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Wheeler Peak, New Mexico solo winter ascent

Original Post
Roger Roots · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 20

WINTER ASCENT (WILLIAMS LAKE TRAIL)

by Roger Roots, Hawkins, TX

I was driving from Texas to Montana and decided to swing wide into New Mexico and try to “bag” Wheeler Peak on the way. I’ve been occupied as a college instructor in Texas, so I didn’t have any cold-weather outdoor gear with me. When I opened the door of my car in the Taos Valley parking lot, the temperature was twenty degrees. I put a second pair of dress slacks over my first pair and doubled up my socks inside my New Balance running shoes. I left the car at 7:00 a.m. as the sun was coming up.
Snow at the base was above mid thigh but the beginning of the trail was well packed by skiers and snowshoers. At about the 2-mile point, a smaller trail led off through snow toward the left and to the summit. It was this trail that turned out to be treacherous. I postholed through the surface and up to my thighs at least a few dozen times. This was extremely draining.

After a few switchbacks in this manner, I managed to scramble up to some exposed rocks. Eventually I worked my way up to the top ridgeline by way of various rocky areas and shallow snow fields.
The weather forecast had predicted great weather in the Taos valley. But as I gained elevation, there were fewer and fewer mountains around me to break the wind. By the time I reached the top ridge, the wind was ferocious, blasting me from the right with what must have been gusts of 70 miles an hour or higher. The wind chill easily penetrated through my leather work gloves.

Thankfully, I had worn a heavy black leather jacket which stopped the wind on my torso fairly well. But when I reached the monument at the summit I was so wasted from the wind that my fingers simply didn’t work. I flopped down on the “lee” side of the monument to catch my breath and try to warm my fingers before I addressed the summit register.

Eventually, I realized the safest decision was to get off the top as quickly as possible. I took a couple pictures, opened the iron pipe register, dropped my gloves and pulled out a pad and pencil that was inside the pipe. Unable to sign my name in a normal manner, I wielded the pencil like a knife blade and scratched my name and the incorrect date. (I saw that the signature directly above mine indicated someone had been there on December 12 and blanked out as to what the date was; I entered December 13, but I realized later it was December 18.)

It was on the descent that this trip turned harrowing. I plodded quickly down by the most direct route possible, finding that the blasting wind grew weaker with each hundred feet of elevation loss.

I made the decision to glissade down a large steep snowfield, assuming that its entirety was made up of the kind of snow that existed at the top, which was somewhat powdery. Instead, I found myself gaining speed on the icy surface of a hard-packed snowfield that I was unable to claw or kick into. Even worse, I was flopping, rolling and twisting awkwardly—at times plummeting downward ON MY BACK, HEAD FIRST toward large rocks at the bottom.

For a moment I thought I may have climbed my last highpoint or maybe even breathed my last breath. If I became incapacitated by slamming into the rocks I would surely die there, as no one was anywhere within miles and my broken body would not be located until spring. I had not even notified anyone of my intention to climb Wheeler and no one who knows me was even aware that I was in New Mexico. At best someone might notice when my car with Texas plates seemed to be there for an unusually long period of days and start wondering about its driver.

But it was not to be my last breath. Even as my body reached breakneck speed down the ice, the snowfield turned softer near the bottom, and my running shoes plunged into this softer snow shortly before hitting the rocks, causing me to flip over onto the rocks in a fairly gentle manner. I was left hyperventilating on my back with my head pointed downhill. I was in shock but still alive.

After I caught my breath I made my way to another snowfield and stupidly tried to glissade this one in a similar manner while holding a sharp rock for use as an impromptu ice axe. Once again, I slipped into a direct plummet downward on an icy snow surface. And once again my life was saved only because the ice layer gave way to a powdery surface just before the snow met the rocks at the bottom. By now I was more leery of the snowfields and started to pluck my way down on rocks and brushy snow areas that looked quite shallow.

The steepness gradually faded and the snowfields grew softer. I tried sledding down a few snowfields on my slacks and made it down a few hundred feet. Then when the grade grew less steep, I flopped around on my back and kicked my way down headfirst, a trick I used to get down Mt. Hood in 2011. Anything other than postholing step after step through the snow.

Eventually I had to try to walk, and postholed at almost every step. When I got back onto packed trail I was quite grateful. There was some melting going on, but by and large the packed trail from the Lake turnoff to the trailhead was well packed and held my weight.

At summit

sliding my way down

Russ Keane · · Salt Lake · Joined Feb 2013 · Points: 392

holy crapola - that is a pretty dicey epic!

vincent L. · · Redwood City · Joined Jan 2005 · Points: 560

lol , you get around ...

supertopo.com/tr/Grand-Teto…

nice climb .

