Winter Ascent of Wheeler Peak - Day One

 Saturday began the grand adventure: a winter ascent of Wheeler Peak, the second tallest peak in Nevada at 13,063 ft. I've climbed Wheeler Peak many times in the summer, including last summer with a group of moms and 7- and 8-year olds. But I've never been up in the winter. I received an invitation to join a group of mountaineers, and it didn't take long for me to say yes. I'm hoping to go to a high, glaciated peak in late summer and could use some more experience with the snow, cold, and high elevations.

Our plan was to hike about 4 miles the first day to the Wheeler Peak campground at 9,820 feet elevation, starting at the parking area at 7,600 feet. The second day we would summit and then return to our vehicles.

Five of us went on the trip, and it was the first time for me to meet them all in person. Michael and I had a similar hiking speed as we went up the trail. About half way we got our first view of Wheeler Peak. It still looked pretty far away!

Here's Michael. We talked some along the way, but the snow crunching under the snowshoes makes a lot of noise and makes it hard to carry a conversation. The snow had really changed a lot in a week, consolidating and melting and forming a crust. In other words, it wasn't very good skiing snow, but fortunately it was fine for snowshoeing.

So what do you need for a two-day winter mountain-climbing trip? I packed quite a few of the same things I had for when we climbed Mount Rainier two years ago. That trip taught me more than I thought it had about being comfortable in the snow. International Mountain Guides, the guide company we went with, has a nice gear list. I added tent, stove, pot, water filter, shovel and subtracted helmet, harness, and carabiners as our hike wouldn't be technical.

As we continued hiking up (we gained 2,200 feet elevation that day), the trees changed from pinyon pine and juniper and mahogany to white fir and then to Engelmann spruce and limber pine, with aspen mixed in.

When Mike and I reached the trailhead, we found Tom and Jodie relaxing. We discussed our plans and decided we would find a place to camp. Our desires: a campsite with a picnic table, close to creek water, and near a bathroom.

Well, we found a campsite with two of our desired things, the picnic table (can you see it buried in snow under the backpacks?) and some running water in the creek. That meant we could easily get water and not have to melt snow. We stomped down our tent sites with our snowshoes and then leveled them with shovels. Before long we had tents set up and the picnic table cleared. It was only 1 p.m. What next?

There was talk of trying for the summit right then, but decided that we probably wouldn't reach the peak until dark, and that didn't sound like fun. But we could go to Stella Lake and make a trail for the next morning's early start.

So Jodie, Mike, and I set out, going through the campground and over the gate that closes the campground.

We checked out the emergency cabin, but the snow is so high outside of it (and the door opens outwards), that it would take a lot of work to get into it (and it's locked). We could see the stovepipe from the wood stove and the wood stacked outside it.

Right next to it is the Wheeler Peak Snotel site, where we had checked on temperature before even starting the trip. The previous two days, it had warmed up to 50 degrees in the campground!

Some skiers had already traveled this way (I'm guessing the previous Wednesday, when I had seen their tracks lower on the mountain). These tracks made it so much easier, as the they had compacted the snow so we didn't sink in as much. Usually snow shoers try to stay off ski tracks, as it really messes them up for other skiers, but with the very limited use up here, we used them.

Before long we got to Stella Lake. See the lake? Ha, it's totally covered with snow! The ski tracks went right across the lake and up the gully, which is the route we wanted to take the next morning.

We enjoyed the beautiful day for awhile, soaking in the sunshine and quiet. Eventually the shadows grew long and we decided we should head back to camp.

Our snowy abode for the night was peaceful, we were the only ones in the campground.

Even though it was only a little bit after 4 p.m., we decided to eat dinner. Soon a bunch of little stoves were going. After I ate my food, I warmed up some water to put into a Nalgene bottle to keep my feet warm at night. That worked great!

We joked that the next time we came up we should bring some hot dogs, as the grill was above the snow! For now, they kept the snowshoes dry.

I didn't really want to go to bed at 5 p.m., even if we were getting up at 3:30 a.m. the next morning, so I wandered around the campground for a little bit with Mike. It was a good way to get warm before climbing into the sleeping bag. I also called my family--it's amazing to have cell service there. It was kind of tempting to just hike down the mountain and go join them in the warm house. But instead I climbed into my sleeping bag along with all my water bottles (so they wouldn't freeze) and various clothing (so it would be warm in the morning), and went to sleep.

The next day would be the big adventure...

It Finally Snowed!

 And we interrupt the regularly scheduled trip report for the weather report: SNOW! It finally snowed on November 4. We usually get our first snow in October, but October was unseasonably warm. I am so glad to see the snow, it's another great reason to slow down and take time to refresh, renew, and re-energize. Plus it's so beautiful!

I had to pull over on my way home from work and take some photos of the beautiful snow-covered terrain. It would have been a cold drive in that old vehicle!

Earlier in the day I walked with the kids and our dog to school. It was fun making footprints in the snow!

Then we had a little impromptu snowball fight.

Time to get mom!

The flakes were still flying as we found a nice supply of snow--and nearly depleted it from the picnic table in our ensuing snowball fight.

We're crossing our fingers that El Nino will deliver lots of snow to our area, but we're right on the line of where we may or may not see any effects. We've had several below average snow years, so it would be nice to have an average or even above average one for a change. So now I've written that--let's see if I feel the same way come February!

Second 2015 Snow Survey

 So right after we did the last snow survey, we had a big snow storm. Hurray, we thought, the mountains will be snowy again. And then it didn't snow. At all. For the rest of the month. So when we headed out on the April 1 snow survey, we knew it wouldn't be pretty. In fact, we didn't even bother to take skis. We had snow shoes, but it turned out we barely needed them.

