Backcountry Ski Trip to Split Mountain

Split Mountain, 14,053 ft.

Having done some reading on the California Fourteeners, I thought a winter trip to Split Mountain on skis sounded like a good idea. I want to reach all of the fourteeners in the state and having recently acquired backcountry ski gear I am always looking for an opportunity to get out and use the stuff! My friend Jason was on board before I even finished telling him the plan. Like me, he is always up for a winter trip where skiing or splitboarding is a possibility. We tried to get some others to join us but had no luck. Once again, it was just the two of us for another backcountry adventure.

Split Mountain is located along the spine of the Eastern Sierras between Independence and Big Pine. The typical driving route to the trailhead is supposed to take 1 to 1 1/2 hours on some rather evil dirt roads as you leave Hwy 395. After doing a little research we found an alternate route that may cross private land, but may not and SHOULD not have any locked gates. It is rather tricky to navigate unless you are very good with a map, and fortunately we both are. We made it from the Hwy 395 to the trailhead in a half hour and wondered what everybody was making such a big deal about. No other cars were parked there as this is a rarely used trail even in the summer, let alone the winter!

Jason points the way up the canyon.

Is it rather odd to start a backcountry ski trip when you are standing in the high desert. Dry brush surrounded us and it was warm. We would be heading up the South facing side of the canyon where there was no snow until we got up another thousand feet. Surprisingly the other side of the canyon had a thin layer of snow nearly down to where we were parked but it looked too thin to travel on so we hiked. Having learned how uncomfortable long approaches are in my backcountry boots, I brought a light pair of tennis shoes to start the hike in. I figured I would just leave them alongside the trail when I transitioned to my boots and recover them on my return.

We didn't transition to skis until we were about a mile or more in. The trail to this point is just as others had described it.....crappy! This trail has probably not seen maintenance since the Great Depression and it showed. The lower sections are rocky and often lead you into a thicket of bushes near the creek. When we finally had reached snow it was so soft that were postholing yet it was not continuous enough to ski tour. When we finally reached the point to transition to skis we were both relieved. We did notice that on the other side of the canyon (north facing) the snow ran much further below us. Because of this we decided we would descend on that side which meant we would not be coming back the same way. This forced me to carry my lightweight hiking shoes on up the mountain.

Jason lays down a fresh skin track on virgin snow.

The ski tour was very nice for the next mile or so. Gently climbing and following easy terrain was a joy. Unfortunately one look up told us the story of what was still before us. There was a large climb to the top of the canyon and from our maps it looked like we needed to go to the highest point. We began the long climb up, kickturning our way up the steep slope. As we neared the top it was getting late in the afternoon and the sun had dropped behind Split Mountain. This meant that the snow was now cooling fast and quickly went from a soft, easy to traverse slope to an ice crusted face. I needed to lead as it is easier for me to edge with skis than it is with Jason's splitboard. He followed my track on up.

We finally made it to the top and saw that we needed to do a long traverse along a very icy surface with a slope around 35 degrees. As I had been edging for over the last hour I was getting tired of this. I pulled out my ski crampons from my bag of tricks. Like crampons for boots, these are designed to provide metal spikes along the side of your skis when traveling in icy conditions. I had never used them before and was very glad I had them now! I headed out and was silly how easy these made this. I wished I had been using them for the last hour! The only downside was that they sound like a cowbell as they make contact with the ice. All I could think about was the Saturday Night Live skit with Christopher Walken calling for "more cowbell!" We needed a little humor to keep going this late in the day and that provided it.

We arrive at camp and view our goal, late!

We finally rounded the ridge on our traverse and saw what we had been waiting for, the headwall of Split Mountain. This meant we had arrived at the area we planned on camping, Red Lake. It was totally snow covered so we set up camp where we had some trees for a little wind protection and most importantly, a flat spot for the tent. Jason was not very perky and was ready to get camp set up. We got the tent set up quickly as it was already 5PM and darkness would be upon us within two hours tops. We got that done and anchored the tent very well with my homemade snow anchors, a tip I picked up from Jason. Jason then asked me what my thoughts were on having a fire? We were within the area we could have one, just barely, and it sure would make the cold more tolerable. I said I thought it would be great and he instantly got to work building a nice fire pit on an snowless patch just 15 feet from the tent. Before long we were getting water going on my stove and enjoying the warmth of a fire. There was plenty of wood around which was surprising with all the snow but we came up with enough for the evening without much trouble.

