The lure of winter hiking

[Frosty]

Re: Museum of Science...Risk

Well this certainly seems a timely topic as I just noticed the Museum of Science has a new exhibt entitled just that...Risk.

For a few years in the 1990's I was the computer security manager for a Naval Activity, and one of my jobs was to prepare a risk assessment for our computers.

Risk as addressed by the Navy involved three components: likelihood of occurrence, consequence if it did occur, and cost (effort) to minimize that risk.

Typically (with both computer systems and hiking and probably everything else), many risks are highly likely but have little consequence (taking a very long lunch at a summit may put you behind schedule but it only means you walk out in the dusk/dark). Risk avoidance is carrying a watch and using it and avoiding th consequence is as easy as carrying a flashlight.

Other risks are not likely to occur (breaking an ankle) but have a high cnsequence in certain situations (breaking the ankle on Lincoln in worsening weather while hiking alone in the winter).

In the Navy, we mostly focused on the risks with high consequences (like the second example). Even though unlikely to occur, they'd constitute a disaster if they did. We also took precautions for likely (but not disastrous) events if corrertion was cheap. Often, this correction did multiple duty by covering several risks.

The "ten hiking essentials" covers just about all the likely risks that are not life-threatening.

The big risks (unlikely but dangerous) involve life-threatening situations and can be addressed when the likelihood increases.

Winter above treeline, especially long ridge traverses, to my mind are the most dangerous, and I think many if not most winter hikers do a good job. Bailing out at the first sign of bad weather covers almost all issues, except in the rare case where the weather unexpectedly changes.

As I think about it, the two risks hardest to address are broken leg (or other physical immobilization) and major bleeding (arterial). I can't think of anything to prevent these occurances, so all one can do is to prepare for them should they occur. FOr the broken leg, I suppose it would be to not hike alone and carry an insulating pad, a sleeping bag, and chemical heaters. For the major bleeding, I can't think of anything that will ensure survival.

Interesting how some concepts float easily from the business world to hiking, no?

Frosty

 

[Reekee]

Risk

Carole, excellent topic! To me, risk is a calulation that is relative to the experience, and confidence level of each individual climber. Winter in the Adirondack can offer many wonderful challenges. For the most part many of the routes up the mountains are in the low risk range. A winter ascent up the Trap dike, the North Face of Gothics, the slides on Giant or full packing it up the back side of Basin offer a level of risk that requires a calculation of ones confidence and ability. A solo trip as well will highten the senses. To miss calculate, things can get dangerous. The most dangerous thing I've witnessed in the moutains however is inexperience mixed with a generous dose of ego. Now that's scary! Pushing the limit is a tricky thing however. Most ice and rock climbers will tell you that the most exciting climbs are the ones that scare the living bajeebbaaas out of you. There is something about getting on the other side of fear that gets the life blood pumping. Enjoy, Reekee

 

[Barry Sr]

Re: Re: Museum of Science...Risk

For a few years in the 1990's I was the computer security manager for a Naval Activity,
Frosty

Does the town of WinterHarbor ring a bell to you at all if your profession is what I think it is?

What a great place to work and be based out of to travel and hike.

Spent 4 years there myself and headed for those hills whenever I could.

Barry

 

[KayakDan]

Like everything else in life,it's all about being prepared,and to some extent,being in control. When we do a winter trip in,we are responsible for our own safety,and we are in more control of the situation than we are in most other things in life. Our choices determine what our experience will be.
This.in part,is the appeal of winter backpacking,or more specifically,winter camping.
Bushwhacking off a trail and setting up camp in the fresh snow is what we love to do. It's a unique experience,unlike being the next arrival in a campsite or shelter. Our preparation and experience allows us to enjoy a "night out" in conditions that would be dangerous to most.
Another component is the mental one. You put yourself in a different mindset for winter conditions. We see people scurrying around,all bundled up(in the wrong stuff) and freezing their tails off at 45o,yet we can be comfy at -10o,and enjoy the day.
Of course,this all comes at a price,and my wife and I are serious gear junkies! REI could restock from our basement!
And you gotta admit it! Don't you love watching peoples' eyes bug out when you casually describe what you did over the weekend!

 

[Mark]

Excellent, thought provoking topic!

Risk. Challenge. Thrill of the adventure. Whatever you call it, in the final analysis it's all about how prepared we are (physical and mental condition, training, experience, gear, etc.) and how lucky we are because there is always that unpredictable element of every journey.

On one end of the spectrum, we can be ultraconservative hikers and never leave our warm homes because one can’t reduce risk to zero. On the other end, we can hop in the car with a granola bar, a liter of water and a wind shell and bag a winter summit in the Whites. I’m sure some are drawn to the allure of the challenge/risk of the latter example and love the adrenaline rush. The rest of us fall somewhere in between the two extremes and take measures to mitigate risk, hopefully without reducing the rewards and challenges of a hike.

