When does winter start?

[amderr22]

I've been looking for an answer for this and can't find one anywhere. In terms of mountaineering, when does a summit count as a "winter ascent"? Does it depend more on conditions, or is there a hard date where it's winter? Sorry if the answer is obvious, just curious!

[Ptglhs]

Winter ascents start when winter starts, generally the 21st or 22nd of December, and end when winter ends, generally the 21st or 22nd of March. That's if you're going with meteorological winter. Some purists say you have to climb in Jan/Feb in the northern hemisphere or July/Aug in the southern hemisphere, to qualify as a true winter ascent.

[dpage]

For the purpose of Colorado's 14ers, claiming a calendar winter ascent means starting at or after the winter solstice and finishing before the spring equinox. This idea goes back to the first people claiming to complete the 14ers in the winter, so most people play by those rules.

[DArcyS]

Astronomical winter, which involves the positioning of the earth and the sun, begins and ends on roughly Dec 21 and Mar 21, respectively. Meteorological winter, which presumably keeps meteorologists happy, covers the months of Dec, Jan and Feb. (Those meteorologists must have noticed that the beginning of December sure feels more like winter than the beginning of March.) If I were to do a winter ascent that I cared about, I'd do it from Dec 21 to the end of Feb to cover both periods.

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/meteorol ... al-seasons

So, as it turns out, any question that has two answers does not have an obvious answer.

[JtheChemE]

Astronomical winter, which involves the positioning of the earth and the sun, begins and ends on roughly Dec 21 and Mar 21, respectively. Meteorological winter, which presumably keeps meteorologists happy, covers the months of Dec, Jan and Feb. (Those meteorologists must have noticed that the beginning of December sure feels more like winter than the beginning of March.) If I were to do a winter ascent that I cared about, I'd do it from Dec 21 to the end of Feb to cover both periods.

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/meteorol ... al-seasons

So, as it turns out, any question that has two answers does not have an obvious answer.

... Just google"winter solstice 2018". You will know when winter starts down to the second. It's pretty clearcut.

[DArcyS]

Astronomical winter, which involves the positioning of the earth and the sun, begins and ends on roughly Dec 21 and Mar 21, respectively. Meteorological winter, which presumably keeps meteorologists happy, covers the months of Dec, Jan and Feb. (Those meteorologists must have noticed that the beginning of December sure feels more like winter than the beginning of March.) If I were to do a winter ascent that I cared about, I'd do it from Dec 21 to the end of Feb to cover both periods.

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/meteorol ... al-seasons

So, as it turns out, any question that has two answers does not have an obvious answer.

... Just google"winter solstice 2018". You will know when winter starts down to the second. It's pretty clearcut.

lol, I like this better

https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/g ... 0Countdown

So people can stand at the trailhead and know when they can start.

[bking14ers]

It's been awhile so I feel the need to chime in. Snow or blizzard like conditions in the mountains can happen on any day of the year, and I've had those conditions several times. I've done two or three summits now that had a decent amount of snow on them, but they were in August. Each of those summit attempts I did not start or end in the snow, it was just higher up. I consider those just "a snow climb". Still bad ass to me though... I have yet to climb a mountain in the season of winter. That would make it a winter climb.

[Wentzl]

The question was not "When does winter start", but rather "When does a climb count as a winter ascent". Yes, title of post is inconsistent, but as regards the body of the post;

Replies should focus on the word "count", not the word "winter".

All things being equal, "I climbed Mt. X during winter" conveys less information than "I climbed Mt. X in winter conditions"

And the answer is as obvious as it is unsatisfying. Depends on who is counting.

Making a presumption about the question intended by the OP, and taking a shot at second guessing the Site Administrator, I think you can check the box for a winter ascent on the 14er.com checklist if climb was done during calendar winter regardless of conditions on the ground. Anyway, that's how I keep score!

[pvnisher]

Tuesday.

[JQDivide]

Winter solstice 2018 in Northern Hemisphere will be at 3:23 p.m. on Friday, December 21
Can't leave the TH until that time to get your Winter Snowflake.

[climbingcue]

Winter solstice 2018 in Northern Hemisphere will be at 3:23 p.m. on Friday, December 21
Can't leave the TH until that time to get your Winter Snowflake.

My rules are a bit different, I would say you could not be on the summit before 3:23pm on 12/21/18 to make it count as a winter summit. Not sure I would want to be on the summit that late in the day on the shortest day of the year (sunlight wise). So I would just wait to climb until the 22nd.

Good luck,
Bill

[Vimana Aircraft]

Winter solstice 2018 in Northern Hemisphere will be at 3:23 p.m. on Friday, December 21
Can't leave the TH until that time to get your Winter Snowflake.

+1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!