Joined: 01 Mar 2006 Posts: 244 Location: Boston area
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 3:28 am Post subject: TR (long): "...and that was my first mistake"
I debated whether to post this. I'm sure I'll get some abuse from someone on this board, but I think this kind of report and "after action analysis" can be a good learning experience. So here goes...
Background: I've been skiing for 30 years and on tele for 15. I patrolled for 5 (alpine) and have first aid, avy awareness and mountaineering training along with reasonably extensive backpacking experience... but I'm a novice backcountry skiier. I went out on Saturday for a 6 mile tour in the Cardigan Mt., NH area; up Dukes Ski Trail to Firescrew summit, over to Cardigan summit and back down the Alexandria Ski trail. All researched in Goodman's book, studied on my USGS topo and, on the morning of the tour, on the AMC's trail map. I'm taking my new school rig out for the first time; Atomic Dirans (106-72-97), BD 03s, Garmont Synergies, BD skins, Gregory Targhee pack, shovel, probe, stove and assorted old backpacking and skiing accessories. I measure 20" of snow in sheltered areas.
The day is nice; scattered clouds and about 10 to start. Highs expected to be in the 20s. I'm out three days after a reported 18" dump over an abbysmal early season base. It's me and Lily, my 23-month old yellow Lab. She regularly accompanies me on trail runs, XC ski outings and the occasional MTB ride.
We get our AMC map and head up the trail shortly after 8AM. We follow tracks up through the trees to the thinly gladed area near the Firescrew summit where things get crusty (it's been cold since the snow but wind and sun have taken their toll on the snowpack). Still, the going is easy. I follow the tracks into trees where they end. A steep blazed trail leads up from there. It's not skinnable so I pack the skiis and try to hike; no dice. Snow's too deep. My AMC and USGS maps show only one trail from summit to summit so I'm stumped. I rip my skins and prepare to descend the way I came.
Then Lily starts barking and I look up to see another pinner coming up a trail (but not the way I came). I can't get Lily to chill and I'm a bit embarassed by her behavior. She's usually friendly and pretty mellow. As the skiier approaches, I lead by commenting that I couldn't get through the trail to Cardigan summit. He replies by telling me there's another trail. So I ask "are you familiar with the area?" He says "yes" so I said "cool, I'll follow you then." I took one stride forward, realized I didn't have skins on and said, "oh, I already took my skins off so I guess I'll follow your tracks." He took off, as far as I remember, without a word.
So that was my first mistake.
I reskinned and followed him, bushwhacking through some trees. It opened up quickly and I saw a cairn or two as I followed his tracks. As the tracks got up on the exposed summit, they became pretty tough to follow; it was too firm up there. But I followed the occasional scrape and edge-set. Both summits are bare granite. I looked over to Cardigan and couldn't imagine how I'd ski over to that summit. I guessed the ski trail must traverse somewhat below the ridge where snow cover could hold. When I lost the trail completely, I say the guy putting his pack back on after ripping skins. He did a couple of quick tele turns and disappeared. So I followed. Judging by his tracks, he was clearly a better skiier than I am, but I wasn't put out by the skiing either. the track lead around some rocks and through some trees. I wiped out when a ski went under a submerged branch that he'd skiied right over. My 106mm tips weren't quite up to the job.
I took photos along the way. This is the last one I took before becoming preoccupied with more important matters:
Lily doesn't like this fracture zone! Snortly after this photo, we came upon a cascade of four granite steps. None had fractured like in the photo above, but you had to wonder. The track led to the right end of the first step where there was a ~5ft drop. I hopped off to a nicely cushioned landing.
This was my second mistake.
I'd never asked Lily to negotiate anything like this and she was not into it. She wouldn't approach the edge. So I followed the track along the base of the step (about 40 feet) to the other end where the steps became a nearly continuous slope, showing three quick turns to the bottom and traversing along the trees to the right. I thought she might overcome here fear if I were to keep going. I went to make my first turn and wiped out.
I decided that I should go back and get Lily. I dropped my gear (clipping my pack to a tree due to the slope) and struggled back up to the ledge. I had no purchase on the granite/snow and had to scramble up by going from bush to bush at the edge of the granite.
I easlily coaxed Lily to me with a biscuit (she's a biscuit-HO), grabbed her and lowered to the next step. Problem solved...
Not so fast. She wouldn't follow me across the step and down the next slope; she was now officially spooked! She walked down the crowned step about 12 feet and laid down. So I scrambled back down to my pack to retrieve her leash and tried to coax her with another biscuit. HO no mo; she would have nothing to do with my enticement. Now I was truly dicked. I couldn't get back up and I sure as hell couldn't get a 65 lb dog back up! And she wouldn't go down...
Now I wonder, was lifting Lily down the step my third mistake? I didn't really evaluate turning around before bringing Lily down. It would have been extremly difficult to get myself back up, but bringing the dog down committed me to the descent.
Now how to get the dog. I was slipping on the granite on my traverses and was not eager to go over the crown to where Lily was lying, especially in light of the photo above! I needed som pro'.