A campfire to lift our spirits.

It was finally time to take it all in. We were surrounded by immense beauty. Split mountain jetting up from Red Lake right before us and we were the only people up there to enjoy it. With a fire to warm us, we stayed up until a little after 9PM, fairly late considering we had up since 2:30AM to make the drive up. We did not want to start the climb from camp up Split Mountain too early in the morning as we needed the sun to work it's magic and soften the icy surface on the snow to make travel easier; and safer.

The night brought some fairly gusty winds but our well anchored tent did perfectly. The forecasted temps for this elevation were to be 10 degrees at night and 29 during the day. That night might have been that cold outside the tent but with both of us in the tent it was running in the high 20's which was not so bad. We both slept fairly well and awoke to a sunshine filled morning and light wind. We got ready to head out and were heading for the summit by 8:30AM. We wanted to let the snow soften yet still allow us ample time to reach the summit and return under good snow conditions.

Me at the top of the false saddle with the true saddle and summit behind me.

The initial travel was a long gradual traverse heading toward the false saddle above Red Lake. The conditions were very icy as the sun had not yet hit this area. Jason was still using his crampons with his board on his back while I was making good progress with my ski crampons. As we started to climb the final leg toward the top of the saddle the weather had turned for the worse. High winds were blowing down the icy slope, clouds covered the sky and the peak and the surface was wind scoured and very icy. Jason was doing OK in full crampons and my ski apparatus was at it's limit. I made my way over to the side of the slope where I could safely transition to full boot crampons and put my skis on my pack. I made it up to the top of the slope to join Jason. From the top of the false saddle we could see the path to the true saddle on the ridgeline before us. It looked even worse than what we had just done. Ice was now blowing with the wind gusts and pelting any exposed flesh. The clouds continued to build and no sun was anywhere in sight. I looked at Jason and said, "I'm done.....".

Jason was a good sport and said, "I can turn around at any time..... I just didn't want to say it first." Fortunately we both recognized the danger in continuing onward. It was already around 11AM and there was still plenty more to go. Getting caught on the summit in what would surely be extreme winds and very icy conditions is not what we had in mind. The descent back to camp was not going to be that great as the sun never softened the snow and it would be another long, icy adventure. We took some pictures and wind readings. The wind was gusting to 40 MPH and the windchill was hitting -8 F. With the wind transporting large amounts of ice crystals I felt like I was inside a snowcone machine! Jason walked up to the 12,000 level next to the mountain for a picture before we packed up and headed down.

Back at camp looking toward the summit.

The downhill portion was a little scary as the slope was extremely icy. I locked the front bindings on my skis as I figured if one came off it would travel 1,500 ft. below to the frozen lake as ski brakes don't work well on ice. While making a turn on the icy slope I had a wipeout. I slid for at least 50 to 75 ft. before coming to a stop. My knee was in great pain. Here I was, in the middle of a steep, icy and windblown slope with my knee in extreme pain and not knowing if I was going to stay put or begin to slide again. I laid there for several minutes. Jason was below me and stopped. I could barely hear him ask if I was alright over the wind. I moved a little to let him know I was not totally incapacitated. I managed to get my skis situated and continued on over to meet him.

My knee hurt but in the binding it was not too bad as it limited the amount of movement. We made it back to camp just before noon. The sky looked even worse up high on the mountain as it was now covered in clouds clinging to the summit. I took off my ski boots and put on my down slippers to limit the weight swinging on my knee. I took some pain meds and settled in for what looked to be a pleasant afternoon by the fire. We collected wood, made meals and melted snow and drank plenty of fluids for the rest of the day. I was upset we did not summit but relieved to be back at camp really enjoying ourselves.

Clear night on Split Mountain.

