teleskier
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The Trifecta! Excellent work...
Sledders on Winter Trails
- Thread starter John in NH
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The Trifecta! Excellent work...
sierra
Well-known member
If I didnt hike with my dog, I would try sledding for sure. I know my dog, he would maul me for sure if I used a sled.
Raven
Well-known member
That's awesome. Make sure it's very top heavy, cumbersome, and comes with a ludicrous price tag, and then it can also leave random mandates around the forest floor.
Can it be retrofitted with a (nonjudgmental) "lunk alarm" like at PF so we can all be warned when someone has not assimilated?
natron
New member
please be careful sledders, after last years fatal sledding accident at wildcat, I've seen lots of ski resorts change there uphill policies, most agree with no sledding or dogs on the hill at anytime, but some resorts have now become anti skinning/hiking pre chairs for boarders and skiers, because of that fatal accident.. if sledding fatalities happend on hiking trails, skiers/snowboarders/sledders may lose downhill access.... please be responsible and respectful to others by make safe decisions........
I remeber reading about that. Sledding on a ski trail has about as much appeal as sledding down Tucks. The thing that makes sledding a hikng trail work are the mounds of snow that help guide you. I am not sure what those people were trying to do, but we know how it ended sadly.
Mike P.
Well-known member
They will have to make some of the trails wider for that & carrying them up will be a B', I guess you could try rolling them up in front of you. (Man slips and runs himself over, women are too smart to do this...
)Since winter hiking generally is detrimental to summer hiking as the monorail from all that winter use melts last.... We're probably best following the hike your own hike rule.
Aren't sledders just extreme glissaders who don't want to ruin their G-Tex pants? Is it my imagination or do Everest climbers not wear snowshoes? (So if you can't afford snowshoes or training for Everest, snowshoes are not part of the gear list.)
In the ADK's the State decides how deep the snow is before everyone must wear them. 6 - 8 inches of snow is not hard to walk in without snowshoes, it might be if you're short. (On the other hand my son was 9 last year when we did Pierce, about 70 pounds with 8.5 boots. That's probably a better weight dispersion ratio than me in MSR's at my weight, with gear about 4X. It was a Sunday & neither of us wore them due to all the Saturday traffic. Don't think I sank in more than four inches, he floated over the top. )
Postholer's help break up the monorail. The summer hikers love them. This board’s membership makes up what, 1% of all the hikers, generously speaking probably....
That said, I prefer being in control & rarely slide & even less frequently wear G-Tex pants. Field must be the premier sledding hill, several long steep straights, below Avalon, it's almost banked turns.
It seems like an oxymoron to go out and brave the winter elements on the highest peaks in the northeast & then whine because someone else was out there just like you but with different gear. In most cases, we start with bigger dreams than gear lists.
I just recently re-told my December trip when a friend & I crossed paths with Darren & his new snowshoes. Since we had bare ground at C-Notch, we left our snowshoes in the truck. As we climbed it got deeper until there was a couple of feet. At about the 2' level Darren passed us. I did not know it was him but when I got back, he mentioned us in his report, 'two guys without snowshoes, moving okay, they probably made it.' By the time we got to the junction at treeline, we were done. The Webster Cliff Trail had one 3-4 foot drift at the beginning. We saw a hiker with snowshoes go over it & we decided that without snowshoes or views, the trail sign was the end. Even in clear conditions, you would have had to drag us up the last 100 yards.
Who's at fault in a sledder Vs. hiker accident? It's the sledder unless you're on a hill meant for sledding. On hiking trails, it would be akin to the rear end accident, the back car is at fault over 99 44/100% of the time. (Maybe if you convince the officer, your drunk friend loves giving brake test & his brake lights don't work...or the guy in front is part of a fraud ring)
They will have to make some of the trails wider for that & carrying them up will be a B', I guess you could try rolling them up in front of you. (Man slips and runs himself over, women are too smart to do this...
