Advice for a beginner

[Catalyst81]

Hello everyone. So last Spring was the first time I hiked San Jacinto. I did it as a day hike in preparation for Mt. Whitney. If I remember right, I think it was the Devils Slide trail. I ended up day hiking Whitney in the Summer and backpacking it over 5 days a few weeks later.

Anyway, after seeing some of the gorgeous pictures on the forum, I've decided as a new goal I want to hike San Jacinto from the tram in the snow. I don't have much snow hiking experience though, which is to say I don't have any. I will be hiking Mt. Shasta with a group this June which will give me some experience. I need some advice on what I can do to reach my goal. It seems that most people snowshoe San Jacinto. Any advice out there for a winter newbie?

Thanks,

Jeff

[Biletchick]

Hi Jeff
From one noob to another.
My boyfriend and I made the summit for the first time last weekend.
(TR & pics - Two Noobs Summit on Saturday) It was our second time up the tram and third time ever on snowshoes. Our GPS track is pictured on the thread. 5.6 miles round trip / 2500 ft elev gain to the top.
I'd be careful if you're going up on Saturday with the weather not looking too good...Sunday might be a better bet. Try to get on the 8am tram so that you have time to get back before the crowds. Be careful on the cement walkway at Mtn Station it gets iced up and slippery.

We took forever going up. Snow travel with snowshoes or crampons is much slower than hiking on dirt in just your boots.
Many of the board members here are great at breaking trail after a storm. The direct route up the "Sid Davis Drainage" was really nice and well defined last weekend Thanks to them. Hopefully some of the cowboys and cowgirls here will be up there before you packing down the fresh stuff.
The weather last weekend was unseasonably warm so the trail was an odd mix of powder & crust (outside of the track), slush, hardpack, and ice. Be prepared for all of the above. The steep stuff was tricky and you may need to change gear a few times to accomodate the terrain.
Most of all be careful out there and have fun!
Stacy

[Catalyst81]

Thanks Stacy! What types of layers were you wearing for the trip and did you take any extra layers with you? I'm still figuring out winter layering for hiking.

[Biletchick]

Jeff
It was in the low - mid 60's and sunny last weekend. I think it might be a different story for this one with the storm and new snow.
I wore a lightweight Smartwool base layer long sleeve (with the zip) on top and softshell pants on the bottom, that was more than enough for me. I think shorts and a t-shirt would have sufficed for most of the trip.
I carried a MontBell ultralight synthetic parka with a hood, a North Face Windwall fleece, and an REI Ultra Light rain jacket and pants in case of rain. I tend to run pretty warm when I'm moving, so this works for me.
I also have Icebreaker mid-weight wool base layer bottoms and a North Face down jacket for really cold days or at camp when we're backpacking. Personal preference on the base layer between wool and capilene.

Congrats on the Whitney hikes. This should be no prob for you. Are you bringing / renting snowshoes?

Stacy

[Truckulent]

Hey Jeff,

Do you have crampons yet? I'd think San Jacinto would be a good place to get familiar with them under typical conditions i.e. fair weather. hard in the morning softening during the day.
I have close friends that live near Chico and are frequent visitors each year to Shasta for spring skiing accents. A mountain they say commands respect. And annually plays host to multiple scenarios whereby SAR teams are dispatched to facilitate a rendezvous for visitors injured because of or by their crampons, and a CHP helicopter.(Particularly on the decent)
Even in June you'll likely be wearing them the entire time your on the snow. Good luck!

[Catalyst81]

I'll be renting snowshoes at first and if I enjoy it enough, I'll look into buying some. I was actually thinking San Jacinto would be great to test out crampons as well. I don't have any yet. I need to get some new boots first. I have Vasque Breezes, but I don't think they're going to be stiff enough for crampons. I'm going to drop by REI, hopefully sometime soon, and find out. Thanks for all the information!

[Truckulent]

As far as boots go Jeff you might take a look at either some Scarpa Mantas or Escapes and La Sportiva Makalus or Glaciers, all great backpacking boots that are crampon compatible.

[Catalyst81]

As far as boots go Jeff you might take a look at either some Scarpa Mantas or Escapes and La Sportiva Makalus or Glaciers, all great backpacking boots that are crampon compatible.

Thanks a lot for the advice! Have you had any experience with the La Sportiva Trango? I had a friend recommend it. It looks like more of a mountaineering boot than a backpacking boot. But, it it could work on Shasta and on winter hikes down in SoCal I might like it.

[Norris]

Hi, there's lots of different "Trango" models from La Sportiva, and some might do for Shasta, but others like the lightweight Trango EVO GTX (the red ones) would not be ideal for Shasta, not warm enough, not stiff enough in my opinion (depends on the route you plan to do, I suppose). I have the Trango EVO GTX boots, and like them, but wore warmer, stiffer boots on Shasta. The Trango Prime or Trango Ice Evo look like they would be much warmer, much better for winter stuff or for Shasta. Even in the summer, you get an alpine start on Shasta, and are walking on a glacier, trust me, its easy to get really cold feet.

[Catalyst81]

Hi, there's lots of different "Trango" models from La Sportiva, and some might do for Shasta, but others like the lightweight Trango EVO GTX (the red ones) would not be ideal for Shasta, not warm enough, not stiff enough in my opinion (depends on the route you plan to do, I suppose). I have the Trango EVO GTX boots, and like them, but wore warmer, stiffer boots on Shasta. The Trango Prime or Trango Ice Evo look like they would be much warmer, much better for winter stuff or for Shasta. Even in the summer, you get an alpine start on Shasta, and are walking on a glacier, trust me, its easy to get really cold feet.

Yeah, the red ones are the ones he was recommending. Ideally, I'd like to find a boot I could use for the Shasta trip and then also use while hiking/camping in San Jacinto/San Gorgonio in the winter. It may be that the two situations are different enough that I won't be able to do that, but that's what I would like. I'll be doing the Avalanche Gulch route on Shasta in June.