In November 2007, a man died after climbing Cathedral Peak in Yosemite with his partner. They expected to return the same day but were trapped on the descent when it began to snow, and one climber succumbed to hypothermia. In June 2008, a man died on Rainier after a freak blizzard caught three unsuspecting hikers in a storm that dropped 2 feet of snow. They had only left Camp Muir on a day hike. Although two of the three were experienced climbers and had previously reached the summit of Rainier. However, they didn’t have the 10 essentials, including emergency shelter, and the fallen hiker gave his life by providing his body as insulation from the snow. They all suffered from hypothermia and frostbite.

Do you know what to do in these situations? If you are a hiker, backpacker, climber, skier or snowboarder that contemplates venturing out into the backcountry during the Sierra winter or the surrounding unpredictable months, snowcamping is an absolutely critical skill. Competent snowcamping skills are important not only to help navigate an emergency situation in the winter environment, but can also facilitate going out and staying overnight in the backcountry…ON PURPOSE!

I first discovered the concept of snowcamping even existed on a vacation in the Bavarian Alps in Germany. I had just hiked Half Dome successfully the previous month and I was itching for more adventure than the average hike. I hired a guide to lead my companion and me up Zugspitze, the highest mountain in the country at 9,721 feet. It was an altitude record for me at the time and the most adventurous four hours of hiking and three hours of scrambling of my life. I was instantly hooked!

When we returned to our hotel in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, I was perusing the touristy brochures and saw this striking photograph of a rope team of three simulclimbing roped together across a vast snowy expanse toward a distant peak. I still remember that the mountain they were climbing was called Grosglockner. This is the photograph that I credit with my entire climbing “career.” It shook me to the core and awakened a desire like I had never experienced before. I wanted to climb on the snow!

I returned from that trip and put my Type A MBA characteristics to good work, staying up until midnight every night researching what snowy climb I could do AND what skills I needed to acquire to do it. I’ve neglected to mention the fact that, although an avid day hiker, I hadn’t camped since I was 13 and part of a Girl Scouts Troop that camped across the SouthEastern U.S. on the way to visit the home of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts.

I set a goal of a Spring ascent of Mt Whitney’s mountaineer’s route in April with International Mountain Guides. I understood that an April climb on Whitney would entail hiking, climbing, camping, and sleeping in the snow. A lucky search took me to the annual Sierra Club Snowcamping training series.

Somehow my lack of camping and backpacking experience slipped by the application reviewers (I’m convinced all the talk of climbing big mountains in the winter distracted them from my otherwise lack of fundamental skills) and I was accepted into the training series.

Looking back, I strongly believe this was the most influential, not to mention cost-effective, training that I could have received. Being able to survive in the winter elements, travel efficiently in the snow, even be COMFORTABLE while snowcamping, have been extremely advantageous to me mountaineering endeavors. I learned to love snowcamping for the sake of snowcamping, not to mention the lack of arachnids!

To demonstrate how snowcamping skills can enchance a backcountry experience, think about that hike on Mt Shasta up to Helen Lake that gains 3,000 feet and typically takes ~5 hours (or a similar one you have experienced). Imagine arriving at your hard won destination, starting to set up your tent, and then realizing that your normal ground tent stakes won’t purchase in the snow. Do you know how to set a deadman that will hold firm through howling winds and melting snow?

Then you begin to set up your temporary kitchen for hours of boiling water and preparing much needed food. Do you have a snow-worthy stove platform? Did you know that you should put a small layer of water at the bottom of your pot to keep the snow from literally scorching your pot (Buddah forbid you scorch your brand new $80 titanium pot!!!)?

You retire, exhausted, and desperate for good sleep, at least until the alarm clock rings at 1am for your summit bid. Oops, you’ve left the layers you want to wear outside of your sleeping bag and now you have to change into freezing cold articles of clothing. Oh, and you hung your wet glove liners up to dry and they froze – perhaps you should have kept them inside your sleeping bag on your chest so that your body heat would help dry them during the night. Darn, you left your water bottle upright and the opening froze so that no water can come out. Storing your water bottle upside down ensures the top freezes first – better yet, keep the bottle with freshly boiled water inside your sleeping back all night (with the lid checked and double-checked that it’s closed tightly, of course!).

The list goes on…
• How do you navigate when there are no trails, just vast expanses of snow?
• How do you find your way out of whiteout when you don’t have a sense of up or down – everything is white?
• How do you prevent hypothermia or recognize and treat others with hypothermia?
• How do you build snow shelters like trenches, snow caves, quincees, or igloos – whether for fun or emergency shelter?
• How do you transform your summer backpacking and climbing gear into winter-worthy gear without spending a fortune?

Having mad snowcamping skillz will ensure that you are not only a happy camper/climber/skier/snowboarder, but that you can survive an unexpected night out. Who knows you might even ENJOY it! There is nothing like the silence of waking up on a clear morning with untouched snow slopes glistening all around you.

I’m in my fifth year of snowcamping with the Sierra Club now and co-lead Group 5 in the training series. I continue to learn something new every time I go out, and I know my diligence in keeping my snowcamping skillz honed has vastly increased my enjoyment and performance in the mountains. They say that success and enjoyment on Denali, aka Mt McKinley, is 90% snowcamping. After an unsuccessful attempt of the Upper West Rib this past June, I can attest to that fact. Indeed, my climbing partner remarked that I was not only surviving on Denali, but that I was thriving. I’m looking forward to going back in May 2010 to immerse myself in the snowcamping lifestyle.

Hope to see you out there in the Sierras this winter. Happy and safe snowcamping to you all!

In the spirit of full disclosure, Emilie Cortes is also a Leader in the Sierra Club Snowcamping Section and co-leads Group 5, which is the most fun group. She is not biased. More info at www.snowcamping.org.