So I scrambled back down to my pack for the 25' of utility cord and back up where I tied it to the only available anchor; a bush not much more than an inch in diameter. Tied the other end to me and went down to Lily to clip her into her leash. My traction held and she happily got up and followed me, feeling secure on leash.
That was short lived; she still didn't want to follow me down the steep slope on skiiers left to my pack...and beyond. I had to grab her and slide down to the pack. ... one more step past the point of no return. Now there's no way to walk or ski down with a terrified dog. This looks like the last obstacle, but it's pretty daunting.
I figure the only way down is to clutch Lily to my chest and glissade down to the trees. So I strap my skiis and poles to my pack and slide it down the slope. My line is only long enough for it to go about 1/3 of the way. This is it; I grab Lily and slide down the slope. I overtake the pack and give it a nudge. The slide's good, but with the granite under the snow, I'm not controlling my speed the way I'd like. It's feet up into the trees at the bottom of the slope! Everything's ok except that my new pack has a rip from sliding over the exposed granite lips. Given the situation, I don't find that terribly troubling.
Now I figure my "guide" is traversing to the Alexandria trail and I follow his tracks. It's a bushwhack slog. There's clearly no trail but it doesn't suck too badly...until the track heads up a drainage. I really didn't want to go up at this point. But I figured my guide knows the area and maybe there's a terrain trap we need to go over. I climb the drainage; mercifully the track resumes a traverse pretty quickly. We head across to a small clearing where I see the skiier cutting some nice tracks back down. So he was climging to hit a stash, not to get over to the other trail. Damn.
As he went by, I said "I'm just trying to get out of here now." His reply: "Have fun!" without slowing at all. I yelled after him "care to give me a couple of tips?" Gotta say I was pissed off. The guy was not responsible for me or my dog, but our (mutual) poor communication had resulted in me going off trail unintentionally and he projected a FU attitude about the situation.
So now it was clear; follow my topo map and forget his tracks. I went down and caught up with him ripping his skins. He offered that a hiking trail was right behind us but I chose to press on with the bushwhacking traverst to the Alexandria trail rather than to try to "ski" a hiking trail.
Now, without any tracks to follow, the "skinny" skiis became more of a problem. I'd get tips stuck under branches or even under the heavy snow. Backing the skiis out was tough with a 65 lb dog standing on my tails all the time! I was tiring. Still, I had lots of water, food and light (and bivy gear just in case) and kept slogging on. Finally hit the trail and skiied down. Returned to the parking lot about 3:00. I did my four hour tour in seven. I'd left my wife with an itinerary and 3:00 panic-buttom time. Fortunately I had cell coverage on the mountain and was in contact with my wife so I was able to extend my time and wasn't worried about her calling SAR when I didn't need them.
Lily's none the worse for wear and happily joined me and one of my boys for a kick-and-glide outing the next day.
I learned a couple of important lessons:
1. Communication. I exchanged a few sentences with the guy I followed, but I didn't communicate with him. for whatever reason, I followed a guy who had an entirely different tour in mind.
2. Don't take your dog for granted, especially when one or both of you are new at this stuff!
I want to say too that my new Targhee pack rocks! Seven hours with a well loaded pack and I have to say I didn't even notice it. Damn that thing carries well! Liked the hydration setup (fitted with a Nalgend 3 liter blatter and "bite-me" valve). Worked like a charm and made it easy to remain hydrated. Clever design of the shoulder strap with enclosed tube kept the strap from becoming "rounded" due to the tube like many packs do.
soul bared. hope someone finds it useful and/or interesting
Last edited by CRASH! on Wed Feb 21, 2007 3:39 am; edited 4 times in total
Joined: 01 Mar 2006 Posts: 244 Location: Boston area
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 2:13 pm Post subject:
Naturally, I've been thinking about this a lot. This morning while working out, I realized that I could generalize my mistakes and that doing so would make it easier to apply the lessons in the future.
1. I abandoned my published tour plan. I never would have done this deliberately, but the skiier I followed never said he was skiing Mowgliss to Alexandria, so when I followed his tracks and abdicated route finding, I effectively deviated from my plan.
2. As "tour leader," I failed to consider the capabilities and experience of the rest of the party. I scoped the granite steps and hopped off the ledge based on my own comfort level and failed to consider retreat on the same basis. Lily's experience and comfort level were clearly different and I failed to stop and consider them. That resulted in putting us both in a difficult position.
The tour, as planned, should have been no problem for Lily (can't say for sure because I didn't ski Mowgliss), but even so, I should have been prepared to retreat at any time if it was in the best interests of "the group."
It's always good to learn your lessons with nothing more than minor consequences.
Maybe you shouldn't have followed that guy, but you had a well stocked pack, rope, and bivvy gear. That puts you head and shoulders above most of the people flailing around in the Whites.
Spooked dogs have turned many routine trips into real ordeals, it seems like you took away a good lesson there.
