Tahoe Backcountry Story

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Looking back at our last backcountry excursion, I definitely have to take note of our mistakes for the next trip. My hiking partner and good friend, Steve and I decided to take our Los Angeles residing friend, Josh on a hike to the backside of "The Peak", situated on the northface above Incline Village,NV (prime Lake Tahoe backcountry-elevation approx. 8500'). The problem was the fact that Josh had only snowboarded three times before. Actually, the problem wasn't really his lack of experience but his undying love for cigarettes. Josh is what we call a "healthy smoker", being that he is able to take huge drags off his cigarette while hiking. His strong willingness for adventure confirmed our judgement that he would be fit to go. Our mission.... Hike to the summit of The Peak. Continue down the backside approx. 1000' vertical feet. Find destination cabin. Prepare for the night! Mistake#1) We didn't allow ourselves enough time to hike to the top. Although we had made this hike before in 2 hours, we didn't take into consideration Josh's true physical condition. It ended up taking us 5 and a half hours to summit. Leaving at 3:00p.m., we figured we'd have more than enough time to complete our mission. Not the case! It typically takes 2-3 days for the average person to get properly acclimated to high elevation territories. Josh was not even the average person, considering his above average pollution intake. It was 8:30p.m. and getting very dark as we approached the summit. Josh is weezing, cussing, but non the less, hanging in there. He says if it weren't for his previous trip with Outward Bound, he would never had made it to the top. Mistake#2) We didn't check the weather forecast for the day. Relying on your best weather forecasting judgement, even if you're a seasoned outdoorsman, is not always enough... especially in Lake Tahoe. Always check your weather resources (and have more than one) before you take the trip. It was not only turning pitch black by that time but the winds at the top were 60+ mph. Before we knew it we were in a full fledged blizzard, almost white-out conditions, and temps in the low 30's and dropping, all within 20 minutes. Standing atop a huge cornice bowl, we were still faced with dropping down 1000' feet, finding a cabin we've never been to before, and preparing for the night. It all looked pretty grim, but at the same time the challenge was exhilerating. The important thing at this point was not to panic. Especially with Josh counting on us to get him to the cabin safely. I knew that if we couldn't find the cabin we had enough warm clothing and equipment to stay the night in a tree well if we had to. Portable shovels are key! But time was even more key at that point. Since there were three of us and only one flashlight we decided to send Steve just ahead to scope out the bottom of the cornice bowl, making sure his light didn't get out of our sight. That give me a chance to assist Josh off the cornice while Steve searched. Splitting up wasn't the most comforting thought but it was the fastest alternative to finding our destination. Steve assured us that he would double back after 15 minutes to make sure we wouldn't lose his covered up tracks. We maintained about forty yards of distance between us, keeping voice contact when we could(wind and snow aren't very conducive to audible communication). Walkie talkies would have been great in this situation. 40 minutes later, Steve comes postholing back up this valley with the best smile on his face. "I found it!" He said he barely saw a structure too straight edged to be a tree. It was almost pure luck that he found it. Josh sighed in relief as we were yelling triumphantly. Once we approached heaven, we noticed the door had been latched closed with a spoon. For some reason this sight had us laughing hysterically forever. One of those delirious exhaustion episodes I guess. We opened the door to the coolest little 10'x10' space I've ever seen. This cabin was fully equipped with a wood burning stove, axes, a saw, pots and pans, four bunks, a kitchen table, candles...it seemed like everything we needed. This place was heaven compared to the hell we went through. And then it was time to feast. We brought a lot of food. You can never bring too much food. Well, you can but it's amazing how much you can eat after a big adrenaline expenditure. If you're gonna take beer with you on a hike, I recommend cans(less weight), preferably Guiness Stout and Foster's oil cans. One thing though...don't bring bananas. Each of us brought 3 unripe bananas, and by the time we got to the cabin, we had 9 pods of black goo. I slept better that night than any other. Morning time had us in awe as we opened the door. The storm from the night before blew over to reveal a theater of cliff bands, chutes, and fields of fresh powder. Sunny and almost warm, the day began with hiking, boarding, and libations to match. The backside of The Peak boasts a setting very similar to the Big Thunder Mountain ride at Disneyland. Large oval-shaped, smooth rocks clumped together, making perfect launch opportunities. The chutes are what we came for, the kind you can't see the bottom from the top. As we traversed up the face of one of the bowls, Steve and I were claiming our territory,"that's my line!","no way man", "first one up gets that","you can have it!". Testing the avalanche factor, we threw a couple of snowballs down the chutes to evaluate it's stability. It was perfect;well adhering snow. After picking out our lines(and emergency lines) we proceeded to drop in. The only sense of security standing up there was the sight of Josh and the cabin at the very bottom of the bowl...both sitting, both smoking. I felt almost no resistance against my board as I landed off the cornice perched above. The only thing I felt was a freezing inhalation of snow. Opening my eyes and realizing I was still riding, I cranked a big heel-side turn, shooting up a huge wave of snow off my board. Most of the way down I was floating silently through the powder, but there were a couple of real firm spots around the trees(where ice had melted off the branches and froze again over night). Although Steve and I took different ways down, we arrived to the bottom at the same time. We both were wearing the devil's grin as we looked at each other in amazement. That has to be done again. Low and behold…more storm clouds rolling in. Kind of hard to see coming from the base of where we were at. We were faced with the next important decision. Do we take one more run or pack up and get back to Rifle to survey the weather coming across the lake. No brainer. There was no way we were going to put Josh in jeopardy again. So, reluctantly but satisfied, we got our gear together and said our goodbies to our beloved cabin…not without cleaning it of course. Replace what you use if you can. A golden find of this kind must be maintained. That means replacing the wood that's used, washing the utensils provided, sweeping out wood chip debris, and leaving any kind of non-perishable food or condiment items for the next group. The hike back up wasn't nearly as far or brutal. Once we approached the summit, it started to snow again. But this time we had daylight and time on our sides. This made for a leisurely ride back down to the truck...all powder. Our mission was successful, but what I learned was that you can never be too prepared. I plan to educate myself further on the crucial elements of winter survival techniques and avalanche awareness. Outdoor excursions such as ours require a lot of preparation and should not be treated as lightly as we treated it. Back

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