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dxmetal
Dec 31, 2005, 2:08 AM
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Heya guys,
Anybody know of any good Peak (~13,000 ft or higher) in the US that is non glaciated with non avalanche danger for a climb in March 06?
Did Whitney last winter, and now looking for a new one to climb. Have not taken any avalanche nor crevase resuce classes yet, nor have th emoney for a transeriver, so kinda wanna keep the risk factor low.
Thanks in advance
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jderekforrester
Dec 31, 2005, 2:12 AM
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You want to find a peak in the US with no avalanche danger and no glaciers in March? You do actually climb, right. My advice, hop on the StairMaster with your pack on, break a sweat, then go tell your significant other you accomplished something great. This should be pretty low risk assuming you don't have a heart condition.
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dxmetal
Dec 31, 2005, 2:21 AM
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Mount Whitney is not glaciated with no significant avalanche danger. PM me if you want to watch the video we made during the climb last winter.
So far we found Mount Elbert to have the least significant avalanche threat. Anyone done South Mt. Elbert Trail and the North Mt. Elbert Trail in winter ?
Anyone has any good info on Longs Peak, CO in winter ? How bad are the avalanches danger there ?
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fear
Dec 31, 2005, 3:58 AM
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Is this a trick question?
The only 13,000+ foot US peak in March with no potential avalanches is Mauna Kea. She's around 13,700.....
-Fear
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dxmetal
Dec 31, 2005, 4:09 AM
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Never mind you guys, We decided to do Mount Elbert in Colorado. Either the North or South Trail, there were no mentioned of "transceiver" needed and the avalanche occurance there is rated to being "very low risk".
We were originally going to do Shasta (!! crevasse and high risk Avalanches) or Wheeler Peak in NM (high risk Avalanches), unfortunately we have no $$ to get into a crevase nor avalanche course nor money to buy transceivers yet.
Maybe i should have worded the question/topic a little differently.
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haas
Dec 31, 2005, 4:38 AM
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there's plenty of 14ers and 13ers for that matter in COlorado with no avy danger or crevasses in March. You just have to do a slog route. It's more of an issue of the angle of the slope and so if you just want to bag a peak via a dog walk, most peaks will do, including Grays, Torreys, Democrat, etc. Anything most would consider climbing can slide depending on snow conditions. You could get away with checking the avalanche websites for conditions, buy a book on avalanches, or rent a video. All will help significantly more than knowing nothing at all. Also, routes that climb ridgelines are the safest in winter conditions or those with large obstacles like trees, rock buttress, etc. rather than the center of an open slope. Good luck
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dxmetal
Dec 31, 2005, 4:45 AM
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haas,
What about longs peak in the winter ?? Any good recommendation that you have on winter CO 14'ers ?
thanks
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builttospill
Dec 31, 2005, 5:07 AM
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while avy rescue courses are good, you can teach yourself for free.
You do need a beacon though. That's pretty much standard equipment I'd say.
But if you want to learn and do some non-slog routes, it would be good....climbing is a lot more fun that way.
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aeray
Dec 31, 2005, 5:51 AM
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not 13+, but still challenging, try granite in montana (near billings) march is a bit early though.
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haas
Dec 31, 2005, 6:33 AM
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Depends what route you want to do on Long's. The Keyhole route is not really worth doing, but would be totally safe. The Cable Route would be just fine. And the best winter route would be the Notch Couloir in my opinion, and should be fine. The only concern would be the condition of Broadway ledge, although you could belay across the ledge and you would never have to worry about being buried because you'd be swept off the ledge (hence the belay). Some people belay the traverse across Broadway anyways because allthough it is incredibly easy, it is very exposed and a fall would take you about 1,000ft. down to the talus below.
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scottquig
Dec 31, 2005, 8:09 AM
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Here's a question: why do you care that it's 13,000 feet? Do you want to feel out of breath and work twice as hard for every vertical foot? Do you need 13,000 footers on your resume so you can sound like a better climber? You should be able to find plenty of challenging peaks that will have much less snow (thus, less avalanche potential) on lower mountains. Have fun, don't die.
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majid_sabet
Jan 6, 2006, 10:50 PM
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I was looking at my calendar and weather forecast for March 2006, and it shows that Avalanche danger is extremely low at 13000 feet, however If you are planning to summit, take 12999 feet of parachute cord with you, attach one end to your car key and the other side to your beacon.
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feanor007
Jan 6, 2006, 11:07 PM
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majid_sabet wrote:
In reply to: I was looking at my calendar and weather forecast for March 2006, and it shows that Avalanche danger is extremely low at 13000 feet, however If you are planning to summit, take 12999 feet of parachute cord with you, attach one end to your car key and the other side to your beacon.
he made a joke, i think, i mean i guess he couldn't be serious b/c the op did not witness/participate in a grusome accident and no mention was made of helments
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talons05
Jan 6, 2006, 11:22 PM
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In reply to: I was looking at my calendar and weather forecast for March 2006, and it shows that Avalanche danger is extremely low at 13000 feet, however If you are planning to summit, take 12999 feet of parachute cord with you, attach one end to your car key and the other side to your beacon.
:lol:
Dx - If you're wanting a challenging route w/ minimal avy danger, check out the Notch on Long's as recommended earlier. For something a little less butt-puckering, check out the lost rat colouir on Gray's Peak.
Any 14'er in March will be fairly sketchy on approach. I recommend skis most years for sure.
Cheers,
A.W.
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antiqued
Jan 6, 2006, 11:32 PM
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Mauna Kea - sorry I missed this thread earlier :)
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atg200
Jan 6, 2006, 11:44 PM
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recommending the notch couloir for march with no avy training or equipment strikes me as a bad idea.
there aren't all that many winter summits in colorado that i think it is a very good idea to do without at least being familiar with everything in snow sense. the easy ridge route on bierstadt from guanella pass is a good option.
just because a route is a slog does not make it safe, especially in the colorado snowpack. an awful lot of the dog routes cross slide paths, are below slopes that could go, or are in areas that could see significant wind loading.
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mack_north
Jan 7, 2006, 12:28 AM
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You have a better chance of getting a straight answer if you post a picture of your sister on a prison chat site under the caption, "Is she hot?"
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majid_sabet
Jan 7, 2006, 7:08 AM
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[quote="talons05"]In reply to: I was looking at my calendar and weather forecast for March 2006, and it shows that Avalanche danger is extremely low at 13000 feet, however If you are planning to summit, take 12999 feet of parachute cord with you, attach one end to your car key and the other side to your beacon.
:lol:
Dx - If you're wanting a challenging route w/ minimal avy danger, check out the Notch on Long's as recommended earlier. For something a little less butt-puckering, check out the lost rat colouir on Gray's Peak.
Any 14'er in March will be fairly sketchy on approach. I recommend skis most years for sure.
Cheers,
Eastern Sierras have my respect any time .
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jason_martin
Jan 7, 2006, 5:36 PM
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There are a lot of smaller peaks in the Cascades that will be relatively stable as far as avalanches go by mid-march. Peaks like Mount Snoqualmie, Granite Peak, and the North Slope of the North Sister would make nice easy day trips that require snow climbing but have little potential for avy danger.
That said, if it got cold and snowed in March -- which it does on occasion -- on these lower peaks they could regain their avy danger. However, it is more likely that if it precipitates by that point on those low elevation peaks, it will be rain.
Jason
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