descended more than 20 peaks on the famously difficult trail, with elevation changes equivalent to climbing and descending Mt. Rainier from Paradise Visitor Center almost three times. They also encountered bears along the trail.

The two burned almost 33,000 calories each, and drank more than 50 liters of fluid total in temperatures ranging from 33 – 89 degrees.

Their journey began at Reflection Lake on July 25 at 10:40 am, and finished at 1:43 am on July 28.

“This was one of the most psychologically and physically demanding tests I have done since starting Adventure Racing,” said Adlard. “This is a really tough trail that demands a lot from all participants.”

The trail is notoriously uneven, with steep, overgrown and narrow sections that make forward progress difficult in many places.

Team Adventure Sports Week is training for the five day Desert Winds Expedition race in Lake Mead, Nevada, Sept 18 – 25.

Read Dave’s detailed trip report & gear list (PDF)

August 3, 2010August 1, 2010

best hikes Rainier – Burroughs Mountain

trip report by best hike editor Rick McCharles

Mt. Rainier is an outdoor playground scary close to Seattle.

… Although Mount Rainier is an active volcano, as of 2010 there was no evidence of an imminent eruption. However, an eruption could be devastating for all areas surrounding the volcano …

… a mudflow might also reach down the Duwamish estuary and destroy parts of downtown Seattle, and cause tsunamis in Puget Sound and Lake Washington. According to USGS, about 150,000 people live on top of old lahar deposits of Rainier …

Of all Mt. Rainier day hikes, I like Burroughs Mountain best, 7mi (11.3km) return.

You start high at Sunrise trailhead. This is 6400ft (1,950m), the highest point in the park accessible by vehicle.

The approach is via a gorgeous ridge walk. … We LOVE ridge walks.

If conditions allow, you can side trip up one, two or three Burroughs Peaks. Here’s the start:

Check with Rangers at Sunrise (not open until 10AM) on local conditions. The day I was there, many turned back at this point:

Rainier looks awesome from the top of Second Burroughs (7402ft).

Of course if the weather is terrible, as it normally is, don’t bother. You won’t see a thing.

more photos of this day hike on Burrough’s Peaks

August 2, 2010August 1, 2010

best hikes Rainier – Camp Muir

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Mount Rainier is a large active stratovolcano, Washington, USA, located 54 miles (87 km) southeast of Seattle. It towers over the Cascade Range as the most prominent mountain in the contiguous United States …

The mountain and the surrounding area are protected within Mount Rainier National Park. With 26 major glaciers and 36 square miles (93 km2) of permanent snowfields and glaciers, Mount Rainier is the most heavily glaciated peak in the lower 48 states. …

This quote greets the hiker at Paradise trailhead, Mt. Rainier, Washington:

Wild flowers are terrific on Rainier. But …, I’d love to take John Muir to Waterton/Glacier and the Canadian Rockies during wildflower season. … To compare.

Wildlife is another highlight of the Rainier alpine meadows:

The 5000+ft climb to Camp Muir (10,080′) begins on the excellent Skyline Trail 5.5mi (8.9km), a good alternative to Muir if conditions are not safe for the snowy ascent up high on the volcano.

We find it troublesome to recommend Skyline, however, as it’s so busy. It’s ideal, though, for children and visitors who have not seem much snow. Rainier is one of the snowiest places in the USA!

The maze of trails out of Paradise are confusing. Get advice and a free map from the Ranger’s desk.

If the weather is GREAT, as it was the day I was there, best hike is to scramble up to the historic base camp, the most popular for those climbing Rainier.

You’ll often need an ice axe for this scramble. But not in ideal conditions.

It’s hard to imagine a better place to be than Camp Muir on a sunny day like this.

Here are some climbers, prepping for the ascent:

I descended 2mi in 40min on a plastic bag toboggan like this. Great FUN.

more photos from this hike to Camp Muir

July 2, 2010

climbing Mt. Shasta

John Muir:

“Mount Shasta rises in solitary grandeur from the edge of a comparatively low and lightly sculptured lava plain near the northern extremity of the Sierra, and maintains a far more impressive and commanding individuality than any other mountain within the limits of California. Go where you may, within a radius of from fifty to a hundred miles or more, there stands before you the colossal cone of Shasta, clad in ice and snow, the one grand, unmistakable landmark – the pole – star of the landscape. “

Ryan Commons documented his climb.

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo. (additional links on that page)

http://vimeo.com/12878599

Love that tobogganing descent!

Only about a third of the 15,000 climbers who try it each year, summit. Shasta is a beast.

June 27, 2010June 27, 2010

Harding Icefield Trail, Alaska

Hank Leukart is in Alaska.

