Monday, November 7, 2022

If you have ever been caught in a snow storm unprepared it isn't funny

The closest I came likely from dying of this was 1970 when I was 22 years old and in college. One of my friends was going to UCLA and the other one was going to Sacramento State University. We decided since we didn't have much money as college students that we would share gas and take my 1966 VW Bug on Christmas Vacation 1970 to Mt. Shasta. Our plan was simple: get snow shoes and climb up to Horse Camp at Tree line on Mt. Shasta and stay there a few days in the snow. It would be quite and adventure in which we could do this and not have to pay a motel to stay in. (However, this was then and now things are likely very different) regarding Horse Camp Sierra Club Emergency Lodge (which was built to rescue climbers year around on Mt. Shasta). As you can see Horse Camp was built of large Stones from Mt. Shasta in 1922. However, whole trees were used in the roof rafters because it would have to carry a snow load of up to 40 to 50 feet some winters then. So, each roof rafter was a whole tree then with the limbs taken off to hold the roof in place under heavy snow loads in the winter at that altitude. I myself have stayed there in 1973 on my birthday by myself and had to dig down 20 feet in the snow to even open the front wooden door to stay there a few days in the late winter early spring then. This was my 25th birthday to stay there alone and play the guitar and to write which was heavenly for me then in the wilderness.

Note my story continues after these quotes about Horse Camp Sierra Club Lodge:

Begin quote.

About 1,110,000 results (0.89 seconds) 
The Shasta Alpine Hut was built in 1922 with monies donated by Matthew Hall McAlister, a prominent Sierra Club member at that time. It was originally constructed of local materials including volcanic rock and Shasta red fir. The deteriorating roof and trusses were replaced in 2004.
 
The most notable feature of Horse Camp is the Shasta Alpine Lodge, a climber's hut constructed in 1923. Mostly indigenous materials were used for construction, ...
Horse Camp is a hub of backcountry activity on Mount Shasta. The cabin itself is occupied by a caretaker who lives there during the summer. Spring water is ...
The most notable feature of Horse Camp is the Shasta Alpine Lodge, a climber's hut constructed in 1923. Mostly indigenous materials were used for construction, ...
Sisson Chamber of Commerce receives plans and specifications for Mt. Shasta Alpine. Lodge, which will be built this year at Horse Camp.
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Mar 3, 2021Horse Camp is a 720-acre property on Mt. Shasta that's owned and managed by the Sierra Club Foundation. A popular base camp for climbers and ...
Mar 7, 2012The unlikely story of a horse ascending the mountain began in 1883 when Watson took the first mule, Croppie, to the summit as part of a federal ...
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Shasta just before the Sierra Club cabin at the Horse Camp, 0.7 miles later. The area is administered by the Sierra Club; a restroom and water is usually ...
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Horse Camp offers access to fresh spring water, use of composting toilets, a small stone cabin built in 1922 and camping. There is a Sierra Club caretaker ...
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Horse Camp

Museum in Siskiyou County, California
Horse Camp is a property on Mount Shasta owned by the nonprofit Sierra Club Foundation. It is a 720-acre enclave within the Mount Shasta Wilderness of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in California, United States. Wikipedia
Address: Mt Shasta, CA 96067
 
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So, in 1970 I picked up my first friend in Palos Verdes where he lived while attending UCLA. I started early in the morning in San Diego where I lived in Rancho Bernardo and went to college in San Diego County. Then next we picked up our 2nd friend in Chico where his mother lived even though he was a student at Sacramento State University. So, by the time we got to Bunny Flat it was getting dark and beginning to snow and blizzard.

However, we didn't have smart phones or weather reports and we were all about 19 to 22 years old then and college students. "What did we know?"
 
So, in typical young male immortal fashion we put on our backpacks and snow shoes and started hiking through the then 2 to 3 feet of snow with our snow shoes. However, after a while we realized we were walking in a circle when we met our tracks because of being in a blizzard white out. We had never been in a blizzard white out where you can barely see your hand in front of your face before. So, we were really scared realizing we could not navigate anywhere because we could only see our hands even with flashlights and no further. Like I said we realized we might not survive the night because of this at this point. Luckily, one of us had just taken a winter survival course at Sacramento STate University and he told us that we needed to dig a snow cave or else we likely would die that night.
 
So, we used our snow shoes to dig our snow cave for survival. By the way, a candle is a good idea in a snow cave but I'm not sure we thought of this then. In a snow cave there isn't any wind because you stop that if you wish by sealing the entrance with snow. However, remember you still need to breathe air to survive too. But, you can keep warm enough if you just light a candle and warm your hands with it. But, we didn't do this.
 
So, the next morning after freezing in this cave all night while our sleeping bags melted the snow and made our Levi jeans all wet from melted snow I started to dig out because I was the last one to get into the cave the night before. But, I get a little claustrophobic too because I had whooping cough. So, because there were 3 feet of new snow that had fallen, I was starting to panic because where the snow left off the night before there were now 3 feet deep of new snow to dig through to get out. Finally we reached the surface where we realized our levi jeans were wet and we could die from that. But, luckily the weather was so cold (around 20 degrees out) that our jeans froze solid except at the knees from us walking with snow shoes. 
 
So, this is the closest to freezing to death I ever came to. But, eventually we made it down the road and the car and we survived this even though all my joints in my body hurt continuously for about 4 years after that and I cannot always sense how warm or cold I am from this experience ever since either.
 
But, luckily we were the lowest down on the mountain to survive that day without losing fingers or toes. So, all our fingers and toes came back to normal eventually.
 
So, being prepared for the snow is often a life or death thing in life.
 
Something to think about.

 

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