Whoa, good read, thanks for sharing that.
Definitely following someone, especially with no real idea of that persons agenda or personal feeling about you doing so was a mistake. His FU attitude the second time should be taken with a grain of salt, put yourself in his shoes. None the less with the seriousness of the bc position you may have ended up in or were in he should and could have been more helpful but I'm sure his plan as a serious retro grouch didn't involve helping someone out who chose to follow him.
Great way to learn a few things in hindsight, of course that is based on the fact that you are looking back on it without having had to live with more serious consequences for mistakes. You did good as leader making it work out for both of you. Kudos for sharing this story.
I'm reminded of a couple of incidents I saw that involved a ''tour' leader and a human who couldn't make it on the tour but were sorta left hanging. You didn't leave your 4 legged pal hanging so feel $#@^ good about that.
I'd say your only serious mistake was following someone that (it sounds like) maybe didn't want to be followed, and as you've concluded, deviating from your plan for the worse. Other than that you were well prepared, and you got out without harm to you or your dog.
The other lesson learned is that your dog doesn't have all the training and experience that you do. It's your job to teach her these skills in a safe and controlled environment (like you learned in). I've been slowly learning these lessons myself with my new dog. I've headed out for tours that I thought were completely within his ability and been wrong. Now I try to seek out challenges for him on walks and runs, so we can work together on him solving the kind of obstacles we encounter while bc skiing. Working him over drops, down steep slopes, through deep snow etc while still in our neighborhood is a lot safer than trying it out 5miles out in the woods. It also enables me to know his limits and recognize the body language he's sending me.
Joined: 01 Mar 2006 Posts: 244 Location: Boston area
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 2:44 pm Post subject:
jw wrote:
...
Definitely following someone, especially with no real idea of that persons agenda or personal feeling about you doing so was a mistake. His FU attitude the second time should be taken with a grain of salt, put yourself in his shoes. None the less with the seriousness of the bc position you may have ended up in or were in he should and could have been more helpful but I'm sure his plan as a serious retro grouch didn't involve helping someone out who chose to follow him....
Yeah, I recognize that all responsibility is mine and that I imposed myself on this guy. The fact that he wasn't interested in the simplest pleasantries should have tipped me off and I should have continued on my own tour. His plan didn't involve entangling himself with any stranger.
Thank you for posting this and exposing what in hindsight were mistakes. It seems you used the information you had and made what you thought were good decisions based on that info. There probably isn't a person on this forum who hasn't done the same at some point.
The things you did RIGHT probably saved your bacon: properly equipped (gotta get some rope...), had a map and knew how to use it, had a plan with spouse back home even if you did revise it. There are huge lessons here - again - for all of us.
Too bad about the pack. But gear is, after all, for using, right? (Forgot to ask my buddy what the cord lock is for. Doh! Next time.) _________________ A humble student at Fryingpan University.
...
Definitely following someone, especially with no real idea of that persons agenda or personal feeling about you doing so was a mistake. His FU attitude the second time should be taken with a grain of salt, put yourself in his shoes. None the less with the seriousness of the bc position you may have ended up in or were in he should and could have been more helpful but I'm sure his plan as a serious retro grouch didn't involve helping someone out who chose to follow him....
Yeah, I recognize that all responsibility is mine and that I imposed myself on this guy. The fact that he wasn't interested in the simplest pleasantries should have tipped me off and I should have continued on my own tour. His plan didn't involve entangling himself with any stranger.
I s'pose not everybody out on a solo is lookin' for dog-slobber (or worse) & 1001 questions from any yokel who happens along, eh? And some are actively out to preserve their semi-secret stashes on Cardigan.
The puckerbrush is extra-tight in those environs too- not the sweetest bushwhacking terrain. I can recall one Cardiganza bushwhack where I found myself climbing a tree skis-on-feet to negotiate up a bit of granite ledge and avoid having to huck a 10 footer in tight trees. But it's a gem of a place in good snow years.
It's also avi-country- the pitch on some of that bald granite is deceptive, the anchors are few, and the runouts generally unfavorable. I don't blame the dog for not liking the unstable snow- she shows good avi sense! I can remember turning back at least once on Firescrew rather than ski a mere 30 degree pitch in unstable snow. Be careful out there.
I s'pose not everybody out on a solo is lookin' for dog-slobber (or worse) ...
Awww, but I thought you were all dog lovers
I am, but I don't expect everybody to be, particularly in the backcountry. And to be sure, I like some dogs better than others (yours looks like a sweetheart though.)
And I also wonder about how much love it takes to leave the dog at home when heading into hazardous situations (like Tuckerman f'rinstance- you see dogs taking serious tumbles up there often enough.) I give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn't know quite what you were getting into on the Firescrew-Cardigan traverse, but it's not the sort of place I'd like to be searching for a lost dog, or evacuating an injured one. Lots o' crannies to disappear into up there...
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didn't involve helping someone out who chose to follow him.
And some are actively out to preserve their semi-secret stashes on Cardigan.
