Traversing on the Wapta Ice Fields — Canada. Photo: Alex Lee
Part II of the Planning a Traverse series: The Multi Day Push, provides insights for proper route planning and overnighting in a winter mountain environment for a point-to-point traverse.
In Part 1 of Planning a Traverse, we mentioned some key skill-building aspects to make for a more successful traverse. Most, if not all, of what we noted in Part 1 applies to Part II. You should consider slope aspect and what time of day you expect to be on exposed slopes, understand water availability, and be primed fitness-wise. Assuming all went well on your first full-day traverse, set your sights on a multiday traverse that will push your physical limits and technical skills.
The Alpine Start: Be Motivated Early AM
Sleep is important. And good sleep can be hard to come by on a multiday traverse. You want to be rested. It is also important to wake early and start the day. Alpinists are known for the eponymous alpine start — essentially waking at zero-dark-thirty, consuming liquid fuel and courage in some coffee, stomaching some facsimile of breakfast, and rolling out for an approach, or, if up on a wall, beginning to pitch it out. Same for traversers. Get out early and go deeper.
There are a few good reasons for moving at or near sunrise. Expect a solid refreeze overnight. Moving over refrozen snow can be fast. An early start maximizes your time on this type of surface. This can be key if you expect high temps and, like us, you wilt under an intense sun.
The other solid reason for early starts, which is understandably hard to do, is expecting the unexpected. Rarely does route finding go as planned on a multiday traverse. For example, a cornice or avalanche-prone slope may cause a delay or significant reroute. The early start buys you time to deal with the problem solving you didn’t exactly plan for, but you should expect in the high mountains.
Pre-coffee begets blurry photos. Get an early start. Photo: Brian Parker
If the tail end of the traverse is going smoothly, sometimes, and only rarely, it’s OK to break the cycle of alpine starts and treat the traverse more like a late wake-up call on a raft trip. Do so sparingly: you don’t want your partner dithering as the sun sets and hours to go until you locate a suitable camping spot.
Climbers/alpinists also have a tidy phrase that ski traverses should embrace, the “low gravity day.” A day when ascending technical ground flows expeditiously. A “low gravity day” is easier to harness on a traverse if your days harness all the available sunlight to cover ground— start early.
Hey, one more thing. If you are a morning person, as I am, embrace the alpine start motivator role. Your partners might begrudge the pre-dawn jostling, but they’ll love you for the coffee-in-sleeping-bag service. And choose your partners wisely if that’s not you. Someone has to motivate first.
The Camping Spot
Views are nice. Protection from wind is nice. Lower rather than high altitude is nice. A flat area, even a small flat area for a tent, pads, and bags, is required. Sleep is key for recovery.
This is a ski traverse; you must manage overhead hazards. Thoroughly assess potential camping spots for such threats via your preferred mapping app. And then, on the ground, ensure it remains safe from any possible collapses or runouts before fully committing to a spot.
Our preferred sleeping areas are protected, as best as can be managed, from prevailing or gusty mountain winds. This likely precludes high passes, cols, ridges, and exposed plateaus from consideration. If you can find a stand of alpine trees, consider that as a tent-pitch-worthy spot to crash for an evening.
How high? As in, how high should you camp? On many high traverses, particularly in the Western U.S., high altitude and acclimatization are things to consider. Usually, humans sleep better at lower altitudes— the partial pressure of Oxygen is higher. Sleeping low in the mountains is relative. For example, on day 1 of a 2021 Wind River traverse, we slept at 12,500′. Too high; it was a rough night. On day 1 of a 2022 Wind River traverse, where we began on the southern terminus, not the higher northern terminus, we slept at roughly 9,500′. So much better. We planned the route to hit a high point of ~12,000′ on that first day to get a bump for acclimatization purposes but chose a much lower camping spot. On subsequent nights, we slept higher, which felt good, considering we could gradually build our exposure to higher elevations. As a rule, try to sleep low. If you must select camping spots at higher elevations, do your best to be acclimated before sleeping high, as a lost night’s sleep, or even mild altitude sickness, can ruin the traverse.
Choose a camp site wisely: look out for overhead hazards, seek early AM light, and flattish is preferable. Photo: Alex Lee
Circling back to those alpine starts, it helps to get a kiss of first light on cold mornings. East-facing sleeping spots are likely to get first light and its accompanying warmth. If an east-facing site is unavailable, west-facing camp spots have the advantage of evening warmth.
One last meditation on where you sleep — consider each spot carefully and how you might “escape” from the traverse. Which is to ask, does the camping spot have an escape route if weather comes in or something unexpected comes up? It’s something to think about, but don’t necessarily let it dictate your precise day-to-day mileage. Some places are remote and require a day or more to evacuate from. That’s, in some part, why we go to these places.
Miles and Vert
No real prescription here. We all come to this with different levels of fitness, expectations, goals, and willingness to suffer.
This morning, I was on the phone with a charger who punched across a high traverse in the Tetons with plenty of sunlight to spare. Forty miles, ~10k of vert, and big mountain terrain. For others, this traverse is a two to four-day affair. One thing is clear, the folks at the sub-11-hour mark carried light loads.
No matter how you plan for daily or total traverse mileage or vert/day, it is best to know your team. And accommodate the schedule accordingly if you are at high altitude. Some teams are known to frontload high mileage, while others space it evenly, and others schedule it like a jazz riff with some distance improv. For many teams, pushing 15 miles/day and ~5k of vert is manageable with ~35-40 pound packs. But again, some skiers get stronger as a traverse transpires, and others begin to break down.
Part III of the How to Plan a Traverse series dives into the gear, including fuel and water.