You're doing it wrong. I'm pretty sure you're supposed to carry a hand pump and inflate it once you reach the top of the ravine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMLTq8SGP7s
Tim Seaver
Well-known member
One of my favorite things to do years ago when doing ice climbs in Huntington was to drag our plastic sleds up to the the junction with the fire road, stash them, do our climb and come down Lion's Head, then jump in the sleds for a very quick trip down Tucks. About 6 minutes if I remember right. We used a a leash on the sleds to that if we encountered traffic, you could simply roll out of the sled and come to a stop fairly quickly. We would try to aim for late afternoon descents. Most of the folks we encountered would take it in good stride, even cheering and making cowbell sounds. ( and yes, I know you are not supposed to sled on the Tucks trail, thanks in advance)
Once in awhile we would encounter a person who would attempt to lecture us on the Great Dangers we imposed, but it was rare. Once a rather foolish dude tried to stop us from screaming by in an effort to impress his girlfriend, but was warned off with some rather colorful language before he got decked. Good times.
The Long Trail on Mansfield and the Burrows Trail on Camels Hump can also be great sledding when conditions are right. Coming down in the dark can be even more fun!
Once in awhile we would encounter a person who would attempt to lecture us on the Great Dangers we imposed, but it was rare. Once a rather foolish dude tried to stop us from screaming by in an effort to impress his girlfriend, but was warned off with some rather colorful language before he got decked. Good times.
The Long Trail on Mansfield and the Burrows Trail on Camels Hump can also be great sledding when conditions are right. Coming down in the dark can be even more fun!
buddy
New member
Clearly where the sledding is taking place has a lot to do with what kind of precautions should be taken. It's fair and reasonable to expect sledders to use extreme caution in order to prevent collisions with other users of the trail. The use of spotters in high use areas would be prudent, yes somebody has to take a slower more controlled run to warn others of the sledders approach, but people should not have to worry about being run down by a sled. Sledding looks like a blast and I may try it myself someday, but be warned, sleds will be band from some hiking trails, much in the same way snowshoes are required, after the first serious accident and that would be a shame. There was also some implied threats of trailside justice to be had if someone is hit. If I was hit I'd probably laugh it off if I could, If my child or pet was hit?
erugs
New member
Why? I thought the adze pointed uphill?
DougPaul
Well-known member
These are standard ways of carrying/using an ice axe--I was just pointing out some situations where they might endanger a sledder:
* When carrying (but not using) an ice axe in your hand, carrying it spike forward is safer than spike backward. (When hiking uphill, this points the spike toward an oncoming sledder.)
* When glissading (sitting or standing), you may put the spike in the snow behind you to act as a rudder, brake, or third leg. (This again points the spike toward an oncoming sledder.)
Some other situations, like walking downhill, would point the spike away from an oncoming sledder. And of course one doesn't generally have to worry about sledders when walking on the level...
Doug
These are standard ways of carrying/using an ice axe--I was just pointing out some situations where they might endanger a sledder:
* When carrying (but not using) an ice axe in your hand, carrying it spike forward is safer than spike backward. (When hiking uphill, this points the spike toward an oncoming sledder.)
* When glissading (sitting or standing), you may put the spike in the snow behind you to act as a rudder, brake, or third leg. (This again points the spike toward an oncoming sledder.)
Some other situations, like walking downhill, would point the spike away from an oncoming sledder. And of course one doesn't generally have to worry about sledders when walking on the level...
Doug
The spikes would be pointed towards anyone coming downhill towards you, not just sledders. I would guess that odds are if you are on a hike where you truly need an ice axe, you won't encounter many sledders, and if you do, they would probably have bigger issues!
DougPaul
Well-known member
Of course the spikes would be pointed towards anyone coming downhill, but the topic here is sledders.
Perhaps I should note that the spikes are pointed in the best position for use by the hiker or in the position that is safest for the hiker's party. The chosen axe position has nothing to do with the presence or absence of sledders, but sometimes it results in the spike pointing uphill which might be hazardous to an out-of-control sledder.
If one is traveling a route which involves steep terrain as well as a hiking trail, one might carry an axe on the trail. Back when I started winter hiking, trails were less likely to be broken out and it was common for hikers to carry an axe rather than ski poles--these days I carry one, the other, or both depending on the route.
Doug
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