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[The Angry Hiker]

I wish I had taken a photo of that lady of no particular nationality tumbling down the glissade chute with her trekking poles flailing around.

We had just seen them coming down the scramble in a manner that was making some climbers in the vicinity cringe, so the odds were in favor of someone getting a helicopter ride down the mountain.  But luckily, no one was hurt.

"Crazy Tourists Of No Particular Nationality on Del Campo

[limpyweta]

-unlike what I read in this thread, photographic tripods, from Costco to Manfrotto, will break if used as a walking stick, especially when river crossing

much more rare things, but important:

-Some game trails are more apparent than others, but there's some one shouldn't camp on.

-Some dogs eat Poison Hemlock, and some people, grown adults, eat Indian Hellebore, both can be lethal. Do not ever trust just a field guide of flora or fungi, if in doubt, report it. The Poison Control Center's resources are great.

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http://islandboundmedia.ca/current/current-videos.htm

Alec, flickr.com/photos/limpyweta

[coldrain108]

[Tvashtar]

Trekking poles work fine for glissading in softer snow.  Hold them together as you would an ice axe to brake.   

You can also glissade tripod style on your feet by holding your poles together, leaning slightly on your trekking poles to control your speed and maintain stability.   

In the right spring corn conditions you can just ski on your boots.  Remove your pole leashes; if you go down, toss one pole and use the other to self arrest.

Self arresting with a ski pole

Or just purchase a Whippet. 

An ice axe is overkill and unnecessary weight on most hikes involving some snow travel.   Poles will do the job just fine.

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"We are, all of us, in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde

[Stefan-K]

yep.

Poles are a great tool, but you got to know how to use them--and be prepared to use them correctly.

Slugman delineates how to use them properly for controlling a sitting glissade. Hold them the same way you would an ice axe: tip back, handle forward, tucked close, with one hand towards the middle of the pole as fulcrum and control for amount of pressure (drag/resistance) exerted on the snow.

For self arrest, as tvash points out, make sure you're not using your straps, because your hands will have to be prepared to drop to the bottom of your pole. Use two hands on one pole, using one hand to leverage pole upright or even angling towards the slope to maximize resistance and bite. Keep your pole as close to your body as you can to maximize weight transference, i.e. drag/resistance.

Mostly though, as pointed out, mental preparation is key to quick deployment.

Here's proof that it works:

Kendall ridge, W. side - 04.13.2013

slightly different conditions (slab, avi), but same principles as mentioned above in action.  You can see my ski tracks entering on the right hand side of the photo. I stopped under the rock not feeling good about conditions and contemplating the next move. Next move was decided for me as the snow gave out from under me. Without thinking too much about it my hands dropped and I dug in with my pole. Stopped myself within 5 ft.  You can see the drag mark in the snow lower right of center in the photo.


I also keep my poles in mind when in glacier situations, prepared to flip them horizontal should I happen to break through. Never had to use this one and hope I never do.

I'm sure there's other uses for poles as well... as long as you keep it creative. don't succumb to dogma...

[Malachai Constant]

I also used two poles parallel held in two hands like a kayak paddle for sitting glissades 

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"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn

[Critter]

This was a close call.  I hope this video works and isn't huge.  It looks better in HD but it might lag.

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www.critterstylebackpacking.net

[wolffie]

Put yourself in the position of the SAR people when your family first reports you missing, and how handy it will be if your safety contact has an email AND a hardcopy of your detailed plan, including everything they'll want to know, plus PLans B, C, & D.

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Some people have better things to do with their lives than walking the dog.   Some don't.

[Maverick02]

NWHikers,

I am a moderator from High Sierra Topix and spreading the word about
our New Search & Rescue HST Reconn Form which is named after Larry
Conn a member and friend of ours who died last year in the Sierra Nevada.
Hope you will use it and distribute it between fellow hikers so we can
possible save lives in the future.
http://highsierratopix.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10192

[hiker1]

Vancouver man stabbed while hiking on Grouse Mountain

North Vancouver RCMP are seeking a suspect after a man was attacked while hiking on Grouse Mountain on Tuesday.

Police responded to a call after a 53-year-old Vancouver man was stabbed by an unknown assailant as the two men crossed paths about halfway up the B.C. Mountaineering Club Trail, which runs adjacent to the Grouse Grind trail.

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Edit/Update Nov. 13

Grouse Mountain stabbing suspect arrested in North Vancouver

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falling leaves / hide the path / so quietly
~John Bailey, "Autumn," a haiku year, 2001, as posted on oldgreypoet.com

[wolffie]

ALCOHOL STOVE SAFETY
I just watched a nifty stove demo video
DANGEROUS FUEL HANDLING!  Open pouring from fuel bottle near a burning stove.  As lab safety officer, I would freak if I saw anybody doing that in the lab.  The unmarked flammable bottle is also a major safety violation -- you know what's in your fuel bottle, but it should be idiot-and-child-proofed; if there's ever a kid in your house, it will find your gear pantry.

Very nasty accident in Seattle Puclic Schools chemistry lab once -- 3rd degree burns -- teacher poured alcohol from a bottle into a watch glass in which the invisible flame was still burning.  POOF!!
It occurs to me that similar situations could occur with alcohol backpacking gear.  Alcohol flames can be INVISIBLE -- I've seen video of a  racetrack pit crewman on fire -- jumping around, aflame, no flame visible (alcohol-fueled turbine car?).
What I fear most is an unnoticed leak from a white gas stove, soaking the soil underneath, then POOF.
Boiling water is less glamorous but very dangerous -- leading hazard in academic labs -- I know of 2 nasty camping water burns requiring evacaution of children, one a helivac.

[hiker1]

[like2thruhike]

Kahtoola microspikes and ice axe saved my beacon on ascending and descending steep snow free hard duff on Union Saturday. Crazy how solid that stuff can get and how boots just slide off it.

[AR]

I can't stand the thought of having to carry those things.
Yeah, I'm just going to wrap that thing around and not harpoon myself in the process.

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...wait...are we just going to hang here or go hiking?

[mehitabel]

If you are planning to do trips where you might have steep  snow  or moderate frozen snow, you need to have an ice axe, and you need to have spent  a few hours on a steep slope with safe runout practicing self arrest from all possible positions, including backwards head first. My  Black Diamond axe weighs 3/4 pound and unless I know for sure the snow is gone or there are no steep places I carry it. Poles are no good for steep stuff.  And you need to have a leash and keep the leash on your wrist. Once when climbing I dropped my iceaxe onto a dicey slope and fortunately my husband was able to retrieve it or I would not have been safe descending. Now I always keep the leash on tight.

Poles are nice for  moderate snow, but on the other hand for moderate, unfrozen snow you don't need anything,  just need to know how to stop yourself by rolling so you face the snow and push yourself away from the snow while digging in your toes.

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toujours gai toujours gai