EISPIRATEN

My girl decided to get all crazy on me just before Christmas. Why is this good? I used it as an excuse to bail out on the festivities and head to the hills. I love the mountains, but I'm really just getting into the winter summit thing. I rented some snowshoes, packed up the dried food, and drove up to the Mill Creek parking lot (arrived around 10 pm friday night, lot was clear but ground was covered in snow). 6100 feet elevation? My plan was to reach the Vivian Creek camp that night, set up shop and head out from there in the morning. It was a beautiful night, with the moon almost negating the need for a headlamp in the open. I stuck to the creekbed as I headed up towards the turnoff for the switchbacks, and in my haste blew by the crossing by about 200 feet in elevation gain. I was having such a good time and it was so beautiful out, I just didn't pay attention. I headed back, luckily spotting the sign across the way near the start of the uphill. The water level was just low enough to cross without much danger, and the mile or so of switchbacks were marked by dislodged boulders, slush and ice, with a small amount of dirt poking through here and there. I set up the tent on several feet of snow in a clearing at Vivian Creek, fell asleep around 1:30 am or so.


Vivian Creek Site



In the morning, after a much-deserved cup of coffee, I headed up Vivian Creek as if I was heading towards Gorgonio. I threw the snowshoes on to test them out, but had I stuck to the trail (which was harder packed), I wouldn't have really needed them. In the area surrounding the trail, you were postholing quite a bit without them.

Vivian Creek Trail



About halfway to halfway camp, I stopped seeing signs of travel except for the occasional rodent or rabbit. I spotted some iced-up trees on a high ridge to my left, and decided to just "go there". It looked high, it looked steep, so why not? As I progressed, the snow quality got worse and worse, at least for ascending. I starting out going straight up, then switched to alternating angled ascent. It seemed like I slid down 30% of my gain each time. I was determined to make it up, and just focused on the spicy beef and mac I was going to cram in my face at the top. Even with the shoes on, I was sinking in quite a bit in the areas exposed to a lot of sun.





I'm estimating around a 35 degree incline on average, which seemed to be just about the limit for me based on the snow. Had it been iced over, with my crampons instead, this would have been a hell of a lot easier. All told, I climbed 2500 feet from this turnoff to just under 10000 feet on this side of the ridge. I'm not sure what spot/peak this was, but I took GPS coords for a search later on. The winds above 9000 feet or so were brutal on my candy cheeks and nose, and were blowing the snow around like a champion.



I hurried to set up the tent, and I learned how great trekking poles, floatation tails, and an ice axe work for snow anchors. I bunkered in about 6 pm, and went right to sleep.

During the night, high winds shook the tent and blew the 3-4 more inches of snow that fell in my tiny vents on top of my tent. That was a treat...either suffer the condensation sealed up or suffer the snow showers from the screen above me. I guess no tent is perfect. Ice from the short pines around me broke off and hammered the fabric of my tent all night, but no visible damage was found. I woke up to beautiful sights - the camera never does it justice, but I didn't stick around long to take many shots.

Camp at the top





It looked like some weather might be moving in, so I hurried to take things down and head back down the hill. The crampons made easy work of the iced over snow in the early morning, and I resisted the urge to glissade as I was alone and had no helmet. The trip back to the car was beautiful and uneventful, and Mill Creek seemed about the same level on the crossing back.



Things I learned:

1. Spend the money on the boots: I love these things, little to no break-in period needed, were really comfortable on the approach, did well with the snowshoes and crampons, and kept me warm but not too warm.

2. Be very aware of the extra time winter travel takes: You've got to allow for slower foot travel and the funk

3. 4-season tent = condensation: That's the deal, you suffer a little wetness to stay secure otherwise.

Well that's an excellent first post and I loved your pix, whoever was taking them of your backside

TracieB wrote: ↑Well that's an excellent first post and I loved your pix, whoever was taking them of your backside

Thanks! It was just me and the timer on the old Canon point/shoot. I keep waiting on it to die, I've dropped it in a river, off rocks...the thing is a beast.

Great way to spend Christmas!

Very cool! Been a bit windy lately!

