Getting ready for the outdoors in the winter

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Getting ready for the outdoors in the winter requires a lot of gear

Backcountry survival
Getting ready for the outdoors in the winter requires a lot of gear
By Mark Morical / The Bulletin
Photos by Rob Kerr / The Bulletin
2003

Brand names of these items are examples. Other brands and prices may be available.
Rob Kerr / The Bulletin

Getting the gear together
Winter day pack: Salomon Raid Revo Pack, $80. This mesh adventure-racing-style pack weighs about 10 pounds with a pack cover to keep the pack dry and most of the following gear included:
GPS: Speik recommends the Garmin eTrex H, $100. However, a GPS is beneficial only in the hands of someone who has learned how to use it efficiently with a topographical map and compass.
Cell phone: Make sure the phone is charged before you leave, and always leave the phone on. Cell-phone tower pings can pick up the phone’s signal and location if you run into trouble.
Insulating pad: Sheltering in a snow cave without this brings risk of hypothermia, according to Speik. The Pro Lite 4 Thermarest pad ($85) protects from the snow. Rolled up, it fits easily inside the straps of the day pack.
Sunglasses: Dark, polarized glasses approved for altitude and snow fields.
Down hat: GoLite down hat, $30.
Gloves: Patagonia R-1gloves, $40.
Jacket: Patagonia Micro Puff hooded jacket, $215 (insulation layer two).
Jacket: Patagonia Jet Stream hooded jacket, $149 (hard shell, waterproof, breathable layer three). (Worn over Micro Puff.)
Shovel: Life Link Alpine Pro Model (also available with probes). Breaks into two parts; can be used to dig somebody out of an avalanche and to dig a snow cave, $47.
Bivy sack: By Adventure Medical Kits. A waterproof bag to crawl into that provides shelter from the weather, $30.
Compass: Suunto M3 base plate compass, $30.
Flagging: To mark location by tying to a tree to help searchers find a lost adventurer.
Head lamp: Black Diamond head lamp, $20.
Sunscreen: Placed in a small bottle to save space. A hat can also protect you from the sun.
Gatorade mix: Mix with water to replenish glycogen in muscles and restore energy.
Food: Clif Bars or other energy bars.
Water bags: Platypus or Nalgene water bags weigh one ounce and hold one liter of water. These bags stay flat and fit in inside pocket of a jacket, $7.
First-aid supplies: A small bag filled with large bandages, pain relievers, pencil and paper.
Repair kit and tools: Knife, tools to adjust boards and skis, small flashlight, batteries.
Snow-shoes: The MSR Denali Descent, $179. Sharp aluminum rails on bottom allow for side-hill climbing. Heel comes up to help climbing straight up hill.
Poles: Leki poles break down to fit into your pack. (About $100.)
Goggles: Lightweight ski or snowboard goggles.

Other items
Fire supplies: Waterproof matches and a fire starter can be combined in an adjustable propane pocket lighter. Remember, when a fire is most needed, the conditions likely will be windy, wet and cold.
Map: USGS or one from the Forest Service, $7.
Transceivers: Used to locate avalanche victims. They work only if both the person who is buried and those trying to find the missing person are carrying them. The device’s signal becomes stronger as rescuers get closer to the victim. Price: $300 to $400.
Probes: Long sticks, broken down like tent poles for easy carrying, that are used to probe the snow for an avalanche victim. Price: $30 to $70.
Shorts: Patagonia Capeline shorts, $38 (base layer). (Capeline is a warm, waterproof polyester material)
Pants: SportHill ATV Pant, $94.95.
Socks: Woolrich wool boot socks, $15.
Top: Patagonia Capeline top, $36 (base layer).

Surrounded by the quiet, white bliss of the backcountry, sometimes it’s hard to realize that things can go awry.
Even in a wintertime nirvana, accidents and injuries can happen. Extreme weather can settle in.

Whether skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling or snowshoeing in the backcountry of Central Oregon, it pays to bring the right gear.

Robert Speik of Bend, who runs the Web site www.traditionalmountaineering.org and has climbed more than 300 peaks in his 40 years as a mountaineer, has his own winter day-pack system for venturing into the backcountry.

“Most accidents with bad outcomes have been when people have failed to tell a Responsible Person where they’re going, what they’re doing and when they’ll be back, and failed to set up a time for that person to call 911,” Speik says. “The accidents with the best outcomes have been when people have planned for the unexpected by bringing a day pack with gear that is simple, functional and lightweight.”