The campfire once again provided hours of warmth and entertainment. Heating liquids and drying gear was also made much easier with our blaze. As night fell the winds picked up again. We ducked inside the tent again around 9 or so. Many fears ran through my head that night. Would my knee swell up or be in such pain that I could not make it out in the morning? Would the sun come out tomorrow and soften the slope or would it be another hair raising experience as we either downclimb or ice skate our way out with the wind gusting and blowing us around with full packs. In addition, the winds that night were very strong and woke us up multiple times. There were occasions where the wind was actually blowing under the tent. We stuck the anemometer out one of the vents and recorded winds at almost 40 MPH but we had also had worse ones. We stopped as the ice being blown along with the snow was coming in the tent and that was not good. Jason made a very profound statement, "Our lives are in the hands of a couple paper thin layers of nylon and Chinese stitching." We both got a laugh out of it but it was true. Without a tent we would be screwed! We both were exceptionally pleased at how well the REI Arete ASL 3 tent held up to a full side-on wind. We did not even run all the guylines out, just the basics and it still held.

Clothing break on the way down.

Morning came and with the sun came the change in the wind pattern we were hoping for. The gusts were less frequent and much milder. We got up and were pleased to see lots of sun! We were not in a hurry as we needed to let the snow soften so we casually packed up and got our gear ready. We tore down our fire pit and put the black sides of the rocks down. We headed out around 9:30AM. The snow conditions were great and my knee was a little better, certainly no worse than the night before.

We enjoyed 4,000 vertical feet and nearly 4 miles of skiing back toward the truck on untracked snow. This is what backcountry skiing is supposed to be! I did have a few wipeouts as I am not accustomed to skiing with a full pack and I was a little timid on the upper, steeper slopes due to my knee but I finally got into a good rhythm. We skied all the way back to within a 1/4 mile of the truck  taking our gear off and hiking the remainder. I started the descent with 4 layers on top including a down jacket. We stopped a little over halfway down and stripped down to t-shirts as we were roasting! What a difference a few thousand feet and some sun make. I was so happy to see the truck after all the bad thoughts I had the night before. I was also rather tired from the long ski back down and did not bother taking off my pack for my first rest. I just opened the tailgate and laid face down on it and it felt so good!

The end of a great adventure.

I'm tired, I will rest right here!

Every trip is a new learning experience. Most of my backpacking has been where fires were prohibited but I must say that I will seek out more locations where this is allowed as it makes the time around camp much more enjoyable. In the future I will also stake out my tent better even if the wind is not blowing at that time as things change, quickly! Jason and I also discussed that perhaps our trips should be day tours to higher elevations and ski back down to the lower areas for the night. This will mean less wind, warmer nights and perhaps even some steaks on the bbq for dinner! All good lessons learned. I am eager to get out for more. I have a guided backcountry ski trip coming up in 2 weeks and I am sure I will learn plenty on that. At least on that trip we will be staying in a condo so no more frigid nights!

Click here for the complete set of photos for this adventure.

Skiing the Baldy Bowl

With the less than harsh January weather of Southern California, my friend Edd figured it was time for a Brunch on Baldy hike in the 70 degree weather. It is not often we get to climb up Mt. Baldy in the snow with such pleasant temps in January so we figured we would head out and get it done before the weather changed.

As I now have backcountry skis this would be my first ascent on Baldy carrying my skis up and then carving turns down the bowl rather than glissading as I have done in the past. The dilemma I was faced with was what to wear? Sounds like my feminine side coming out I know but as a skier and a hiker I am sometimes put at odds. The main issue I was wrestling with was the boots. Backcountry ski boots are designed to be walked in but typically that is for on snow and not all that far. While they have settings to make them flex and you can buckle them loose to make them more comfortable for walking they are still no comparison to a good pair of regular boots for comfort. I thought about just bringing some lightweight hiking shoes for the approach and then switching to the boots for the climb up past the ski hut. This sounded great but that meant I would have to pack my heavy ski boots in my backpack. Problem is they will not fit in my new ski mountaineering pack and I would have to bring a bigger pack not designed for skis. To simplify things I just went with the ski boots for the whole trip.

As this was a brunch hike I planned on having a really nice meal at the top. I had planned a menu with my friend Jason to include carne asada omelets with jalapeno-muenster cheese, fresh onion and green peppers and topped with fresh tomatoes and avocado. I had also recently rigged up a device for toasting English muffins over my stove and we would have those as well. We were both to bring stoves as I would heat water for tea and then toast the muffins while Jason cooked up our omelets on his stove and pan. I am getting hungry just writing this!

