™TRADITIONAL MOUNTAINEERING
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Are you really prepared for your ski tour? Following these guidelines from Robert Speik of Traditional Mountaineering and Chris Sabo of the US Forest Service will help ensure a fun adventure in Central Oregon’s backcountry, and help ensure a happy outcome should something go wrong along the way.
1. Tell a Reliable Person where you are going, what you are going to do, and when you will return. Search and Rescue personnel will ask where you planned to park your rig, its description and license number, and information about you and your companions. Of course, you must agree to call the Reliable Person when you return home.
The Reliable Person must accept the responsibility to call the local County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue through 911 if you do not check in as agreed. Experience tells us that the Reliable Person may not understand the importance of this responsibility. Your life may depend on a timely call to 911.
2. Carry the traditional “Essentials”. In your daypack take enough extra clothing (to keep dry and protected from the wind), water, and food (including simple carbohydrates) so you can stay put if lost or injured, even overnight without becoming hypothermic. Other essentials: first aid kit, waterproof matches, knife, strapping tape, flashlight and good batteries, sunglasses and sunscreen, insulated sit pad, and whistle. Additional recommendations: repair kit (pliers/wrench, cord, screwdriver, extra basket), instant hand warmer packets, and a reflective emergency blanket.
3. Have a good map of the area, a declination corrected compass (seventeen degrees now in Central Oregon) and optionally, for today’s serious mountain adventure travelers, a GPS. No, you cannot get by with GPS alone!
4. Carry an emergency cell phone shut off in your pack, but always have one to turn on! This may be a personal choice, but consider the alternatives. Few areas in our Cascades Wilderness are out of cell phone contact
Adapted from www.TraditionalMountaineering.org, © 2002 by R Speik
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From Ski Central Oregon Cross Country, a supplement to The
Bulletin on
November 11, 2002
A community service project of Bend Metro Parks and Recreation, Central Oregon
Nordic Club, Mt Bachelor Nordic Center, MBSEF, Tumalo Langlauf Club and USFS.
Read more . . .
FAQs
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Snowcamping offers rewarding adventure
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Technical snowshoes
Snowshoe touring techniques for the backcountry
Snowshoe tours with Forrest Service volunteers