HOW TO HIKE THE HARDING ICEFIELD TRAIL

OVERVIEW: The Harding Icefield Trail is an 8.2-mile, 5-hour hike round trip with a 3,150-foot elevation gain. Hiking conditions are best from June to September. Early in the season, about half of the trail is covered in snow, but hikers with boots will have little problem walking through it.

DIRECTIONS: Kenai Fjords National Park is about a three-hour drive, south of Anchorage, Alaska. …

ROUTE: Even in the snow, the trail is well-marked with signs and orange flags. …

details on Without Baggage – where days last forever.
… exploring the land of the midnight sun.

more photos

June 23, 2010June 24, 2010

scrambling Mt Remus, Alberta

Great day.

Evidence we made the summit – Amber writing us up in the summit log.

Of our group of five hikers, three were gymnasts. Here’s Krista celebrating the summit.

_____

We cycled in 6.5km (4mi), then had trouble finding the small cairn marking the start of the rough path to the river crossing. Our experience was exactly that posted on peakware:

Description – by Dow Williams:

Mount Remus is part of the horseshoe shaped Fisher Range at the front end of Kananaskis Country in the Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Park.

Kananaskis Country is a maze of provincial parks which encompasses over 4,000 square kilometers of foothills and mountains bordering Banff National Park in the central Canadian Rockies.

Mount Remus starts one end of the horseshoe and Mount Fullerton the other. In between lies Mount Romulus and Fisher Peak. Mount Remus was officially named in 1940 along with Mount Romulus after the legendary twin brothers and founders of Rome.

The only published route up Mount Remus is the moderate to difficult scramble up its eastern slopes to its summit block. The guide book determines the chimney up the center of the summit block to be difficult with an optional moderate approach from the north. I found the chimney did not present a difficult challenge and rate this scramble moderate at most.

The most challenging aspect of the day involves crossing the Little Elbow River. This aspect of the trip more than likely explains why there is no trail and few, if any, cairns, thus little evidence of any traffic up this mountain. …

read more on peakware

Most fun was screeing and glissading descents. Here’s my butt track after I discovered tobogganing was even easier.

more photos from this great day hike

related post – biking hiking Banded Peak, Alberta

May 9, 2010May 6, 2010

Mary Jane Falls, Nevada … in winter

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

April is a fantastic month for hiking out of Las Vegas.

It’s not too hot. Cactus flowers bloom.

The closest hiking destination to Las Vegas is Red Rock. Millions visit each year.

The second closest major hiking area is much less well known, though it’s less than an hour’s drive from “the strip”.

I arrived April 15th in shorts and t-shirt at the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area and Mount Charleston Visitor Center, the woman there asked me: “Do you have snowshoes?”

Snowshoes?

Almost all of the 51mi of trails were “snowed in”. I needed to come back the end of May, or later, she told me.

Mount Charleston is totally different than Red Rock. Dense Bristlecone pine forests. It feels more like you’re in Colorado, than Nevada. There’s even a ski resort here!

Who knew?

I had been planning to start with the most popular trail, Mary Jane Falls.

Guidebook author and editor of Hiking Las Vegas, Branch Whitney says: “If you don’t enjoy this trail, forget hiking.”

Less than 3mi, return, be ready for a series of switchbacks. Your rewards is walking up to and behind a gorgeous waterfall. There’s a cave to explore, as well.

(A more challenging alternative is the boulder hopping scramble up to Big Falls from the same trailhead as Mary Jane.)

I took a look at the trailhead, just in case.

How hard could it be?

I tramped up the packed snow. No problem … for a Canadian, like myself.

But on arrival at “the Falls” …

No water. It was, of course, frozen up above.

Oh well, I’ve an excuse now to return in the Summer.

☺☺☺

Final recommendation …

Drive the scenic road Highways 95 to 158 to 156 back to 95. The prettiest I’ve done in Nevada. Even better, cycle down from the Ski Resort to 95.

March 13, 2010

Alaska-Yukon Expedition – Andrew Skurka

Andrew Skurka is the greatest hiker of all time. His 6,875-mile Great Western Loop was only one of many fantastic hiking accomplishments.

What could he do to top the Great Western Loop?

4,700 miles in 7 months via skis, foot, and a packraft

official Alaska-Yukon Expedition home page

… On Saturday, March 13, a small plane will land early morning in Kotzebue, Alaska. Andy Skurka will get off the airplane, put on his headlamp in the pre-dawn darkness, pull on some clothes in the zero degree temperature, and start skiing. He would ski for 12 hours straight, and do at least that every day for the next month and a half. Then he’ll hike and packraft 16 hours every day for the next 5 months.

He’s circumnavigating the entire state, crossing the entire Alaska Range, Brooks Range, and parts of the Yukon. An estimated 4,720 miles, in hopefully 6 1/2 months. Almost all off-trail. Plenty of bears, brush, snow, raging rivers, glaciers (and mosquitos). …

read more from Buzz on the Adventure Running Blog)