Speik carries a wide variety of gear in his winter day pack. The pack includes the “10 essential systems” of survival, an idea Speik derived from the book “Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills.” The 10 systems include navigation, sun protection, extra clothing, illumination, first-aid supplies, fire, repair kit and tools, extra food, extra water, and emergency shelter.

Among the items in the pack are a Global Positioning System (GPS), map and compass, which Speik recommends backcountry enthusiasts learn how to use in combination before heading out on their adventures.

Layers of clothing are also included in the pack. Speik advises to stay away from clothes made of cotton, as the material “gets wet and stays wet” and can lead to hypothermia.

All of the contents are — or can be made to be — compact, so it all fits rather easily into the day pack.

A bivouac, or “bivy,” sack (waterproof sleeping bag) and an insulating pad are two items that can provide emergency shelter for a lost or stranded adventurer.

Shovels and probes, used in case of an avalanche, can be strapped onto the outside of the pack, along with the insulating pad.

http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071228/SPORTS05/712280472/1091/1091&nav_category=1091&template=print

Read many articles like this
in our daily Bulletin!

A suggested minimum standard media advisory for all backcountry travelers

"We would like to take this opportunity to ask our visitors to the backcountry of Eastern Oregon to plan for the unexpected. Each person should dress for the forecast weather and take minimum extra clothing protection from a drop in temperature and possible rain or snow storm or an unexpected cold wet night out, insulation from the wet ground or snow, high carbohydrate snacks, two quarts of water, a map and compass and optional inexpensive GPS and the skills to use them, and a charged cell phone turned on and perhaps an inexpensive walkie-talkie radio to contact companions. Carry the traditional personal "Ten Essentials" in a light weight day pack sized for the season and the forecast weather.

Visitors are reminded to tell a Responsible Person where they are going, where they plan to park, when they will be back and to make sure that person understands that they are relied upon to call 911 at a certain time if the backcountry traveler has not returned"

THE MISSION of TraditionalMountaineering.org

"To provide information and instruction about world-wide basic to advanced alpine mountain climbing safety skills and gear, on and off trail hiking, scrambling and light and fast Leave No Trace backpacking techniques based on the foundation of an appreciation for the Stewardship of the Land, all illustrated through photographs and accounts of actual shared mountaineering adventures."

TraditionalMountaineering is founded on the premise that "He who knows naught, knows not that he knows naught", that exploring the hills and summitting peaks have dangers that are hidden to the un-informed and that these inherent risks can be in part, identified and mitigated by mentoring: information, training, wonderful gear, and knowledge gained through the experiences of others.

The value of TraditionalMountaineering to our Friends and Subscribers is the selectivity of the information we provide, and its relevance to introducing folks to informed hiking on the trail, exploring off the trail, mountain travel and Leave-no-Trace light-weight bivy and backpacking, technical travel over steep snow, rock and ice, technical glacier travel and a little technical rock climbing on the way to the summit. Whatever your capabilities and interests, there is a place for everyone in traditional alpine mountaineering.

WARNING - *DISCLAIMER!*
Mountain climbing has inherent dangers that can, only in part, be mitigated

ABOUT ALPINE MOUNTAINEERING
The Sport of Alpine Mountaineering
Climbing Together
Following the Leader
The Mountaineers' Rope
Basic Responsibilities
The Ten Essential Systems
Our Mission

THE ESSENTIAL PAPERWORK
Suggested Leader Guidelines    Suggested information you should receive from your organized Leaders
Sign-in Agreements, Waivers and Prospectus     This pdf form will need to be signed by you at the trail head
Sample Prospectus    Make sure every leader tells you what the group is going to do; print a copy for your "responsible person"
Participant Information Form    This pdf form can be printed and mailed or handed to the Leader if requested or required
Emergency and Incident Report Form    Copy and print this form. Carry two copies with your Essentials
Participant and Group First Aid Kit    Print this form. Make up your own first aid essentials (kits)

ESSENTIAL PERSONAL CLOTHING AND GEAR
Why is the GSM digital cell phone best for backcountry and mountaineering?
What does Steve House wear for light and fast climbing?
What clothing do you wear for Light and Fast winter mountaineering?
What do you carry in your winter day pack? Photos?
Which digital camera do you use in the mountains?
What about Boots and Shoes?

