The lure of winter hiking

[carole]

With all the reports and discussions going on regarding the recent deaths in the mountains a point I have seen repeated a few times is the draw to winter hiking is somehow related to the risks. I don’t remember each incident but one in the Union Leader is an example, “'And, yes, the risks involved with winter sports are iniviting, too. "There are more risks, that is part of the allure, it's part of the attraction," Pelchat said.'"

Is the risks part of the attraction? For some maybe but I wasn’t attracted to winter hiking for the risk. There is risk in hiking in other seasons also but I wasn’t attracted to hiking for the risk.

I was attracted to winter hiking because I love hiking in general and didn’t like missing months away from the mountains I love. As I gained knowledge and experience I began pursuing the “silly lists”. The lure is the whole new season of beauty, the change in trail conditions from rocks and roots to soft snow, the crisp views above, below and all around, and much, much more. Yes, there is risk, but I don’t pursue risk, I pursue knowledge and understanding of the risks so as to make wise decisions in order to continue enjoying life and winter hiking.

 

[forty8]

Carole, I think this is very well said. I feel the same way.

 

[stoopid]

I was attracted to winter hiking because I love hiking in general and didn’t like missing months away from the mountains I love. As I gained knowledge and experience I began pursuing the “silly lists”. The lure is the whole new season of beauty, the change in trail conditions from rocks and roots to soft snow, the crisp views above, below and all around, and much, much more. Yes, there is risk, but I don’t pursue risk, I pursue knowledge and understanding of the risks so as to make wise decisions in order to continue enjoying life and winter hiking.

Ditto.

I have done everything I can, sometimes through 'learning the hard way' , to avoid adding undue risk to camping/hiking during the winter. To say that the risk lures me is 100% false. I was very skeptical about setting foot in the woods durnig the colder months because of the risk, and it was only through lots of gear purchases to ensure warmth and some hiking with experienced friends that I developed a level of comfort during the winter months.

 

[Mark Driscoll]

Hi to all,

I hike because I love the outdoors. I feel to truly appreciate the outdoors some form of solitude is needed. I do not feel you need to be alone but you do lose some of the experience if there are too many people.

I for one think on summer weekends in the ADK (and I assume the Whites) you are far above the numbers to feel any form of solitude. This is why I love the winter. I for one am not looking to die and I do not feel I am taking any big risk in the winter. The drive from Syracuse to the Loj is probably a bigger risk.

Mark

 

[bobmak]

I think risk is the wrong word, challenge is a better one. Not challenge as in "person versus mountain" but challenge as in "can I dig within myself to accomplish the goal I have set". Knowing that success is available, but not guarenteed. The planning, packing, solving problems as you encounter them, it's all part of it. I too appreciate the beauty of the season, and the quiet and solitude of the winter; but challenge is a definite part of it. By the way, I am not a list person. I just enjoy nature in it's many forms, and enjoy pushing myself a bit.

 

[bandana4me]

Lure of winter????????

The lure of winter for me is: no bugs, less people, and if you start to get warm, you can shed clothes. Personally I prefer the winter. No rocks, roots, or stumps to step over. Nothing but a white blanket of snow. Best of all coooool temps.

 

[Mark Driscoll]

bobmak,

I think you have it "CHALLENGE". There is a challenge in all hiking but in the winter you can always see it right in your face. If you fail you look forward to the next try, if you make it you look for the next challenge.

 

[Barry Sr]

My lifestyle has never included making "seasonal" decisions.
I camp all year long, I hike, fish, & do everything I like to do whenever I want to to the point that I just change gear to be prepared for the elements and that's it.

I have had as many challenges in other seasons as well.
There is more room for mistakes when it's warmer though.

Don't forget "The Ride"

 

[afka_bob]

My lifestyle has never included making "seasonal" decisions.

I'm guessing that gardening isn't among your pastimes

 

[Barry Sr]

I'm guessing that gardening isn't among your pastimes

Having grown up on a farm, gardening is one of the things I loath. I did it for the kids when they were young.
It is not cost effective in my town due to water restrictions and links to sewer bills.

Anything in the woods or by a stream is my favorite.

 

[poison ivy]

Carole, I agree with you 100 percent on this one.

In fact, I resisted getting into winter hiking before getting into it last year -- mainly because I didn't want to spend more money on gear. But after sitting around for about two months waiting for the warm weather to arrive, I was going to crack up if I kept on waiting for spring. So the reason I got into winter hiking was really because I couldn't stand not hiking for so many months.

Winter hiking has so many joys -- beautiful views in cool, non-hazy air, butt-sliding down slopes, breaking through new powder with my snowshoes... the list goes on and on. The risk or challenge involved really isn't one of the reasons I head out in winter.

-- Ivy

 

[Couchybar]

I agree with the sentiment voiced in this thread. Risk is so much a part of everyday
life that I feel no need to compound it for its own sake. Winter offers extraordinary beauty and a chance
to enjoy familiar trails from a renewed perspective. It opens up new routes and
views and makes some objectives easier and safer than the summer travel.

I do believe that the discipline and skill demamnded by the cold make me a
better and safer hiker year round.

 

[Jim lombard]

The lure is the whole new season of beauty, the change in trail conditions from rocks and roots to soft snow, the crisp views above, below and all around, and much, much more.

Well put Carole, I agree! There is nothing quite as beautiful as the mountains in winter where sometimes the only sounds are the wind and the joyful burst of song from a chickadee.

Conditions today around Crawford Notch:
Trails are a mix of slush and muddy conditions

Mud Season is here, Yeckkk!

 

[rondak46]

I just like....

...showing really cool pictures to people who then tell me I'm crazy!

