I am looking to hike New York Mountain from Polar Star Hut on Tuesday. Quite a few people in the group do not have avalanche gear. The route is a ridge route which on caltopo appears to have no slopes exceeding 30 degrees.
Given the dangerous avy conditions do you think this route is safe enough for people to hike without avy gear? Is it possible to remote trigger an avalanche from above and be pulled off a ridge?
Route on Caltopo http://caltopo.com/map?id=0L2V" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Is this route Avy Safe enough?
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Is this route Avy Safe enough?
To climb is to push yourself in a way you might not normally imagine is possible. If your stamina, skill, and luck are sound you will get to stand on top. ... I realized that with climbing, I'd found something that nourished my soul and could forge me into a better version myself - Jim Davidson
Re: Is this route Avy Safe enough?
The route you have planned looks good to me. You could even go as far as to gain the ridge a little bit North of the Polar Star Mine to decrease the slope angle even more. Generally a good practice for everyone in the group to have some avalanche knowledge and gear but as we all know that isn't always the case.
Yes. Although I never recommend heading into the backcountry even through simple terrain without having avy gear and basic knowledge of its use. It's just a good practice to have just like wearing a seatbelt. Avy gear will not add a significant safety factor if you still make poor terrain choices while in the backcountry and if the people that have it lack experience with its use. Right now the key to traveling safely in the backcountry is to avoid all avalanche terrain whether you have avy gear or not. Avoid traveling on and beneath all slopes steeper than 30 degrees. You should be able to go into the backcountry and make that decision yourself.colokeith wrote: Given the dangerous avy conditions do you think this route is safe enough for people to hike without avy gear?
With the right conditions and terrain, yes.colokeith wrote:Is it possible to remote trigger an avalanche from above and be pulled off a ridge?
Good luck breeds bad habits.
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jbchalk
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Re: Is this route Avy Safe enough?
I skinned and skied this exact route one February years ago and was mellow enough I wasn't concerned with avalanche potential. The big concern to me was/is the monstrous cornice following the northwest ridge all the way to the summit. Be aware of this cornice and give yourself plenty distance away from the edge and ensure you are over solid ground. There were some snowmobile clowns up there at the time sledding the ridge and one of them actually punched through and dropped a good 8 ft down. Another couple feet and that sled and fellow would have been a the bottom of New York's north face.
