Page 10 - 2000 AMA Millenium

Winter Mountain
I was one of the lucky ones that took part in the AM A New Year Meet 1999 at Norwegian Lodge. The ridge of the high pressure that brought cold, crisp, clear conditions on thefirst day was replaced by a series offronts that brought galeforce winds, snow and an abundant supply ofopportunities topractise winter mountaineering at its best (or worst!) for the remainder o f the week. Stti Macdonald - the meet leader asked me to bring my projector and my ‘Winter Mountaineering Skills Course’ slides particularly for the benefit o f the winter mountaineering novices on the meet. Time was at a premium - with the bar at Clenmore Lodge less than a kilometre up the road! - and so there was only one occasion during the week when we rigged up the projector and screen. The few slides I did show promoted discussion which ended by my being asked to produce notes summarising the four areas of winter mountaineering, namely: Tactics,Risks,PreparationsandSkillsthatItrytocoverduringthewinterskillscoursesIorganise.Sohere,forthebenefitofthoseonthatAMA meet and others, are those notes.
TACTICS
These include - Flexibility, Accommodation, Starting time, Route choice and W ritten Message.
Flexibility
The key to a successful day. Always keep an open mind and be prepared to modify your plans. Keep risk to a minimum and thus enjoyment to a maximum. If weather is persistently cold - keep low, if mild - go high. Try to avoid visiting a new crag/area in mist. In thaw or blizzard conditions find something else to do.
Accommodation
Considerations:
• Maximise use of available daylight (especially December and
January) therefore stay as close to departure point as possible.
• Dry clothing will be needed each day. Changes of clothing may
be needed if no drying facilities are available.
• Valley accommodation possibilities - hotel, b & b, bunk-house,
club hut, caravan/camper van, tent or even car!
• Mountain accommodation - bothy/hot, tent or snow shelter.
Starting time
• Early starts are more or less essential in December and January when there are only approximately 8 hours of daylight available. • Travel (by car/foot) to base of route in the dark and be ready at
‘first light’.
• Try to be beyond tricky points of walk/climb - which could be on
the ascent or descent - before darkness.
• Remember that half an hour of daylight activity equates to about
two hours after dark!
Route choice
• Choose routes (walks/climbs) appropriate to prevailing condi­ tions and party fitness. If in the mountains for a period of time have a ‘training day’ at start.
• Consult up-to-date guide books, the internet and local resident hill-goers for up-to-the-minute information.
• DON’T BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW!
Written Message
Get into the habit of leaving a written message with a responsible person before going on the hill. (N.B. Northern Constabulary have a good pro forma for this purpose.) If ‘day visiting’ by car leave suitable message inside car ensuring it is visible from outside!
RISKS
The risks that you face may be many and varied. Perhaps the most important are Inflexibility, Weather changes, Avalanche risk, Protection on climbs, Descents, Hypothermia and Cold Injury.
Inflexibility
Perhaps the most difficult decision you have to make is when to modify your route to suit the ever-changing conditions. If you’ve done your planning correctly this will not be a problem to you. Be prepared to change your objective - it’s better to return safely than not at all!
Weather changes
• Winter weather systems move fast.
• Deterioration during the day may cause problems making
progress (up or down) hard or impossible.
• If deteriorating weather is forecast later plan a short day ahead
of it.
• Always be prepared to shorten your route or turn back.
A valanche risk
O btain avalanche forecast if one is available for your chosen area before venturing onto the hill.
If no forecast available stop at a safe point and make your own assessment by carrying out shear, compression, rutschblock or loaded column and hardness tests and respond sensibly to the assessment you make.
Protection on Climbs
• Winter climbs are generally poorer protected than summer rock routes.
• Take time to look for and place runners and belays.
• Check the quality of placements, e.g. ice pegs, dead-men in
shallow snow, camming devices and nuts.
• Always carry a few rock pitons to be used as a last resort - and
know how to place and remove them with least disturbance to the rock itself.
Descents
• Watch out for ‘balling-up’of the underside of crampons.
• Take care on steeper slopes - one rapidly gains momentum when helped by gravity! A little trip may become an uncontrolled fall. • If you are not wearing crampons take special care at the bottom
edge of snow slopes where freeze/thaw may have produced a
localised skating rink.
• Choose descent line carefully avoiding steep ‘bottlenecks’ or
convex slopes.
Hypothermia
This condition is when body core temperature decreases to a level at which normal muscle and brain function is impaired.
• Mountain hypothermia (aka. Exhaustion-exposure) is a state of serious collapse on the mountain brought on by (1) increased heat loss due to exposure to cold and (2) failure to counteract this heat loss by body fatigue, leading to exhaustion.
• Prevention is better than cure.
• Be aware of the debilitating effects of windy and wet conditions.
Try to eliminate unnecessary body heat loss especially by evap­
oration.
• Watch out for signs and symptoms in yourself and others in your
party.
Basic treatment on the hill - stop, shelter, sweet drinks and foods will often produce dramatic results if caught early. Re-warming on hill and/or evacuation (head down) may be needed if no response from basic treatment.