Snow Travel Skills

The use of an ice axe and crampons is fundamental to not only the mountaineer, but also to anyone who wants to be able to move with comfort and safety in the mountains under any conditions. For the backcountry hiker this course gives the skills needed to safely cross passes and to deal with the mountain snowfields often found in the summer, especially after a heavy winter. Those mountaineers with ambitions of climbing the world's higher peaks will also gain confidence as we work through skills such as self-arrest, cramponing, and belaying on snow. .

Itinerary
We conduct this course at Ellery Bowl off of Highway 120 towards Tioga Pass, between Lee Vining and Yosemite. Here any number of late season snow patches will be our classroom for the day and hopefully we'll be within five or ten minutes walk of the vehicles.Since the snow is usually firm first thing in the morning we'll start with crampon skills and work into the snow skills as the snow softens.

During the day we aim to cover, discuss and practice the following skills:

• An overview of the various types of crampons and how to fit them to boots.
• An overview of ice axes
• Proper use of the ice axe for balance,
• Step kicking
• Step cutting
• Various techniques for ascending and descending snow slopes
• Self-arrest
• Snow anchors and belaying from them

Notes
SMC will provide helmets and group climbing gear. You need crampons, ice axe and a harness with carabiners and a belay device. Food and lodging are not included in the course. We do not rent mountaineering boots but Wilson's Eastside Sports in Bishop does. If you need boots call them at 760-873-7520. Please refer to the equipment list for more information.

For background reading we recommend the classic bible “Freedom of the Hills” written and published by The Mountaineers.

For lodging we recommend Murphy's Motel, 760-647-6316. Call for lodging reservations early as motels book quickly during the spring season. There are half a dozen campgrounds in the area too; the closest ones are four miles west on Highway 120, on the way to Tioga Pass.

We highly recommend that you spend at least one night at moderate altitude (higher than 8,000') just prior to the trip. Spending a night in Mammoth would do the trick or better yet, camped at an even higher trailhead, such as one of the campgrounds in Big Pine Creek for a night just before the trip. Glacier Lodge is also a good lodging option. Please refer to our Planning for Success info sheet for more info.

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