We were to be on the trail by 6:30AM which meant a very early wake-up to get ready and meet my friends before driving up to the trail head at Manker Flats. I had a voice mail on my phone and unfortunately Jason could not make it as he had been out hiking the desert over the last two days and just home at 1AM the night prior. Bad news for me as he was to have the fry pan and stove for the omelets! Fortunately I made a quick phone call and arranged a new carpool and borrowed some time on my friend Edd’s stove with fry pan as my new stove will not fit anything other than a pot.

We got to the trail head in the dark and met up with the others in our group. We set out at about 6:45AM, with me in my ski boots. The hike up to the ski hut was not too bad but my pack was heavy with food for two (except only I would be eating it) and all my ski and avalanche gear. The avalanche danger was exceptionally low but there was evidence of some recent slides so it was better to be cautious.

Making our way up the bowl.

We reached the ski hut in a few hours and the snow below it had slowed us down as we kept stepping through it. We put on our crampons and helmets and grabbed our ice axes and were ready to head up the bowl to the summit. Due to the soft snow the trip up the bowl was very difficult. We sunk quite deeply with every step and had to kick step all the way up. While I had the largest feet and sturdiest boots by far, I also weighed more than anyone else, especially with all my ski gear. This made the climb up rather difficult, but those behind me really appreciated the gigantic platform steps I left for them. We all took turns leading to share the burden of kicking in the first steps.

We finally reached the summit at 12:30PM. I can’t say I was starving (that takes about 3 weeks with no food) but I was extremely hungry! My English muffin and a granola bar I had 7 hours prior was not much to go on for such a climb. It was windy on the summit so we dropped off the top and found some shelter in a tree well nearby. It was finally time to get down to the brunch portion of the brunch hike!

My backcountry English muffin toaster.

I got out my avalanche shovel and made a nice seat to start. I then passed the shovel off to my friends. It is amazing how such a simple tools is so valuable in the snow. I then proceeded to melt some snow and make hot water for tea. With my new MSR Reactor stove, this was done with lightning speed! If you read my blog on my Mammoth ski trip you will understand my frustration with waiting for hot water from snow melt. I then prepared my apparatus for toasting English muffins. It was nothing more than some stainless steel wire I fabricated into a circle with a tail that I could attach to the handle of my pot. A little positioning of the stove to obtain the ideal distance of 8 inches between burner and muffin (determined the day prior in the comfort of my kitchen) and I was toasting. I shared the toasted and buttered muffins with the group as we all share on these adventures. Edd finished with his stove and I proceeded to cook up my feast. With the fresh tomato and avocado topping off my breakfast scramble I easily won the best looking breakfast award! I did share some but my stomach kept me from sharing too much.

Geared up on the summit for a quick descent.

With brunch complete it was time to head down. I mounted my skis while others prepared for the glissade. The snow was soft as it was so warm out. This is nice for glissading the steep slope but not so good for skiing. As we descended I enjoyed the upper sections greatly. Wide open snow fields were great for making big sweeping turns. It felt great even though the snow had the consistency of mashed potatoes! As we neared the ski hut I had a hard time navigating through the rock and bushes on the line I had chosen. Fortunately the others did not see my wipeout as my path narrowed and one ski went over top of a bush mostly covered by snow. Not only did I fall but I broke through the snow and landed in the bush on my back. I felt like a poor turtle turned over and had to jettison my skis and get myself out of the hole I was in which was made more difficult by my pack. I walked the remainder of the way to the ski hut, a few hundred yards.

Back at the ski hut we put away all our ice gear and prepared for the walk back down. Some were complaining of cold feet. I on the other hand had the reverse problem. My boots worked great at keeping my feet warm in Mammoth in near zero degree weather but at that moment in the 70 degree heat my feet were soaked from sweat! I guess it is hard to make a breathable ski boot that works well at zero as well as 70 degrees.