The first site was devoid of snow. That made it take about two minutes long to do the survey, nothing to measure. Fortunately the second snow course had snow on it, although in the photo below, you can see the nearby hillside had melted out.

The lower snow course marker was in a bare patch, but fortunately we didn't have to measure there. We had been warned that we might have record low snow levels and to take lots of pictures. Well, the good news is that we didn't have record low snow levels. The bad news is that we were the second lowest in the 70+ years the snow survey has been conducted.

We weren't sure what we would find when we reached the third snow course. Turned out we saw our ski tracks from the first survey. I guess that big snow we got lower on the mountain didn't happen up higher. Seeing month-old ski tracks is not a good sight.

We measured and remeasured until the numbers agreed and found again we were at second lowest record level. Fortunately, that still amounted to about 40 percent of median. Not as bad as the Sierras, but still quite bad. Everything seems so dry.

Sometimes getting that snow measurement isn't so easy. Maybe it's a good thing we weren't on skis, it would be pretty hard to do this!

And if you wondered what the snow core hole looked like:

What, you didn't wonder? That's okay.

We finished the snow measuring before noon. We usually don't even get to the third site before noon. So we had a leisurely lunch on the dry grass in the sun. We took off our snow shoes, let our gaiters and snow pants dry out, laid back on our puffy jackets. And then we heard a noise. We listened and realized that people were approaching. But these weren't any hikers. These were super hikers. Complete with shorts and flip flops. We were impressed, hiking in the snow in flip flops is not for the faint of heart.

Giggling, we headed downhill, revisiting the sagebrush buttercups that like to bloom right after the snow melts.

We also found some desert biscuitroot,  a less conspicuous flower.

There's some rain in the forecast next week, and we sure hope it comes. The dry, warm winter we've had is a harbinger of wildfires, diseases, and pests. But right now it's a great time to get outdoors and enjoy!

First 2015 Snow Survey

At the end of February it was time to put on the skis and head up into the mountains to check how much snow we had. This has been done annually since 1942 along Baker Creek in eastern Nevada, and I've been helping the last several years. Usually we have lots of snow the end of February, but this year we didn't, so we were able to drive up to the Baker Creek Campground, which saved us a couple of hours.

We started skiing up the road and came across these tracks. Any idea what they are? (Answer at end of post)

Hint: they lead to a burrow under a rock.

At 8,000 feet we had enough snow on the road to ski, but not enough to get around the sagebrush bushes.

So we had to walk, carrying our skis. Not fun.

We found snow on the ground at the first snow course, but there was so little we had to put all the snow in the tube from the five samples into a plastic bag and do a bulk sample to weigh it.

The snow water equivalent (moisture in the snow) at Baker Creek #1 was 1.8 inches, or 36% of median (1981-2010). The snow depth was 10 inches, or 50% of median (1981-2010).

We did a quick group selfie.

Then it was time to head further up the mountain. Nicole with the NRCS office was doing this snow survey for the first time, but the rest of us were repeat offenders.

When we got up higher we found some nice snow.

But then we reached spots that were melted out and we had to take the skis off. It was a workout putting skis on and taking them off.

Fortunately the second snow course had more snow.

This is looking back up towards the top ski course marker. You can see the nice powder.

The snow is measured by pushing the snow tube into the snow. Often it picks up some dirt at the bottom, which has to be removed to get accurate measurements.

The snow water equivalent (moisture in the snow) at Baker Creek #2 was 5.1 inches, or 47% of median (1981-2010). The snow depth was 25 inches, or 61% of median (1981-2010).

On the way we passed this sign: Baker Lake Trail. Someone had added infinity miles. Someone else had added 2.7 miles. And someone else had written Turn Around. Fortunately we didn't have to go all the way to Baker Lake.

Mark on the ground! He's our best skiier. I fell eight times on the way down, so he was doing much better than me. Our snow conditions were constantly changing from icy to powder to a crust and depths from zero to over two feet. It made it a challenge.

Even as we got higher we found spots that didn't have much snow.

Finally we arrived at the big meadow with a spring channel along one side that is our third and last snow course.

The sign looked extra tall this year.

It started snowing on us as we measured. We were hoping for a quick six inches to cover all the rocks to make it a smoother trip down, but it was about a fifteen-minute dusting. The orange zigzag sign was for when they did aerial surveys of this snowcourse; an observer from an airplane would be able to estimate snow depth based on how many zigs or zags he could see.

The snow water equivalent (moisture in the snow) at Baker Creek #3 was 5.7 inches, or 43% of median (1981-2010). The snow depth was 30 inches, or 67% of median (1981-2010).

When we finished measuring, we geared up for the trip down (for me that meant putting on my snow pants in anticipation of closer contact with the snow). We entered the clouds for part of the trip down, which is a really strange feeling out here where we're used to seeing over twenty miles every day.

The data we gathered is used by the NRCS to do water forecasting. They just issued their March 1 Nevada Water Supply Outlook Report, and it's kind of grim. We're hoping for lots of March snow so that the April snow survey will be more skiing and less walking, and more importantly, the fish will have more water during the summer.

p.s. Did you guess what animal left the tracks on the road? If you guessed marmot, you're right! They are one of the longest hibernating animals in the world. They usually wake up in March or April and then hibernate in July, after they've eaten the tastiest of greens, but apparently there's enough to eat for at least one to be awake in late February.