First time leading a summit attempt

Info on gear, conditioning, and preparation for hiking/climbing.
Forum rules
  • This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
  • Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
  • Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
  • Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
Post Reply
Lucas04280
Posts: 1
Joined: 5/13/2022
Trip Reports (0)
 

First time leading a summit attempt

Post by Lucas04280 »

Hello,

I have been hiking many times on many different mountains, and I have summited some others unable due to weather. I have grown quite confident in my abilities on the mountain, but I have never led a group of less experienced hikers to a summit. I would love to hear the group's thoughts about the best safety practices for summiting 14ers. Our group's current plan is to summit Euron Peak the first week of August, so I know that most of the snow will be gone. Here are a few specific questions I would love some thoughts and answers on.

1. What is the best way to check the weather when on the mountain?

2. Do you recommend bringing an ice axe regardless of snow conditions?

3. Are there any good spots on Heron Peak to camp closer to the treeline?
User avatar
JChitwood
Posts: 622
Joined: 8/29/2011
14ers: 58 
13ers: 51
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: First time leading a summit attempt

Post by JChitwood »

“Uhhhhh…huh-huh”.
—Butt Head
"I'll make it." - Jimmy Chitwood
User avatar
Cide
Posts: 128
Joined: 12/17/2018
14ers: 54  5 
13ers: 2
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: First time leading a summit attempt

Post by Cide »

I would mosey on over to the beginner forum for some reading and post there. :thumbup:

I'll leave you with this...I would not worry about carrying an axe on Huron in August.
"Salients in the Void"
Permitting the CO 14ers, A Slow March to a Sad Future.
User avatar
cottonmountaineering
Posts: 849
Joined: 5/11/2018
14ers: 58  7  18 
13ers: 178 38 31
Trip Reports (1)
 

Re: First time leading a summit attempt

Post by cottonmountaineering »

it must be summer again
TomPierce
Posts: 2735
Joined: 11/21/2007
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: First time leading a summit attempt

Post by TomPierce »

Lucas: If you're leading a group, congrats...I think!?! :lol: Your experince will of course hinge quite a bit on the composition of your group. Expectations, experience and all that stuff. In no particular order here are some things I've picked up when I (rarely) lead groups:

-Of course, be prepared. Duh. Know the route beforehand, have the basic gear, e.g. 10 essentials, etc.

-Assume someone will forget something, they might look to you to remedy that. Likely things that come to mind are sunscreen, aspirin, blister stuff, maybe a spare rain jacket. If it's a cold rain gloves can be nice, even in August.

-Bring a headlamp if things go sideways and you come down late.

-I'm sure you don't want to go all Marine Corps and have rules & a buddy system, but you might want to tactfully mention that wandering off route or deciding to abort the hike without letting anyone else know is uncool. Total PIA to go looking for someone who may or may not be lost. I also have a rule of sorts I like partners to follow: stop at trail junctions, just so you know what fork someone took. I've been burned by that one a few times.

-And if you are truly the leader of the group, suck it up and realize your personal desires aren't the priority, it's about the team. If someone is weaker or having a bad day, watch to make sure they don't push themselves over the line. And if they need someone to help them down short of the summit? Unless someone else volunteers, IMO that's you, buddy.

-As for your specific questions, I personally wouldn't bring an axe on Huron in the summer, but that's me. It's a personal decision. There are plenty of good weather sites, but honestly I just use the weather link on this site for a peak like Huron. Close enough, and mountain weather is fickle enough that a forecast is just an educated best guess. I wouldn't waste time looking for a magic forecast. Just get below treeline if a storm is brewing, don't mess with lightning esp above treeline.

Just my opinions.

-Tom
Aphelion
Posts: 166
Joined: 10/22/2017
14ers: 58  17 
13ers: 48
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: First time leading a summit attempt

Post by Aphelion »

1. The best way to check the weather when on the mountain is to look at the sky.

2. No. An axe is a specific tool with specific uses, not a magic talisman.

3. If you lack the fitness to walk 6.5 miles in one day, you probably aren't fit enough to carry overnight gear to treeline.
User avatar
JROSKA
Posts: 544
Joined: 8/19/2010
14ers: 50 
13ers: 5
Trip Reports (11)
 

Re: First time leading a summit attempt

Post by JROSKA »

Yeah as someone else mentioned, if you’re the leader, don’t be shy or hesitant to call a meeting beforehand to discuss certain rules, including things like what the pace needs to be, and when to turn back and abandon the summit bid.

I got burned by this last summer when I led someone up a 14er (as part of a group of 3) on a typical monsoon weather day and while she started out with a reasonable pace, it became evident to me relatively quickly that the pace was not acceptable given the forecast and I got caught in a bad place where I did not want to discourage her by turning back as she was very excited to make the trip. Long story short, we did reach the summit, we did get stuck in bad weather, and I got blamed for everything.

In hindsight, I fell short by not holding that meeting and laying down some rules and guidelines about when to turn back and outlining various scenarios. Had I done that, it would have been very easy for me to say, “it’s 8:30, we are not moving fast enough, we need to head down” because then we’d just be following the rules we all discussed & agreed on. It’s tougher if it’s not discussed ahead of time.

Of course I’m not a huge fan of group members playing the blame game, but as the experienced one, the leader does bear a certain responsibility in safety decisions before and during the hike.
Post Reply