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thomasribiere
Jan 31, 2005, 5:11 PM
Post #1 of 2
(683 views)
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Registered: Aug 24, 2002
Posts: 9306
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After heavy snow falls last week, I decided Saturday to ski down a summit not too far from home. Elevation approx. 4500ft, a summit I know perfectly for having hiked on it night and day, summer and winter, for having slept under the tent for Xmas or under the stars in June.
So I check the weather report. -11°C at 4500 ft, wind 20 km/h, wind chill factor -25°c or so.
I take my snowshoes to walk up, my alpine skis to ski down, some hot tea, my warm clothes (windstopper, Polartec 300, feather jacket, hardshell...). The path is 2500 ft up the summit. I planned 2 ot 2 1/2 hours up, and 30 minutes down.
But, to make it short,
the snow was so deep (and the slope i chose for the ascent so steep) that it took me 3 hours to reach the summit,
the wind was extremely hard on the crest when I eventually walked over the treeline (I could hardly stand up, so 60 km/h or so),
I was out of hot tea,
I had cramps in the quads due to the hard ascent so I couldn't move the skis on the iced snow of the summit,
my fingers were hurting despise good gloves,
my lips were hurting bad (but still hurting!),
then when I reached the path under the treeline (just when the sun disappeared), the snow was very fresh and deep again, and the path to flat, so my alpine skis were useless, and after 2 hours of descent, I wa still very far from my car!
Then I decided to got to a big house I knew, where there are usually groups of kids during holidays and week ends, and hopefully there was a group this last week end. It was 7 in the evening. I was shivering because of hypothermia and exhaustness, I was breathing very fast and had cramps because of acidosis, I was maybe in hypoglycemia too (I had neauseas, I was weak). The group in the house fed me with tea, soups, then spaghettis, they gave me a hot bath after one hour, and as there was a doctor, they forced me to sleep with them (I had planned to go back home, but obvioulsy couldn't). The morning after (yesterday), they were happy to see me fresh and pink, as they hdd been frightened by my condition of the eve.
I learned that even low mountains can be very dangerous in winter conditions, I learned that the place you know the best can still surprise you, I learned that i should have turned back when my timing was fucked (but I was so closed from the summit!), I learned that the weather report was wrong and I should have noticed the large branches of the trees moving in the wind (wind > 35 km/h or so)...
I thank the group (an Evanlegist church) who kindly and heart openly welcomed me and helped me.
I was a moron, and hope I won't be one anymore...
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mtnbkrxtrordnair
Jan 31, 2005, 6:59 PM
Post #2 of 2
(683 views)
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Registered: Jun 11, 2003
Posts: 267
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It happens to everybody sooner or later. You misjudge the time, weather, don’t eat enough, or don't turn back when you should. I got hypothermia on a mountain bike ride. It started to sleet and the temperature dropped. I was on top of a big hill and the ride back to the car was all downhill - no chance to generate any heat. I was frozen when I got back to the car and it wasn't even below freezing.
But were you really forced to sleep with a bunch of Evangelists? - Dreadful!!
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