I like Frosty’s description of risk assessment and mitigation. I never described what I do in hike preparation in these terms, but I realize this is exactly how I approach hike planning. (This may sound strange, but for me, a lot of the fun and challenge is in trip preparation.) It’s a worthwhile exercise to speculate on potential problems one might encounter on any given trip and what, if anything, one could do to reduce or eliminate the risk. I love to find creative, low cost (both $ and weight), multipurpose solutions to potential hiking risks. (E.g., bring parts to convert a pair of hiking poles into a crutch. As Frosty points out, immobility in the winter is very serious.)

Knowing that I cannot change the inherent risks with winter hiking, I guess my planning and preparation target being able to successfully cope with problems that do arise. I like the comfort of setting foot on a frigid winter trail head, feeling that I am prepared for the day’s challenges and knowing that I am ready to turn around if those challenges exceed my (or my hiking companions’) comfort levels.

 

[jfb]

I've been taught that risk can be defined as the probability of an event happening multiplied by the consequences of the event happening. My preference to reduce risk is mostly to reduce the probability of the event. Some of the methods I use are well known to other winter hikers: bring the right gear for the conditions, know where you are and how to get back, don't overextend yourself, be aware of changing weather, etc.

If someone can reduce the risk in that fashion, then they can get by with carrying less gear. If on the other hand, someone doesn't have a lot of experience using crampons or hiking in a whiteout or is hiking in an unfamiliar area (as examples) then they have a greater probability of getting in trouble and should carry more gear to reduce the consequences of getting lost.

This balancing act usually means that I'd carry less gear for a short hike on familiar trails on a nice day and more gear for a longer hike on higher peaks in bad weather (no rocket science here).

 

[dave.m]

Interesting topic.

My wife has worked in the area of fine arts photography off and on for a while. She has a book that discusses the topic of nudes as a photographic form and the author makes an interesting point in contrasting the artistic nudes to pornography. He argued that an element of the erotic is present in every nude image.

I think the same thing applies to the question of risk and any backcountry or wilderness travel. Even when hiking in the rather urbane Blue Hills here in Boston on a summer afternoon, there *is* and element of risk involved. While I am NOT seeking risk (in much the same way I do not be seek eroticism in a nude image), I can not honestly say that risk is absent from the experience or, at some level, a contributing factor to my satisfaction (when I can manage it properly).

PS for Frosty: odd parallel. I worked at NPS (monterey) in the early 90s and work today in information security. In the freedom of the hills, the moutaineers have a different spin on the classic risk = threat x impact formulation when they say, Exposure is the likelihood of a fall (the threat), it is the ramification of a fall (impact).

 

[Jim W]

huh?

 

[KayakDan]

Nude Winter Hiking????????

COOL!

oh...wait...
did I miss something??????

 

[dave.m]

Well, I may just need to pull that post down if it causes too much confusion!

It just strikes me that any time one talks about wilderness or backcountry travel of any sort, risk is a part of picture. It may not be the motivation, but it is certainly part of the fabric of the experience and part of what seperates backcountry travel from, say, watching TV in your home.

 

[JimB]

To me it is probably a little of both if I’m honest with myself. I’m now 47(going on 18) and I have a long history of “risky” activities. I raced snowmobiles on ice as a teenager, raced motocross for about 5 years, then as I acquired children I slowed down and became a mt. bike racer as the sport just began. I sustained very few injuries during all of these activities because I have always strived to be in top physical condition. I also have always had the ability to know when I was very close to my limits. These activities gave me a reason to train and vise-versa. I would Nordic ski all winter to race MX better in the summer. I would mt. bike all summer so I could ski all winter.

I got into hiking a while back as an activity I could do with my 20- something children and because of my love of winter and challenges, we started on winter camping and climbing. We began with lowland overnights and expanded to multiple summits and more extreme temperatures and weather as our gear and experience got better. We are not on some ascending spiral towards oblivion. It has to do with challenges. Once we feel comfortable at one level, it is natural (for us) to want to take one more step to push us to make us grow. Around here winter hiking and climbing, skiing, camping, etc., is a good way to accomplish this. The mountains help take it up a notch or two.

I guess in another way I enjoy the solitude of the cold. Even though you are with others you are wrapped in a shell of protection with your gear that keeps you within yourself. Knowing that you are self-sufficient as you travel in a hostile environment is a feeling that is hard to explain.

 

[Mike Hartigan]

It seems eveyone talks about the added risk and that may be true but as an avid backcountry skiier what about the snow. With fresh snow every landscape becomes brand new, every slope a first descent be it in the woods of Vermont (which do hold countless firsts to be had), the slides in the ADKS or the high alpine in the Whites. I dont know about anybody else but skiing fresh powder is about as close to a religious experience as it gets for me.

