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dancefax
Jul 20, 2009, 3:38 PM
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This has probably been asked before but I cant find any posts on it.
What are peoples experience of how much water they drank on Regular NW Face when spending 1 night on the 17th pitch sandy ledges during say september?
Just trying to guage how light we can go with the water in our backpacks.
We intend to climb it the supertopo way, hike up the death slabs, fix the 1st 3 pitches (presuming only 2 60m ropes needed?), bivvy out at the base then climb fast the following day to the 17th pitch ledges, bivvy, then to the top the next day with the plan to beg water off tourists at the top to get us down the muir track.
Any advice welcome,
thanks
Bern
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sspssp
Jul 20, 2009, 6:36 PM
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I've only done RNWF in a single push, but here are some comments.
The spring is dry in September. So if you do the slabs, you will have to hike up with all your water.
If you do the trail, you can fill up at the top of the falls. The trail is a long hump, but by the top of the falls, you have gained most of the elevation, so you don't have to gain near as much elevation with all of your water. Although I don't necessarily want to talk you out of the slabs.
HD gets sun from around 2:00 on. But it runs pretty cool (and can be surprisingly cold in the morning). If you started out well hydrated before hiking up, I would think one gallon per person would be on the skimpy side and two gallons per person would be lush.
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dancefax
Jul 20, 2009, 9:13 PM
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Thanks for the info. That would be a US gallon I guess, so approx 3.5ltrs. We were thinking around 2-3ltrs for the hike up and evening meal/breakfast, then take 3.5ltrs on the wall. So that fits in with your estimated range thanks.
Anyone got any recommendations on evening meal packs?
Freeze dried meals and add water?
Self heat ready meals?
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moof
Jul 20, 2009, 10:13 PM
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Freeze Dried do horrible with cold water, and I'm guessing you're not going to pack a stove. Freeze dried foods use your water up, so if you go that route you need to bring extra water to compensate) MRE style work well for a lot of folks, I personally have never tried them due to previous traumatic MRE experiences that predate my wall climbing.
I'd reccomend you go the jerky, tuna pouch, chef-boy-ardee route. Trader Joe's carries some yellow curry tuna pouches that are my new favorite wall food as well. Fresh fruit like apples and oranges are great wall food, and can help get calories down when it's hot and when you just can't swallow another bar.
Whatever you bring, eat it a couple times at home as you would on the wall (cold, with only water/gatorade to wash it down). Expect that any gag reflex will be worse on the wall. Pack food well so it does not explode in the pack and ruin your sleeping bag.
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bandycoot
Jul 20, 2009, 10:20 PM
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I made it up the RNWFHD with 3 gallons between two people in three days valley floor to valley floor. Up the death slabs, sleep on pitch 6, sleep on Big Sandy, down the trail. It was early to mid-october, and cold as hell in the mornings so our water consumption could be MUCH lower than normal. Water consumption is EXTREMELY weather dependent, I find. If it's hot, or even warm, I'd bring more than 3.5L/person on the route.
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marc801
Jul 20, 2009, 10:22 PM
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dancefax wrote: Anyone got any recommendations on evening meal packs? Freeze dried meals and add water?
I'm sure others will chime in with their favorites, but big wall staples over the years have been...
bagles
cheese
nuts
canned fruit
canned fish
canned beef stews and pastas
peanut butter & jelly
energy bars and gels
Stuff with a high fat content goes down a lot easier than dry food. One friend swore by cream cheese and avocado sandwiches.
Are you planning to bring a stove?
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sspssp
Jul 20, 2009, 11:03 PM
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Bears are a huge problem if you are sleeping at the base of HD. It is a bit of a pain, but before going to sleep, I would get your haul bag way up the wall (further than you might think). You can not bear proof your food by putting it in a tree. And if your haul bag is lying on the ground, a bear might rip it up looking for food (whether it has food in it or not).
For the first evening, I like cold pizza, but food preferences vary a lot.
(This post was edited by sspssp on Jul 20, 2009, 11:04 PM)
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marc801
Jul 20, 2009, 11:37 PM
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sspssp wrote: Bears are a huge problem if you are sleeping at the base of HD. It is a bit of a pain, but before going to sleep, I would get your haul bag way up the wall (further than you might think). You can not bear proof your food by putting it in a tree. And if your haul bag is lying on the ground, a bear might rip it up looking for food (whether it has food in it or not).
From a thread on the taco stand, Jesse McGahey, Yosemite Climbing Ranger writes:
In reply to: Yesterday Max and I were cruising the base, and saw several questionable hangs that could easily be "beared." Let me explain what works: -Food can be stored at the base as you prepare for a wall in a Yosemite Wilderness approved Bear Cannister. -Food can be hung from an anchor on the wall as long as it is at least 25' off the ground, without ropes that directly attach to the food bags/haulbag hanging to the ground. -It also can't be stored on the wall if the climbing to the bags is 5.9 or easier....Seriously. Yesterday we observed a bear begin to down climb the slab below Mescalito's first pitch. There was a bag of food hung on the slab that he clearly wanted to get into, but decided he couldn't pull the 5.11 upside down slab moves that it took to get the last 6 feet. If he tried and fell that would be sad.
Full thread at: http://www.supertopo.com/...c_id=870405&tn=0
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dancefax
Jul 21, 2009, 1:06 PM
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Thanks for all the feedback (sorry about the pun!), it was a concern of mine with the freeze dried requiring water, I've also heard MRE's cause constipation, I'm trying to avoid cans cos they use up space and weigh more, although the self heat cans would go down well on a cold eve, plastic vacuum sealed ready meals maybe the way to go. I'll have to try out some options, suck it and see!
Thanks for the bear tips, very useful to know.
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