Winter Ascent of Wheeler Peak - Day Two

 If you missed it, this story begins here.

Day Two. I slept off and on during the night, anticipating the next day's trip to the top of Wheeler Peak. The warm water bottle at my feet eventually cooled off. I tried opening a hand warmer to put in my sleeping bag, but it was too old and didn't work. So I tried thinking warm thoughts. Winter camping is definitely not my favorite, but it wasn't too bad. And then the wind started, making the trees rustle all around us. I tried not to groan. Wind meant that the hike to the top would be extra cold. We could face extreme wind chills. We could face icier slopes. Somehow the early wake up time didn't seem so bad, it meant that I'd be doing something and not just imagining worse-case scenarios.

Our plan was to get up at 3:30 a.m., but some others in our group were up earlier. After all, when you go to bed at 6 p.m., it's easy to wake up early. I wasn't exactly eager to get out of my sleeping bag because it would be cold, but soon enough it was time to get going. With lots of layers, we started snowshoeing towards Stella Lake, our headlamps on and illuminating just a tiny part of the landscape ahead of us. Soon we started up the gully above the lake, the skies gradually lightening. I had hoped for a beautiful sunrise, but it was just kind of gray.

Soon it brightened enough we could turn our headlamps off. The snow in the gully turned out to be wide enough I could switchback up it.

The wind continued, with gusts strong enough we would just stop and brace ourselves and wait for them to pass. The gully was long, but it wasn't that bad. The snow was fairly hard packed, so we weren't sinking in much.

When we got to the top the sun started coming out, making for marvelous landscapes. The lenticular clouds over the North Snake Range were a little alarming, but we weren't turning back.

Four of us took off our snow shoes. Our leader, Paul, continued towards the top with his on, while Jodie switched to crampons, and the rest of us chose to just wear our mountaineering boots. I had to do a quick patch on my heel, which was sore, but not blistered. (I've learned if you take care of hot spots soon enough, you can avoid the blisters.)

Then we were up and towards the peak. The summer trail is further to the west, so this was a new view of the peak for me. It didn't look that far away. We had already gained 2,000 feet and only had 1,200 to go.

The views were marvelous, and I stopped a lot to take photos. It looked like such a different place with snow on it. But I was a bit surprised by how much rock was visible, the winds had really blown a lot of snow away.

Paul, with his snowshoes, opted for the snowy part of the ridge, and the rest of us alternated between snow and rock, depending on what seemed easier at the time. I certainly learned during this trip that snow can have so many textures.

 As we climbed higher it got colder, and clouds covered the top of Mount Moriah to the north. I hoped we wouldn't be in a cloud bank at the top of Wheeler.

I thanked Tom for wearing such a bright jacket, as it turns out well in the photos!

We kept plugging along. You don't want to stop too long, it's too cold, so you just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I was in awe of the stunning views. The winter light certainly makes the landscape even more dramatic.

Finally I was at the top, catching up with Paul and Jodie.

We tried for a group shot, but Tom kind of got lost.

He really did make it to the top, as shown by him signing into the summit register. It was just barely accessible in the mailbox on the top.

Paul at the top. He had organized this trip, and we were all so grateful to be at the top. It was cold but gorgeous.

Soon the clouds started rolling in.

I couldn't leave until I walked the summit ridge, though, as some of the best views are at the end. The snow was hard packed and I stayed on top. On some other trips I've postholed my way to the end of the ridge, which isn't very pleasant.

The clouds actually made for really interesting scenery, especially with the sun on the landscape below them.

Jodie and Paul had already headed down. Tom was next, still in his boots, but with his ice axe out. Mike and I decided on crampons, and those turned out to be a great choice.

You can barely tell it's me, I had so many layers on! Three on my head, five on my torso, three on my lower body.

The clouds made for more dramatic scenery as we hiked down. The crampons allowed us to stay on the snow, which turned out to be a very easy descent, even easier than hiking in summer where you really have to watch your footing on the talus.

The steepness wasn't bad at all, and it was fun going anywhere on the mountain where we wanted and not being constricted by a trail.

When we got back to the chute, Tom decided to have some fun and started sliding down it with his ice axe ready to slow him down if he got going too fast.

The patterns in the snow were really cool.

And then I saw a pattern that made me do a double take. Was this an avalanche? It sure looked like it. I hadn't noticed it in the morning, but we had probably crossed right over it in the semi-darkness without giving it a second thought. On the top left of the photo you can see a crack in the snow, which might have been where it originated. It was in a spot that I never would have suspected for an avalanche, as it came from the side into the gully, and I thought an avalanche would just come straight down the gully.

As we continued down, I saw some movement on Stella Lake. Were those people? Sure enough, they were. Two skiers were ascending, hoping to find some better snow on the other side of Wheeler Peak.

We had started hiking from camp about 4:40 a.m. and made it to the summit in about five hours. We spent about 20-30 minutes at the top and then it took about two and a half hours to get back to camp.  I was ravenous and eagerly ate some ramen noodles I had brought along as extra food. We all packed up and made our way down to the trailhead, and I got there about 4:15 p.m. Almost 12 miles in 12 hours of hiking. The hard-packed snow certainly made travel much easier than it could have been.

Many thanks to Paul, who organized the trip; Greg, who invited me but then couldn't come; and new friends Mike, Jodie, and Tom. This was an amazing experience!

Paul at Stella Lake on the descent

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...

Acclimatizing to Snow and Cold

I'm getting ready for a snowy, high elevation adventure this weekend, so I've been trying to get ready for it by spending more time outside in the snow and cold. Last week I took advantage of the fresh snow and went cross-country skiing four times. Twice I went at lunch up the Upper Lehman Creek trail. I was the first one to break trail. I could see the old trail trough, but it was under about 15 inches of fresh powder, so I got a good workout.

I went up from the trailhead 30 minutes, then turned around and skied down my tracks--it only took 12 minutes and was beautiful.

The next day I convinced my co-worker Brooke to come along. We followed my tracks the following day, which had been enhanced by two folks from Alaska who had continued higher. It was just a little bit warmer, but that was warm enough that the snow stuck to our skis on the way back down, making it a little frustrating. Nevertheless, it was great to be outside.

When I got home I thought I'd see how it would be to ski around the house. The roads were packed down and worked out fine. The kids gave a try.

Desert Girl especially stuck with it. She was stumbling all around, getting her skis twisted and falling often at the beginning, but after an hour she was doing great. We might even try to have the kids enter the Ely Birkebeiner on February 20, a cross-country ski race.

Next up was a before-work ski up the Baker Creek road. You can see my long shadow! There were snowshoe tracks, but I was the first skier.

It was so peaceful skiing in the morning.

Eventually I went past the snowshoe tracks, but I found plenty of animal tracks! The birds were also quite noisy.

Then it was time to head to Eagle Point Ski Resort for a Superbowl Sunday ski. It sure cleared out after lunch and we had the slopes almost to ourselves. It was warm, not windy at all, and the snow was great. We put the kids into ski school and my husband and I enjoyed a rare lunch date.

When we picked up the kids from ski school, they were eager to show us what they had learned. They did great! (They were also entertained on the ski lift by taking selfies.)

Another ski run all to ourselves.

Desert Girl was so tired, but she was a trooper, willing to ski until the lifts closed. We can't wait to go back!

And then this week has been some snowshoeing for work. Hopefully I'm ready for the big adventure. Whatever happens, I imagine it will be worthy of a blog post!

Hope you're enjoying winter!