As discussed in earlier post, I finally completed a dream I have had since I first visited Yosemite in winter... I made the hike to Glacier Point and camped out there this weekend.
The hike without skis is closer to a death march than a relaxed walk. Going solo like I did is stupid, with a partner you can share the load and move easier and faster. A night close to 10°F in a tent at that altitude is not much fun either
Sunset was a bust as some clouds moved in just as things started to get interesting.
Enjoy the view, I know I did!
Posted by Steve Sieren on March 9, 2009 at 5:26 PM
For some reason I keep getting a red X here showing up for the pic. The suspense is killing me.
How far a hike was it? Were you post-holing the all the way out there? Sounds like some serious work. Nice view from there, though. The pleasure and the pain.
According to the Rangers it is 10.5M each way. The snow was hard enough to walk on without snowshoes (so I carried the extra weight on my pack just in case I needed them further up the trail ) and it took just under 6h to get there and just over 5h to get back. I stopped a few times to chat with the 'smart ones' (skiers), rehydrate and eat.
I packed a 0°F bag, thermarest, tent (TNF Tadpole23), Jetboil (3 canisters), shovel, freezedry food for 4 days and a full set of winter clothes (used all but one layer). First aid/emergency, navigation and camera gear (D3+24-70+filters+tripod) completed the list.
I could of done without at least 10Lbs of the gear I had but I might have needed it if a storm had moved in.
If you ski I think you can cut the travel time by 40-50%. If you go as part of the Ski club trips you don't need to worry about 80% of the gear or food, but at over $100 a night I think I'll pass.
I don't think I made the most of the trip, I was too exhausted from the hike to concentrate on the shots and as I edit them now I feel I should have done more.
Enrique, after reading all your input here I'm sure I would have been air lifted out of there. Just reading this put my ticker on the red-line mark. You sure get a tip of the hat for making it there and back with all the gear intact, or is it all still up there?
From the looks of this image it does look like the weather was at least fair.
Paul, I did consider ditching some of the gear, but leaving my D3 up there would be littering
Posted by Derek Sedillo on March 9, 2009 at 11:56 PM
Wow Enrique, you did it! I have incredible admiration and respect for you!!! Even if you didn't get one shot, what an accomplishment. That is quite a journey and 'looong' winter hike at elevation. It sounds like you really planned this one out with all the gear you took along.
Please tell me how it was for you physically? Were you cold at all during the hike? Also you must be in pretty incredible shape to pull something like that off in the snow and cold. I don't think that is somehting my 45 y/o body would do unless I skied in.
So if you were to do again someday would you ski in instead? I have never x-country skied before. But having spent quite a bit of my younger days on downhill skis and then snowboarding I think I could pick it up without too much trouble. Any knarly hills/steeps to deal with along the way?
Thank you for sharing your story with us. Taking the road less traveled in the Winter in Yosemite is something I really would like to do!
I run 7 to 10km a day, 4 or 5 days a week, so my cardio is more or less OK, that said, I don't think I'm in incredible shape (I leave that to my friend Michael who trains martial arts 2 or 3 times a DAY!)... I still have a bit of a belly
Temps: on the move you get really hot really fast, when you stop you get cold really fast. At sunrise/set while you photograph it is brutally cold, layers are the key. I hiked in a base layer (long john type ski pants and a fast dry long sleeve top) and added a layer of fleece and then a shell at night. I think I was lucky that it was calm and sunny.
The route: I plan on paying more attention next time I drive it, that's for sure!!!!
It starts with a gentle raise to summit meadow, then it drops gently to Bridal Veil Creek Meadow, after the trail head for Horizon Ridge you reach what I now call Hamburger Hill as it will grind your legs for 3.5 miles (estimated looking at map) while not very steep it is looooong, all the way up to the Sentinel Done/Taft Point trail heads (BTW this is also the highest point of the hike). After that it is a fast drop through switchbacks to GP.
The way back is kinder on the legs once you get the GP/Washburn switchbacks out of the way as it is mostly downhill from there up to past Bridalveil Creek maybe 3 miles from the end... and the nice touch is that you end the hike down hill to the parking lot
If I ever do this again I will most certainly ski.
A famous Spanish soccer coach during a really bad season was quoted saying that after every Sunday game he wanted to fire all the players, by Tuesday in training, he would start considering using a couple of them again, by Thursday half the team was back and on Sunday the same SOBs would be on the pitch.
So now I tell myself that never again... by Summer I'll be planing again and next winter I'll be glued to the weather pages and the sierra webcams.
