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City of Rocks/Castle Rock in snow!
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Looks like I might be pitching a tent in snow tomorrow night. First, crash course on camping on snow? Second, advice on what to do there climbing wise, if it is less than optimal for weather? I'm headed to the Idaho Mountain Festival, so there will at least be people to hang with. I'll also be prepared to just take a hike, literally. Thanks! Helen Yes, I could Google the first part, and get REI's advice for a bunch of gear to buy that I can't afford. |
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Yeah it's going to be chilly. Klymit will be renting pads. Their insulated ones will be a good choice for this weather. Main trick: keep everything dry. Sometimes easier said than done. But dry is warm. There are not a ton of inclement weather crags. The Heretic (5.13b) is probably the driest, but the upper few bolts will still be wet. I'm kind of expecting it to be a mental training for alpine conditions trip. |
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Yeah, and I've got an alpine friend who wants to suck me into ice climbing this winter, so you are closer than you thought, lol! This fool is excited anyway. Anything climbers and climbing beats chasing cat hair with the vac. Love your profile pic. Can't tell what it is you're thinking, but it looks intense! Best, OLH |
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I'm all for suffering but why in the hell do they make it at the end of September? Even they realize that only one year didn't have precip, how about early Sept.......??? |
abe r wrote: Because that's the best time to climb there? Mid September to late October is about the only time you can get on anything at the City without having to chase shade. Who cares about upper 20s at night if it's mid 50s and sunny during the day (which is what the forecast calls for)?? Bring a warmer sleeping bag, a tarp, and more whiskey. |
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and hit the hot springs in the evenings. and whiskey.... All the whiskey. |
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For climbing, head to the south face of Castle Rock. This area dries quickly, good sun, climbs from .6 up. For tenting in cold temperature try two sleeping pads, one closed cell and the other a blow up. |
Boissal wrote:  My concern is not the night. |
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I like to do crash pad under some kinda thermarest type pad and a really good sleeping bag with another blanket on top. You can also heat up rocks and put them in the sleeping bag to help keep it warm. |
abe r wrote: Sounds positively miserable. Have fun! |
FrankPS wrote: I intend to! ;-) OLH |
abe r wrote: Looks like Day 1-2 are going to suck and Day 3-4 are going to be perfect... Today and tomorrow look toast, I bet you're climbing in the Sun by 10AM Saturday...  |
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We're getting there on Monday, so far so good, looks like we'll miss the majority of the snow (please don't change, 10 day forecast, please). Camping in snow: Solid footprint, hopefully if you're in a 3-season you at least have the "tub style" bottom on it, and jbe sure you're not sleeping directly on the ground. With how affordable pads and inflatables are now-a-days I don't think anyone sleeps directly on the ground anymore, but just in case. |
Mark Waterous wrote: Mark, the forecast for your days looked pretty good. We left Saturday night, and it was astonishingly clear. Very, very beautiful night sky. It was breezy Saturday, with some clouds, but people still got out there. The mountains surrounding had the Backcountry skiers salivating, but the park only had snow Thursday night. That snow was gone, but the mountain snow stayed. Even more beautiful than usual! Hope you have a great trip. Oh, all? No whiskey (don't do that), but the hot springs? Man oh man did that feel great! I popped for renting a suit and towel and in soooo glad my friends talked me into that. Also, the people who were running it when we were there (a huge crowd of us) were really super nice, and went out of their way to help my friend with frozen feet from wet boots. Dropping some bucks there is money well spent! Best, OLH |
