The joys of winter walking – and the risks

in #mountains5 years ago (edited)

22 Looking back at the skiers text.jpg

Winter is here, and for many enthusiastic hillwalkers, this is the best time of year.

But it's also the most dangerous season for hillwalking, and many people underestimate the risks – or are simply not aware of them. This was highlighted by a conversation that started on the forum for one of the hillwalking Meetup groups that I am a member of. A young woman who is new to Scotland posted a comment thread inviting people to join her for a hillwalk on New Year's Day, and asking for recommendations.

Experienced walkers were recommending Ben Lomond or Beinn Chabhair – without asking the woman how much experience she had, or even if she had winter walking gear.

Beinn Chabhair.jpg

Enjoying a day on Beinn Chabhair last year. It's a great mountain, but not for inexperienced walkers – especially in winter conditions.

At 974m and with a great path, Ben Lomond is one of the easiest Scottish "Munros" to climb in summer conditions, but in winter the path can get submerged beneath the snow, and in whiteout conditions if you don't have crampons and an ice axe you could be in serious trouble.

Beinn Chabhair is 933m and it also has paths, but many of these paths are very narrow and easily hidden in snow. It would be easy to get lost in this area, especially if the weather conditions deteriorated (as they often do in a Scottish winter!) and with sunset at 3.50pm, an inexperienced walker could soon find themselves lost in below-freezing conditions.

The organisers for this group discussed whether to post a strong warning on the forum thread, or remove the thread altogether. They took the first option, warning of the dangers of the Scottish mountains in winter, and advising inexperienced walkers to do a winter skills course, buy winter gear and stick to organised group hillwalks in winter.

Despite this, one group member ignored all the previous posts and merrily advised: "There are some great Scottish hillwalking routes available online. Just print one out and go on your own!"

Casual attitude

After that, the thread was deleted. But it's an example of the casual attitude many people take to hillwalking in winter conditions in the Scottish mountains. Winter hillwalking brings special risks, and if you're one of the hundreds of people who love winter hillwalking, it's crucial to take them seriously.

Most hillwalkers do take these risks seriously, yet the accidents still happen. This was brought home to me earlier this week, when I attended a winter mountaineering safety talk presented by Heather Morning, who is the Safety Information Officer for the Scottish Mountaineering Council.

It's an annual event, and it was the third year in a row that I'd attended it. The information Heather gives changes slightly every year, but I'm happy to have this advice drummed into me! As are many people: the event is always well attended, and this year it was a full house.

Snow cornice casualties

One essential piece of advice that Heather stresses every year in these talks is the danger of stepping on a cornice. A cornice is a build-up of overhanging snow on the ridge or crest of a mountain. Heather said that there had been an unusually high number of deaths in the Scottish mountains in the first three months of this year, and that five of those deaths were due to people stepping on cornices that broke away.

In January a 36-year-old man fell 1600 feet to his death from a spot near the summit of Ben Nevis after stepping on a cornice that gave way.

A 55-year-old man fell to his death from Beinn a'Chaorainn in Glen Spean when a cornice collapsed in poor weather conditions. He was apparently a highly experienced walker, and he wasn't the first victim of the mountain's cornices. Beinn a'Chaorainn has a lengthy meandering ridge, which is said to have fantastic views in good weather (I haven't climbed this mountain yet), but in winter conditions with poor visibility, you have to navigate with pinpoint accuracy to make the distinction between snowy mountain ridge and treacherous snow white cornice.

It's so easy to make that fatal mistake. Earlier this year, in beautiful snowy conditions on Meall Corranaich, at the summit, I ran towards the edge to take a photo of a nearby mountain. I suddenly realised that I might be standing on a cornice, so I retreated rapidly. Winter hillwalkers often walk on cornices, and it's a bit like playing Russian Roulette. At some point, that cornice is going to break away, and when it does, it's best not to be standing on it.

20 Walking towards the cornice.jpg

The photo above was taken while walking with a group last April. Our group was careful to walk on the thawed section of the ridge, avoiding the heavy cornice, but we passed three skiers who appeared to be investigating an exhilarating run into the yawning corrie beneath the cornices. One of them actually laid out flat on his front in an attempt to peer over the edge, before changing his mind and walking onto the cornice.

The ridges running along the edge of the cornice show its weak spots, hanging over a steep drop of about 250m (800 feet). I watched the skiers for a while to see if they would attempt the daring descent, but instead they took the sensible option and started to pack up their gear.

Surviving a cornice collapse

Olivia Taylor survived a cornice collapse on a mountain called Y Garn in Snowdonia in 2011. She was walking with a friend and they had met a man, Dr Martin Coleman, near the summit. They were walking three abreast on the way down the mountain, in "total whiteout" conditions, said to be worse than forecast, with 50 mile per hour winds when the cornice broke away.