Mike

 

[Frosty]

I think risk IS a part of it for me.

I've said before that I'm scared crapless of roller coasters, and they typically are not dangerous.

But there is something about being up top, with wind blowing, facing elements that DOES get my blood pumping.

It isn't that I look for the greatest risk, because I'm quick to bail if I don't think it is safe, and don't challenge bad weather. I do believe that the mountains will be there the following week, so why chance it.

Yet...

There is a thrill of having survived. I remember once walking back over Norcross Pond, the wind howling at my back. Don't know the temp, but the frozen lake looked like Antarctica. WHite and desolate, snow whipping by.

And one winter night at Carter Notch hut when the temp dropped to 15 below. No wind, but freeze-the-snot-in-your-nose-with-one-breath cold. Squeeky snow. Can't say it was enjoyable sleeping that night, but it WAS exhilarating. More so walking out the next moring through a light snow. I felt so good I was giddy.

Part of it is challenge, as someone said. Make your plans, pack your gear, and go stand on a mountain top, king (or queen) of the effing world. Dressed properly, it isn't cold, except sometimes my feet because they don't make plastic boots large enough for me. It's almost like a military campaign, guerilla warfare style. Know when to advance, when to retreat to retrun another day.

God, I love it.

Frosty

 

[Silverback]

What Jim Lombard and Carole so eloquently said.

 

[JohnL]

Challenge or risk? Are they separate concepts, are they related concepts or are they the same thing?

I started off with the thought that challenge and risk were merely points along a scale related to my own competency. Such as, an obstacle or activity that used to seem risky is now merely challenging because of my increased skill level. But then I thought, I can still break an ankle now just as I could break an ankle when I was a beginner. However, my increased skill level would decrease the probability of this sort of mishap. So therefore, the risk level is decreased. Or is it? A broken ankle is still a broken ankle. It doesn't really matter how competent I am. There is still a cast wrapped around my leg. The price I would pay is still the same despite my increased competency. So it appears that competency does not reduce the risk; it merely reduces the probability that the risk will occur. So, these would seem to be related concepts. The challenge is the contest whereas the risk is the result of losing the contest. Or think of it this way; the game of poker is the challenge and your bet is the risk.

So, that being said, it would seem that the risk is there whether you seek it out or not. If we go for the beauty, the fun, the sounds, the cool air, there is no escaping the fact that there is some level of risk associated with what we are doing. Someone who is out bird-watching can break an ankle just as well as a speed hiker. Though the probabilities are different, the risk still remains.

JohnL

 

[TomEske]

WOW, this is getting deep.
For my own part, I go out in winter because of the beauty, not the risk. You know that MOST of the people you will meet are there for the same reason, not a spur of the moment "walk in the pretty forest" as you see all to often in the warmer months. It's the clear air, the great views, better chances of catching the wildlfe, and yes, I also go in the harsher weather because it's not something everyone does. I do secretly enjoy looking at peoples faces around the coffe pot on Monday morning when they ask me what I did that weekend.
However, I do know that there is some risk in everything we do. I also believe that being competant can go a long way to minmizing that risk. If I break my ankle, but I know how to keep myself alive and healthy while waiting for help, then I might survive while others may not. I also know that someone WILL come looking for me and will know WHERE to look because I have left a hike plan at home with return times noted.
I can tell you I don't go out because of the risk, but I prepare carefully to deal with it. I also don't have any problem with bailing out when things don't feel right.
A number of years ago I was out hunting in a remote area. I had spent the morning climbing and still hunting. Because of poor prepaation I had the wrong boots and my feet were soaked and begining to lose feeling, none of the usual tricks worked. It was snowing and building up. I soon realized I would never get off the mountain in my current condition. I found some rocks for a wind break, made a fire, and surveyed the contents of my pack for solutions. I had dry socks and plastic bags, so I put them on and eventually made it out, on time. Was I stupid? Of course. Was I competant? Well, I think so, at least I got out ok and on my own. I think the lesson is, I knew my limits, and I recognized when I was in trouble, then I dealt with it head on.
To be honest, I really wish there were no risk, but those are the rules we all have to play by.
Safe Hiking,
Tom

 

[jbreen]

I agree with a lot of the comments, but for me I like to see the same trails I hike in the other seasons in winter -- seeing how ice and snow depths can change the landscape; how a that usual trickle of water is now a column of ice.

As for the risk and challenges, I'm with Frosty. I've bailed on plenty of hikes because too many items (for me) became questionable (time, conditions, weather, me).
Though when I complete a hike, even when things go wrong, nothing beats that feeling.

 

[spider solo]

Museum of Science...Risk

Well this certainly seems a timely topic as I just noticed the Museum of Science has a new exhibt entitled just that...Risk.
I think that the risk, or the perception thereof, varies from person to person. What might be a dizzy height for one individual might be sought out by the very next person with no qualms whatsoever.
I think an analogy for the lure of winter hiking would be much the same as a 'moth to the flame'. It attracts us but there is an inherent risk that we accept as part of that allure.
We then opt to minimize the risk,, or our perception of it accordingly... trying to improve our fitness, skill level, etc.
One thing we have limited control over could be viewed as "the luck of the draw."
This season alone shows some of us will be injured, some will die and most will live to see another day... be it luck or skill.
For example in two separate instances this season each fellow goes out fully prepared, in their mind, for their winter adventure.
One carrying a full load of gear freezes to death the other traveling light with little provisions lives. Both said to be in excellent shape and both traveling within the parameters of what their acceptable level of perceived risk might be.
I could see why a person might report it as the allure that risk has for us.. for in it's own way it can indeed lure us in whether we think it or not.