Harvard Sunday 1/13

by **Brian Thomas** » 12 Jan 2013, 20:25

weather.gov wrote:A 40 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy and cold, with a high near -1. Wind chill values between -35 and -45. West southwest wind around 15 mph.

This sounds miserable. Good luck if you go and be safe!

by **DaveSwink** » 14 Jan 2013, 01:09

It was 1 degree F at Eldora as I finished up Xcountry skiing on Sunday, and I thought about the Harvard "Icebox" expedition. It was actually very comfortable at that temp while I was moving, but then I had no more than 5 mph winds in my face at Eldora. :-D

So Iman & crew, let us know how it went (if it went)?

by **I Man** » 14 Jan 2013, 09:16

dswink wrote:It was 1 degree F at Eldora as I finished up Xcountry skiing on Sunday, and I thought about the Harvard "Icebox" expedition. It was actually very comfortable at that temp while I was moving, but then I had no more than 5 mph winds in my face at Eldora.

So Iman & crew, let us know how it went (if it went)?

As expected, it was a cold, but manageable day. 3 of us set out from the gate a bit before 5am and made good time to the summer TH. The remnants of a trench helped our goings, but by 11am we were only in the upper basin. The clouds rolled in and the wind picked up a bit. We spent some time enjoying views of the Rabbit Ears and a basin that none of us had been in before, but by noon we decided to pull the plug. Oh well…can’t complain about a full day in mountains with friends and we were able to get recon on one of the Sawatch’s harder winter 14ers.

Couple that with a day on Ice in Vail and I’d say we had a great weekend.

by **dereferenced** » 14 Jan 2013, 12:40

It was a good day for gear testing, perhaps the coldest sustained temperatures I've ever hiked in.

We stopped for gas in leadville at 4 AM, it was -24 degrees, and none of the pumps really worked in the cold. One dispensed gas at about half a gallon per minute, so we gave up and refilled after the hike instead.

I wore fleece glove liners and OR Alti Mitts, and had no problem keeping my hands warm. I think those things would work in -40 or worse. I can do almost nothing useful with my hands with gloves that big, even holding ski poles is difficult, so I need to be quick about doing stuff when I take them off.

I had a little trouble keeping my nose warm, I can wear a balaclava over most of my face, but if I cover my nose, my glasses fog. I've had this problem plenty of times before, I still don't have a good solution.

I wore spantiks, the balls of my feet were a little cold but not numb by sunrise, then I was fine during the daytime. I experimented with handwarmers in the tongue of the boots but I don't think it did much. Anyways, I've frozen my feet much worse in the past, when I had worse gear.

IMan got by with single layer boots (nepals), and less layers of clothing (soft shell pants instead of insulated), and hiked a lot faster than me. I think he could've soloed the peak in 12-14 hours? Our full group was looking at something more like 18-19, with some serious cold and wind on the ridge, so we eventually called off the climb.

by **I Man** » 14 Jan 2013, 12:48

dereferenced wrote:IMan got by with single layer boots (nepals), and less layers of clothing (soft shell pants instead of insulated), and hiked a lot faster than me. I think he could've soloed the peak in 12-14 hours? Our full group was looking at something more like 18-19, with some serious cold and wind on the ridge, so we eventually called off the climb.

I never would have been out there without you 2. I thought it was a great day in the hills and was very happy to forego the summit to ensure the happiness and safety of my friends.

Just to be clear, my reasoning for turning around was due to the cold and wind and that I did not feel we could safely make the summit and return.

Also, between the 3 of us we carried a sleeping bag, a bivy sack and a stove in case of emergency.

Our 3rd teammate has been on Denali twice, and summitted, and said these conditions were also the worst he had been in.

Harvard Sunday 1/13

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