The young man they had just met was killed instantly due to head injuries as he fell. Olivia's ice axe may have saved her life, together with her position at the inner edge of the cornice. She said, "It was like falling through a trapdoor."

Olivia's friend Eleanor, who wasn't walking on the cornice, said, ”I remember walking along then suddenly I saw a crack in the snow. This big crack appeared and a significant amount of snow went down with both Dr Coleman and Olivia. Within 20 or 30 metres I lost sight of him.”

Footprints leading to cornice 1.jpg

This photo, from earlier this year, shows footprints along a mountain ridge. The right side of the ridge was heavily corniced, but from this viewpoint the cornice is not clear. The footprints show that someone had ventured out onto the cornice, and had then walked back onto safer ground, maybe because their friends had called them back. It's an easy, but potentially deadly mistake to make.

I don't take any chances with winter mountaineering. I check the maps and look at the contour lines to see if there are obvious danger spots. I check the weather forecasts again and again, as they tend to change as time goes on. I check the avalanche reports. I carry an ice axe and crampons, a storm shelter and a head torch. I bring lots of food, hot soup or a hot drink, and extra clothing. I actually practice carrying a heavier backpack as winter approaches. Me and my friends sometimes feel envious when we see a hill runner with ultra light gear running through the snow, but each person has to decide what risks they are personally prepared to take.

It's impossible to eliminate all risk. But it's important to be aware of the risks, and to know your limitations.

For that reason I generally stick to less technical hills for winter walking – there are always risks in winter, but I'm trying to build up as much experience as I can on the less precarious walks. This will be my second season of winter hillwalking, and I'm certainly hoping to bag a few winter Munros, but I won't be taking any risks with narrow ridges in deep snow until I've built up a bit more experience.



Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://ramblingandscrambling.co.uk/?p=939

Swirly divider.png

steemengineBannerAnimation(test).gif

Sort:  

Oh my goodness, this could really be scary. I have hiked during the winter months but not on that kind of terrain. It appears difficult to decide how close to the edge is considered safe. Best to keep well away, right? So you still hike all winter long? How fun! Be safe my friend!

Yes, it's definitely best to be aware of the risks, because there are lots of less risky mountains that are great fun to do in winter. I'll stick to the less risky ones until I've built up more winter navigation experience.

MY days of hiking and hill climbs are over, but common sense balanced with knowledge and risk taking is somehting that one must follow, I know from your posts that you balance these well but the advice one person gave is not a good idea

Yes, some people think that just because they've climbed up a mountain in good weather conditions it must be "easy". They don't have enough experience to see how quickly bad weather can roll in, or how quickly an avalanche can roll in!

Back when I was younger I was an avid hiker but I got caught out a couple of times with sudden weather changes luckily I also came prepared for changes of conditions was able to manage fine, but a new comer to it could get caught out badly

Ok, I know by now that you are an adrenaline junkie and a freak for nature but please be careful and stay safe. Thanks for reminding people of that too and now follow your own advice. Enjoy your time outdoors and much love 💚

Thanks @zen-art! I am an adrenaline junkie, but I will try to follow my own advice :)

Congratulations! This post has been chosen as one of the daily Whistle Stops for The STEEM Engine!

You can see your post's place along the track here: The Daily Whistle Stops, Issue 334 (12/08/18)


This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.
@c-squared runs a community witness. Please consider using one of your witness votes on us here

Always better to be aware of dangers before venturing into any terrain, they sound interesting areas to explore @natubat

Enjoyed reading your descriptive content on the dangers in hill-climbing up in Scotland, great photography!

Thanks @joanstewart! Glad you enjoyed my post.

Rather safe than sorry hey, sometimes people do risky things and then put the lives of rescuers at risk!
You're brave walking in winter @natubat!

I pick my winter walks very carefully! And yes, the things that those brave rescue guys have to go through sometimes are astonishing. They do it because they love it, but they don't want to end up injured or worse. Although having said that, the 55-year-old man who fell from a cornice and tragically died was close friends with some of the guys in the local mountain rescue team and had probably trained with them. Even the most experienced people can make an unfortunate mistake.

That's so cool! That looks just perfect for snowboarding, but might be a bit too dangerous for that. Like you've mentioned, better not take any chances with winter mountaineering.

People do go snowboarding in places like that... I read that there are more avalanches than there used to be. Maybe that's why! I love snow, but I'm definitely going to build up my winter walking experience gradually and carefully.

Great advice, and another great read! Thanks for sharing! It's important to have an understanding of the very serious trouble one can get into when getting out into the wilderness.

The breathtaking views, epic landscapes, and connection with nature are worth the effort of the hike -- but nature is harsh and unforgiving if underestimated.

Thanks @exhaust - glad you enjoyed my post. You're so right - nature should never be underestimated, but it's still worth the effort and so rewarding.

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.36
TRX 0.12
JST 0.039
BTC 70112.96
ETH 3549.99
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.71