Akichow,
Most everyone who is rescued in winter is an experienced hiker. All you need to do is read the reports in your local newspaper. Michelle Yu was very experienced hiker who walked off the north side of Mt. Baldy with no map, no compass, no gps, no microspikes, no snowshoes, no crampons and no axe but 40 lbs. rocks in her pack on a day of white out conditions. This almost occurred again last month when two experienced hiker encountered the same conditions on the same mountain but went down a ridge on the south side of the mountain that few go to. SAR gave them a free to them helicopter ride the following day. The phrase experienced hiker does not apply in winter. You have to be more than an experienced hiker to go out in winter or you go out with people whose decision making you trust. There are tons of people I will go with during the three season who I would not go out with in the winter.
There is no I told you so quality to any of this. It is what has been seen by all of us who go out regularly during the winter. You know, like people going up high angled slopes with tree branches and their finest suede and fabric light hikers on a mountain that regularly sees SAR rescues in winter but is a benign hiking trail in the summer. The stories are endless.
The bottom line is I do not like seeing people seriously hurt or dying in our mountains. I've seen the latter and do not want to see the former.
Last edited by wbtravis; 12/03/13 10:33 AM.
