Tikaboo winter conditions


Message posted by JB737 on May 11, 2007 at 9:00:30 PST:

Although my next hike will probably be up Tikaboo at an easy time of year (October?) via the "tourist route" driving in to Badger Spring, I have gotten to thinking of more ambitious things again........

Now that I know it is reachable on foot from Hancock Summit, even solo, I will probably give it a go during winter if conditions are good.

So I have a few questions for the locals:

1. Has anyone been up Tikaboo in winter?
Or any other high places, which might give me a clue to winter conditions?
2. When is it usually impossible to get to Badger Spring due to road conditions and/or deep snow?
3. When does it tend to get packed down into hard, climbable snow/ice?

I realize that you may not know the conditions at Tikaboo itself, during the periods when Badger Spring is inaccessible via car. But maybe the conditions observed near Hancock Summit would be a useful starting point.

I've done plenty of winter hiking/climbing, so I'm not worried about the technicalities of it, if there is plenty of hardpacked snow. Probably the worst conditions would be if it were deep, fluffy stuff that you can't walk on top of. Then you'd get brutalized by the unseen pricker bushes. So I would guess the best winter conditions would be in Feb/March, after it had a few chances to thaw a little, compress down, and refreeze. Hopefully the scree would be invisible and solidly locked together below the snow surface, unable to slide.

For anyone who hasn't climbed in the snow somewhere like the Sierras, the Cascades, or the Presidential Range in NH in the snow, I can tell you that hiking/climbing on refrozen snow is actually easier than on loose rock or bushwacking, by far. At least it is, once you have developed the skills and judgment needed to prevent getting killed, and have the supplies to deal with staying warm and well fed in the cold.

Bringing a stove, fuel, and a pot to melt snow in and cook/rehydrate dry foods (pasta, rice, dehydrated foods), is a lot lighter than carring in the equivalent amount of water and normal food for a multi-day hike. But between that and needing a tent, it is certainly a hike better done by a party of 3-4 rather than solo. Anyone else interested?


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