Jamespio Piotrowski · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2013 · Points: 5
Russ Keane wrote:holy crapola - that is a pretty dicey epic!
It's apparently how he chooses to move in the mountains, based on this and his other TR from the Grand.

I've got no problem with peoploe choosing to put themselves in stupid situations, except htat we live in a society where others will feel compelled to risk themselves attempting a rescue. There should be a system for "Do Not Rescue Orders," kind of like "Do Not Resuscitate" orders. Then I wouldn't have to think about my friends who do SAR when I read somethign like this.
Kip Kasper · · Bozeman, MT · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 200

December 18th isn't technically winter.

Also, you are actually going to die unless you learn basic mountaineering skills. Postholing in running shoes is a great way to lose your toes. Using leather work gloves to keep your hands warm is a straight shot to losing your fingers. Just because you've gotten away with it so far doesn't mean you will continue to be incredibly lucky. Learn how to glissade standing up, your ass will stay dry and you'll have much better control.

thanks for posting these TR's. The inevitable shitstorm they trigger is always good for a few laughs.

Jason Halladay · · Los Alamos, NM · Joined Oct 2005 · Points: 15,153
Keenan Waeschle wrote:December 18th isn't technically winter.
Yep, not a winter ascent.

Keenan Waeschle wrote:Thanks for posting these TR's. The inevitable shitstorm they trigger is always good for a few laughs.
+1. If this was a trip I did, I'd be embarrassed to recount the tale.
Mark E Dixon · · Possunt, nec posse videntur · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 974

He MIGHT be ready for Fandango.

Where's the gopro footage? No video = no ascent.

clay meier · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2008 · Points: 350

This has got to be a troll. No one is that stupid

Benn · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2014 · Points: 0
clay meier wrote:This has got to be a troll. No one is that stupid
1+
Russ Keane · · Salt Lake · Joined Feb 2013 · Points: 392

But check out that summit photo with the freaking black leather jacket. Amazing!!!

M Mobley · · Bar Harbor, ME · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 911

" I flopped around on my back and kicked my way down headfirst, a trick I used to get down Mt. Hood in 2011"

I really need to see a video of this.

Glenn Schuler · · Monument, Co. · Joined Jun 2006 · Points: 1,330
Russ Keane wrote:But check out that summit photo with the freaking black leather jacket. Amazing!!!
Hey, don't knock it - it's what the Fonz used on all his hardest sends!!
Daniel Winder · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2009 · Points: 101
James Piotrowski wrote:Then I wouldn't have to think about my friends who do SAR when I read somethign like this.
Your friends do SAR because they want to put themselves in that situation, not because they have to.
Merlin · · Grand Junction · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 10
Daniel Winder wrote: Your friends do SAR because they want to put themselves in that situation, not because they have to.
Thank you. I'll probably get around to joining SAR where I live this summer, no one's got a gun to my head. If people choose to go rescue jack asses you can't blame the jack ass.

If you've got an ounce of training past the one day first aid course you know they drill scene safety and rescuer priority in hard. If a SAR members chooses to ignore that then it's a conscious choice.
Jamespio Piotrowski · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2013 · Points: 5
Daniel Winder wrote: Your friends do SAR because they want to put themselves in that situation, not because they have to.
They do SAR because they want to help, and because they enjoy the training. I don't know a one of them that actually likes to recover corpses.
Rob Egan · · Georgetown, CO · Joined Dec 2011 · Points: 0

Who says you need gear? Way to improvise!

M Mobley · · Bar Harbor, ME · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 911
Rob Egan wrote:Who says you need gear? Way to improvise!
yes
Bill Kirby · · Keene New York · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 480

I love the picture of you at the summit with a smile! It sounded like Hypothermia was setting in from your account of signing the register. You couldn't feel your hands and were exhausted but still smiling.. That's awesome!!!

To all the haters out there: I would hike a mountain with this guy any day over most of you well equipped and experienced cry babies I've seen too many freak out when things start to go wrong. Yea OK, Roots is kinda crazy but at least he didn't panic like so many others.

Josh Jones · · Ranchos de Taos · Joined Jul 2011 · Points: 130

Sounds like fun. Next time I go up there in winter I will bring snowshoes. Wheeler Peak gave me a good lesson on the usefulness of snowshoes. I was carrying a heavy pack with camping gear last time I did it which made the hike/post-holing that much more fun;) Sounds like a blast!

Ezra Ellis · · Hotlanta · Joined Dec 2007 · Points: 0

An entertaining read,
A Darwin Award candidate in the future for shure!!!!!

Eastvillage · · New York, NY · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 80

Too awesome.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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