Dec 26-17, 2007, French Cabin Creek again
12/26/07
WA Snoqualmie Pass
4674
4
I thought that discretion should be the greater part of valor this week with all the new snow, so I went back to French Cabin Creek. A very similar trip to last week with only two snomos using the groomed route the day after Christmas. At 3100 feet I was occasionally sinking in up to knee deep on skis, most of the time to mid calf.
On Thursday I had a nice run back to the car before the snomos showed up, with light snow blowing up to my waist here and there. By eleven however, I was happy to be driving down the road. Not much else worthy of mention about the trip, so maybe I could write about at least starting out dry, and drying things out after setting up camp. This is the second week in a row where I've had to use the little tricks I've learned. After quite a bit of trial and error, I haven't changed what follows that much over the last 2 years, so I'm reasonably happy with it. This may all be common knowledge; oh well.
Starting out:
Starting out dry is a big plus, but it's all too easy to get quite wet just getting out of the car and getting the gear ready to go. Here's a fairly easy solution as shown in the picture below. I originally used something like this over the driver side door of my old 2 door Honda Accord. It's a 6 x 9 foot piece of 4 mil plastic with a cord through a pocket along one edge. The cord has little hooks that catch under the wheel wells. There are grommets on the two opposite corners, one of which has a loop of shock cord to attach to the door. The other grommet is used to locate an old ski pole shaft so that a little tent is created. Besides getting ready to go out of the rain or snow, you can also cool the skis down before you put them right from a warm car into the snow and risk icing up. And when you get back to the car in the midst of a snow or rain storm, it's a delight to be able to take off wet gear and pack up without getting further soaked.
Drying out in the tent:
Even if you start out dry, when it's snowing or raining heavily your outer layers will get wet, even soaking wet inside and out depending on how far you go and how hard you work. Carrying a winter pack requires a lot of extra energy, and generates a lot more sweat. Once the parka is covered with wet snow or rain, it does not breathe much if at all. The latest Gore-Tex will not solve this problem...
(the rest of this is here, all of it in fact: http://www.larryscascaderesource.com/weird/weird_files/dryingout.html I promised Charles that I would not plug up his TR space. :D
Larry
On Thursday I had a nice run back to the car before the snomos showed up, with light snow blowing up to my waist here and there. By eleven however, I was happy to be driving down the road. Not much else worthy of mention about the trip, so maybe I could write about at least starting out dry, and drying things out after setting up camp. This is the second week in a row where I've had to use the little tricks I've learned. After quite a bit of trial and error, I haven't changed what follows that much over the last 2 years, so I'm reasonably happy with it. This may all be common knowledge; oh well.
Starting out:
Starting out dry is a big plus, but it's all too easy to get quite wet just getting out of the car and getting the gear ready to go. Here's a fairly easy solution as shown in the picture below. I originally used something like this over the driver side door of my old 2 door Honda Accord. It's a 6 x 9 foot piece of 4 mil plastic with a cord through a pocket along one edge. The cord has little hooks that catch under the wheel wells. There are grommets on the two opposite corners, one of which has a loop of shock cord to attach to the door. The other grommet is used to locate an old ski pole shaft so that a little tent is created. Besides getting ready to go out of the rain or snow, you can also cool the skis down before you put them right from a warm car into the snow and risk icing up. And when you get back to the car in the midst of a snow or rain storm, it's a delight to be able to take off wet gear and pack up without getting further soaked.
Drying out in the tent:
Even if you start out dry, when it's snowing or raining heavily your outer layers will get wet, even soaking wet inside and out depending on how far you go and how hard you work. Carrying a winter pack requires a lot of extra energy, and generates a lot more sweat. Once the parka is covered with wet snow or rain, it does not breathe much if at all. The latest Gore-Tex will not solve this problem...
(the rest of this is here, all of it in fact: http://www.larryscascaderesource.com/weird/weird_files/dryingout.html I promised Charles that I would not plug up his TR space. :D
Larry
You seem like an old hand when it comes to surviving elegantly in snow. Could you give a run-down on how you dig snow caves? I'm looking for a good way to do it and stay pretty dry at the same time. Also interested in the engineering of a good cave.
author=skierguitarist link=topic=8648.msg34656#msg34656 date=1198975050]
Could you give a run-down on how you dig snow caves?
Thanks SG,
Sorry, I know next to nothing about snow caves. The last one I dug was in prehistoric times, just to see if I could do it.
Larry
I don't think (aside from magic) there is really a good way to stay dry when digging a snowcave. Tunneling through snow pretty much guarantees getting soaked. I usually just put my shell over a light layer, and then cinch down everything I can (hood, powder skirt, etc), and then go for it.
author=skierguitarist link=topic=8648.msg34656#msg34656 date=1198975050]
You seem like an old hand when it comes to surviving elegantly in snow. Could you give a run-down on how you dig snow caves? I'm looking for a good way to do it and stay pretty dry at the same time. Also interested in the engineering of a good cave.
One way you can stay drier is to use a snow cave combined with a igloo style front wall. Clean off the front wall of a roll over, then cut out blocks from the front wall. Then dig the cave and entrance out. Save one large block to go over the entrance trench. Then put the blocks back in and chink them together with snow. A snow saw is necessary for this. This method is much faster than digging a cave out.
I know that this method is documented, but I cannot remember where.
Justuncanny
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