It was quite windy, not really sure how to estimate wind speed though. It was strong enough to feel like the tent was lifting off a few times. I'm always amazed at how a drop in elevation can so quickly change the weather situation - go down 5-600 feet and gain 10 degrees and lose the gale.

** Did a little search, I think I spent the second night on the southwest side of Dobbs Peak, near the top.

Good stuff...thanks for the pics.

The MSR tent - that's the 'Dragontail'?

The condensation vs. tight containment issue - what other tents/tarps have you tried and could you share some impressions of them?

Thanks!

Nice TR and thanks for great pics. Me and my friend are going out this weekend but we're doing the other side of the mountain....

Yeti

obie wrote: ↑The MSR tent - that's the 'Dragontail'?

The condensation vs. tight containment issue - what other tents/tarps have you tried and could you share some impressions of them?

Thanks!

That is the Dragontail, and it's a single-wall tent...pretty light, did well in the wind, with a lot of room inside (esp headroom, due to the design). I am by no means an expert in 4-seasons shelter, but I did a TON of research online (gear reviews by magazines, testers, and just fools on the online retail sites). I went with the single-wall design to save weight, but the main complaint I found with a single-wall is condensation.

You obviously have less vents with a winter tent, so the moist air can't really escape as well. I believe they've made some tents with eVent or Conduit or some similar material which allows for a vapor-permeable fabric, but my Dragontail is not. It's all about the airflow through the vents, and if it's blowing snow like crazy outside, you have to get a little creative with which vents you leave open. This night on Dobbs, I couldn't really tell what way the wind was consistently heading...it seemed to be all over the place. If I could, I would have only shut the vent facing the wind, and left the other open. I fell asleep with both open, and snow built up on the long screen that runs the length of my tent on the ceiling, which then showered down on all my stuff as the tent shook.

My friend has years of experience in the Alps and Canada with winter mountaineering, and he swears by the North Face Mountain 25, which is a double-wall tent. Probably stronger, probably less condensation, but definitely heavier. He actually tried to talk me into a bivy when I bought this tent (his NFM25 is stored in Montreal, and he's on a weight saving kick lately), but I like being able to get out of the elements to cook, change clothes, etc. If he and I split the tent weight, it's like we're carrying a tough bivy each anyway.

FWIW, I really like this MSR DT. The vestibule is pretty big, and allows for cooking and plenty of gear storage. On deep snow, you can dig a snow pit for even more room underneath - hang your legs down over the edge like a seat, etc. The anchor points are huge, I think you could even use skis if you had to, and it's covered in strong guyline points. Inside, the tube design leaves a ton of headroom.

I've used the golite lair, which is basically a tarp with a foot. No issue with condensation, but any blowing rain or snow and you're toast.


My 3season REI Halfdome does very well for what it's made for, but I thought it was going to rip in half in the wind on Mt. Whitney(11,000 feet) in late Oct of this year.


It's a double wall tent with a TON of ventilation, but I think I would have been a sad man this past weekend if I'd been sleeping in that thing. It weighs a little more than my Dragontail, btw, and I'd say my DT could handle way more rough weather. I plan on much more winter overnightin' this year, so I'll try to beat it up and report back to you guys. I got a great deal on the DT too, shipped to my door for $287.

Great TR, Burchey!


I'm looking to head up there soon!

The VE25 is awesome and was pretty much standard issue until the lighter MH EV tents came out.

Nice report. I've gone down that ridge from Dobbs to the Vivian Creek trail, it's a nice shortcut. Quite remote, especially at this time of the year.
Keep posting!

Burchey wrote: ↑

I couldn't really tell what way the wind was consistently heading...it seemed to be all over the place.

I had same problem last weekend - couldn't figure out what the wind was doing. Wind eventually went 180 deg. from what it was before storm blew through. At midnite I was not in mood to adjust in rain/wind

I got a great deal on the DT too, shipped to my door for $287.

That's about half what list is on MSR site. Nice deal.

Nice report Burchey! Loved the photos of the morning sky over the tent -- they have a beautifully cold feel of isolation to them.