The hike back down from the hut to the trail head always seems twice as long as it was on the way up. I was tired and my feet were now beginning to hurt. I could feel I had a few spots rubbing and they were completely wet. Back at the car it felt so good to remove my boots and let my feet breath. Putting on my tennis shoes was so rewarding as I felt like I was walking on air!

I always learn something on these trips. Long walks in backcountry ski boots suck! My new stove was awesome and could melt snow better than anything else I have ever used. My toaster apparatus worked great and I really enjoyed the hot English muffins on the trail. As always I learned more about the wildly different experiences you can have on snow based upon the current conditions. In the summer this is typically not an issue. It is going to be dirt and rock, just like the last time. In the winter you can have powder snow, warm soft snow, slush, ice, corn snow and you can even have all of these on the same trip! Now throw in the variable snow depths and quickly changing weather patterns and you can see why this is a challenging environment even for the most experienced winter adventurers. I will keep at it and build my skills in a slow and safe manor so I can continue doing this for a long time to come.

My Foray into Snow, Ice and Mountaineering

As my day hiking adventures continue, I have discovered there is a whole new world out there awaiting me, snow and ice. I made my New Years resolution for 2010 to get more involved in snow and ice adventures other than skiing. I celebrated this by ringing in the new year by climbing San Jacinto Peak on snowshoes on New Years Day. Unable to stop at just that, I needed a new goal.

Over the winter I did plenty of local skiing and even got in a trip to Mammoth. While there I found a few opportunities to cruise the local golf courses in my snowshoes to get more familiar with them. I made a few trips into the local mountains of Orange County during our cold winter and found some snow up there but nothing that required anything special.

I had added new gear to my collection over the past year to prepare for what was ahead of me. I picked up mountaineering boots, crampons (spikes for your boots), snowshoes, mountaineering helmet and lastly, the icon of mountaineering, my ice axe. With all this gear comes plenty of learning. I did not want to be the guy who bought all this stuff only to die on his first trip out as he had no idea of how to use it. I needed some experience and some professional training.

A good friend of mine, Edd, who I met through the Orange County Hiking and Backpacking Club, was already a regular in the winter sports. Edd is an instructor for the Sierra Club’s Wilderness Travel Course and was willing to invite me to join him and some other mutual friends on a trip up the Mt. Baldy Bowl. After reading up on winter mountaineering skills and bringing my mountaineering boots, crampons, helmet and newly acquired ice axe we headed up for one of Edd’s famous “Brunch on Baldy” hikes which he tends to host year round. I learned a lot of the basics that day. The glissade down the Baldy Bowl was incredible (sliding on your rear using your ice axe as a brake) and I practiced self arrest, the act of stopping your fall through the proper use of your ice axe and body position. It was a great introduction but I realized I wanted….and needed more.

The beginning of May I attended my first professional instruction. I headed up to Mammoth to attend a course put on by Sierra Mountaineering International, or SMI, headed by two-time Everest summiter and worldwide mountaineering guide Kurt Wedberg. On day one, seven of us were joined by one of SMI’s experienced instructors for the Snow Travel course. This gave us instruction and lots of practice with using our ice axe in self arrest, ice axe travel across snow and ice covered slopes, roped travel with and without running belays and other general topics relating to travel in snow conditions. I chose to stay on for the second day which covered snow anchors and crevasse rescue techniques. When I asked how many other students would be staying for day two I heard nothing but silence. I was informed that it was just me and that Kurt himself would be teaching the class.

Day two was incredible. It is not every day that you get private instruction from a mountaineer as recognized as Kurt. We built different snow anchors all morning and set up crevasse rescue systems all afternoon. I learned a lot. I can comprehend plenty when I am interested in the topic and Kurt crammed in all the information I could hold. He was nice enough to take a few photos to help me remember but we were so busy with just the two of us that pictures were again not a priority.

You must be thinking by now, “Glenn must have something up his sleeve to put in all this training and effort”, and you would be correct. My plan is to summit Mt. Shasta, the northern most fourteener in California on my 40^th birthday. I have made such a transformation in my lifestyle over the past 3 years. If I am going to have my “over the hill” birthday then it had better be a hill with a 14 at the beginning of it!

Keep an eye out for my future report on a first timers trip up Mt. Shasta.