 

[dougbear]

I agree with Carole. Notice the snippet of Dylan lyric below? That sums it up for me. I believe in life-long learning, stretching, growing, improving, pushing the envelope. That's half of what the quote means to me. The other half is respect for life, including mine and those of my hiking companions. I am open to a fair amount of risk but I have a healthy respect for nature's power and I maintain a rather wide margin for error. My wife might not agree with me, but I think my balance point between risk and safety is fairly conservative.

 

[afka_bob]

If "pushing the envelope" is anything like pushing papers, I'm an expert. I do a lot of what I do outdoors to relax. I guess that's because I push enough papers and envelopes all week, I don't want to do that on my time.

 

[dougbear]

afka_bob,
For me, pushing the envelope means things like progressing from 8-mile day hikes to 20-mile day hikes. We've done about all the short-hike 4Ks. I, and the friends I hike with, will have to either increase the pace a little or get used to the dark.
But, failing to notice the snowshoe hare at the edge of the path just isn't an option.

 

[DeadFred]

JimB,

Your second and third paragraphs are one of the most succinct and dead-on explanations I have read about why people like us do what we do. (Except I don't have kids yet.)

Well said!

And yes to Bob Dylan , Carole and Dougbear too.

 

[Michael M]

my 20- something children !!!

JimB

Wow and I thought I had a lotto kids!!

Michael CM

 

[JimB]

20-something

I really only have 5 children. 4 are 20-something. One is 17

 

[BrentD22]

The risk and the feeling!

I have to be honest. Before reading about the deaths this year I hiked in winter partly do to the adventure of the elements vs. me. Yes the RISK. It made me feel like I can do something, that I didn't get hurt or worst, it gave me the feeling of accomplishment with something in my way. In this case the weather.

The other reason and probably the more important one for me is how I love to be out there in the snow up above tree line by myself. The be somewhere on some days that there may not be another person above tree line for miles. Although it's tuff to say because the fog usually makes you feel alone in a group. There is no feeling like being above 4000 alone, windy, snowing, freezing fog and to stop in the middle of intense thought about your next step and say WOW HOLLY SH*T I'M DOING THIS!

I will miss being up there alone. As I metioned in another post I've promised my wife no more solo winter hiking. Prefferably a group of 4, but at least one other experianced hiker.

I've been on SR mission and for some reason never learned from other solo hikers mistakes. After this winter, seeing too many experianced hikers die it humbles me. It reminds me that I have a family that depends on me.

 

[Michael M]

Safe Play the Game

Carole

Many would agree that it is the active management of risk that has the most allure. By reducing risk to statistically safe levels we feel not only rationally sane but also empowered to navigate varied challenges - - safe play.
This ‘game” requires often much of the “right stuff” We must master many crafts, use our senses intelligently and posses great self-knowledge. We must also have courage to see/know the fine line where prudence ends and cowardice begins.

I think we make too much noise about the risk of winter hiking. While we have all done foolish things in our life, it is rare the true fool. The recognition of this minimal risk and its attenuation to near zero levels is one reason why hiking is so popular and satisfying.

The Russian roulette of taking chances is another game altogether. While it may have strong appeal, it is always flawed by the self-knowledge that one behaved foolishly
for a cheap thrill. There is always plenty of excitement in seeing/knowing the difference between real and perceived danger.
IMHO When you subscribe to three or more sports magazines that have regular obituary sections you probably are attracted to the risk.

So since when is hiking considered a high-risk sport?

BTW We hike only in the winter because:

You can follow your tracks out
No dirt, bugs, or mud (this is important to the girls)
Its a good reason to snuggle up with strangers
You don't have to watch Football all day
No crowds or bears, so not only can you sleep with your food you also don't have to share it with bear or people.
You don't have to look for water
You can camp higher
You can descend on your butt
You can see which way the wind is blowing and if you are breathing
The nights are longer
You can walk on water the river and lake crossings are easier,
You can pull a case of beer in, and then put it down
You don't require your side arm for protection
Your food doesn't spoil and chocolate won't melt
Your knees are protected from the cripple brush
It rarely rains but when it does it is VERY Special
Your boots last longer
You justify your 4 wheel drive SUV to the Manhattanites
You are already in shape for the spring season
The woods are more anoectically sound/quieter
Less wear and tear on both the woods and your joints
The bunnies are not all Playboy ones

You don't have to bring ice for your drinks
You can always sleep in a hole without digging in the dirt
The spruce trap becomes the most deadly man trap and is equal opportunity
Ethanol additive are justified as anti freeze in all liquids
The weather is more exciting
You can wake up in the morning and have everything looks different

Michael CM