YOUR ESSENTIAL DAY PACKS
What are the new Ten Essential Systems?
What does experience tell us about Light and Fast climbing?
What is the best traditional alpine mountaineering summit pack?
What is Light and Fast alpine climbing?
What do you carry in your day pack?    Photos?
What do you carry in your winter day pack?     Photos?
Why are "Emergency Kits" dangerous?
What should I know about "space blankets"?
Leave no Trace with Restop bags
Mountaineering blue bag, WAG bag and Restop bag waste solutions in 1985
Where can I get a personal and a group first aid kit?    Photos?

YOUR LITE AND FAST BACKPACK
Which light backpack do you use for winter and summer?    Analysis   pdf
What would you carry in your backpack to climb Shasta or Adams?
Leave no Trace with Restop bags
Mountaineering blue bag, WAG bag and Restop bag waste solutions in 1985
What is the best traditional alpine mountaineering summit pack?
Photos of lite gear packed for a multi day approach to spring and summer summits
Backpack lite gear list for spring and summer alpine mountaineering    4 pdf pages

CARBORATION AND HYDRATION
Is running the Western States 100 part of "traditional mountaineering"?
What's wrong with GORP? Answers to the quiz!
Why do I need to count carbohydrate calories?
What should I know about having a big freeze-dried dinner?
What about carbo-ration and fluid replacement during traditional alpine climbing? 4 pages in pdf
What should I eat before a day of aerobic climbing?

REAL SURVIVAL STRATEGIES
Why is the GSM digital cell phone best for backcountry and mountaineering?
FREE Clinic on Real Survival Strategies and Staying Found with Map, Compass and GPS together
What do you carry in your winter day and summit pack?
Why are "Snow Caves" dangerous?
Why are "Space Blankets" dangerous?
Why are "Emergency Kits" dangerous?
How can you avoid Hypothermia?
Missing climbers on Mount Hood, one dies of exposure, two believed killed in fall
Missing California family found, dad dies from exposure and hypothermia
Missing man survives two weeks trapped in snow-covered car
Missing snowmobile riders found, Roger Rouse dies from hypothermia
Olympic Champion Rulon Gardner lost on snowmobile!
Lost Olympic hockey player looses feet to cold injury
Expert skier lost five days near resort in North Cascades without map, compass, gps or cell phone
Mount Hood - The Episcopal School Tragedy
Mount Hood - experienced climbers rescued from snow cave
How can you learn the skills of snow camping? Prospectus

BACKCOUNTRY NAVIGATION
Topographic maps of the backcountry work with your compass and GPS
Why is the GSM digital cell phone best for backcountry travel and mountaineering?
What is a PLB?
What is the best GPS for mountaineering and backcountry travel?
What is the best Compass for mountaineering and backcountry travel?
How accurate is the inexpensive hand-held GPS today?
What are some good Central Oregon Geocaches?
What is the Public Land Survey Grid? pdf
What is the UTM Grid? six pdf pages
How do you use your map, compass and GPS together, in a nut shell?
How can I learn to use my map, compass and GPS?
Do you have map, compass and GPS seminar notes? six pdf pages

ALPINE CLIMBING ON SNOW AND ICE
Winter mountaineering hazards - streams and lakes
Is long distance backpacking part of "traditional mountaineering"?
How long is the traditional alpine mountaineering ice axe?
What about climbing Mt. Hood?
What is a good personal description of the south side route on Mount Hood?
What should I know about travel over hard snow and ice?
How can I learn to self belay and ice axe arrest? 6 pdf pages
What should I know about snow caves?
What should I know about climbing Aconcagua?

AVALANCHE AVOIDANCE
Young Bend man dies in back county avalanche
What is an avalanche cord?
Avalanche training courses - understanding avalanche risk
How is avalanche risk described and rated by the professionals? pdf table
How can I avoid dying in an avalanche?
Known avalanche slopes near Bend, OR?
Can I avoid avalanche risk with good gear and seminars? pdf file

SNOWSHOES AND CRAMPONS
Why do you like GAB crampons for traditional mountaineering?
What should I know about the new snowshoe trails
What are technical snowshoes?
Which crampons are the best?
What about Boots and Shoes?

TECHNICAL MOUNTAINEERING
What is the best traditional alpine mountaineering summit pack?
What is the best belay | rappel | autoblock device for traditional alpine mountaineering?
What gear do you normally rack on your traditional alpine mountaineering harness? Photos?
What is the best traditional alpine mountaineering seat harness? Photos?
Can I use a Sharpie Pen for Marking the Middle of the Climbing Rope?
What are the highest peaks in Oregon? Alphabetically?