Matter of fact, I think I'll go up to Tahoe (I have some 'bones to pick' with a couple of vistas there) and get some xcountry skiing experience and train a bit harder over the summer/fall to get ready for next winter... maybe a longer stay at the top.
If I repeat this out loud my wife has instructions to slap some sense back in to me.
Good job. No pain, no memories.
Now you can consider a 1/2 dome or north dome hike in the snow... Yikes.
Next time you need to do that stuff with some support people either with you or having an easier week-end down there, in case you hit a snag. Yosemite winter weather kills climbers every so often. Gotta be a little careful.
Discussion
12 repliesThe hike without skis is closer to a death march than a relaxed walk. Going solo like I did is stupid, with a partner you can share the load and move easier and faster. A night close to 10°F in a tent at that altitude is not much fun either
Sunset was a bust as some clouds moved in just as things started to get interesting.
Enjoy the view, I know I did!
try this link if you can't see the image in the post
I packed a 0°F bag, thermarest, tent (TNF Tadpole23), Jetboil (3 canisters), shovel, freezedry food for 4 days and a full set of winter clothes (used all but one layer). First aid/emergency, navigation and camera gear (D3+24-70+filters+tripod) completed the list.
I could of done without at least 10Lbs of the gear I had but I might have needed it if a storm had moved in.
If you ski I think you can cut the travel time by 40-50%. If you go as part of the Ski club trips you don't need to worry about 80% of the gear or food, but at over $100 a night I think I'll pass.
I don't think I made the most of the trip, I was too exhausted from the hike to concentrate on the shots and as I edit them now I feel I should have done more.
From the looks of this image it does look like the weather was at least fair.
Please tell me how it was for you physically? Were you cold at all during the hike? Also you must be in pretty incredible shape to pull something like that off in the snow and cold. I don't think that is somehting my 45 y/o body would do unless I skied in.
So if you were to do again someday would you ski in instead? I have never x-country skied before. But having spent quite a bit of my younger days on downhill skis and then snowboarding I think I could pick it up without too much trouble. Any knarly hills/steeps to deal with along the way?
Thank you for sharing your story with us. Taking the road less traveled in the Winter in Yosemite is something I really would like to do!
Derek
I run 7 to 10km a day, 4 or 5 days a week, so my cardio is more or less OK, that said, I don't think I'm in incredible shape (I leave that to my friend Michael who trains martial arts 2 or 3 times a DAY!)... I still have a bit of a belly
Temps: on the move you get really hot really fast, when you stop you get cold really fast. At sunrise/set while you photograph it is brutally cold, layers are the key. I hiked in a base layer (long john type ski pants and a fast dry long sleeve top) and added a layer of fleece and then a shell at night. I think I was lucky that it was calm and sunny.
The route: I plan on paying more attention next time I drive it, that's for sure!!!!
It starts with a gentle raise to summit meadow, then it drops gently to Bridal Veil Creek Meadow, after the trail head for Horizon Ridge you reach what I now call Hamburger Hill as it will grind your legs for 3.5 miles (estimated looking at map) while not very steep it is looooong, all the way up to the Sentinel Done/Taft Point trail heads (BTW this is also the highest point of the hike). After that it is a fast drop through switchbacks to GP.
The way back is kinder on the legs once you get the GP/Washburn switchbacks out of the way as it is mostly downhill from there up to past Bridalveil Creek maybe 3 miles from the end... and the nice touch is that you end the hike down hill to the parking lot
If I ever do this again I will most certainly ski.
A famous Spanish soccer coach during a really bad season was quoted saying that after every Sunday game he wanted to fire all the players, by Tuesday in training, he would start considering using a couple of them again, by Thursday half the team was back and on Sunday the same SOBs would be on the pitch.
So now I tell myself that never again... by Summer I'll be planing again and next winter I'll be glued to the weather pages and the sierra webcams.
Matter of fact, I think I'll go up to Tahoe (I have some 'bones to pick' with a couple of vistas there) and get some xcountry skiing experience and train a bit harder over the summer/fall to get ready for next winter... maybe a longer stay at the top.
If I repeat this out loud my wife has instructions to slap some sense back in to me.
Good job. No pain, no memories.
Now you can consider a 1/2 dome or north dome hike in the snow... Yikes.
Next time you need to do that stuff with some support people either with you or having an easier week-end down there, in case you hit a snag. Yosemite winter weather kills climbers every so often. Gotta be a little careful.