hiking alone / emergency gear for shoulder season

[LifeIsGood]

survivorship bias built-in to a lot of advice that's going to be given.

This is certainly a valid point. In other words, any encouraging advice is being provided by people that have gone in to the alpine solo, perhaps countless times, and returned unscathed. Whereas anyone who perished alone on a mountain, is now unable to advise caution.

It used to be a well-known rule, and was frequently referred to as Rule Number One, to never go in to the wilderness alone, and I think nearly everyone can agree that the risks do increase that way, but things are different now with the advent of satellite communication.

[justiner]

but things are different now with the advent of satellite communication.

I would disagree exceptionally with that when we talk about Winter.

[Istoodupthere]

I did all 58 solo. It’s not that big of a deal except for the class 4’s and a few of the class 3’s. Know your limits. I did plenty outside of July/August. Nothing wrong with going slow and being extra careful. Study your routes. Download a gpx file. I’d always copy the route description into my notes on my phone and add all the pics of the route to my photos. I also would only go on good weather days. I wasn’t in a hurry to finish. Have a backup plan. If weather was bad for a 14er, I was willing to drive to another part of the state for a different 14er or 13er. I also had parents who were terrified at what I was doing. Then again, my dad sold the family property in northern Mich because he was afraid someone would get bit by a tick so mine were on the more extreme side.

[Jay521]

Like some others on this site, I tend to go solo. Winter and summer. Not exactly sure how that started out other than to say I'm old and started hiking mountains (mostly 12ers and 13ers) in my late teens (1960's). After I got out of the Navy (1971), "way back then", 14ers weren't a big draw and I didn't know anyone who did them nor was there 14ers.com to meet people. I always felt comfortable in winter and preferred camping and snowshoeing alone. That's how I started out.

Fast forward to the 1980's. Kinda got hooked on 14ers but didn't know how to meet people and/or there wasn't all that much out there in real guide books. (Borneman and Lampert was the only book I had). So, I just studied a lot of maps and kinda went alone.

Now, it's difficult to be "alone/solo" on most 14ers. And to be totally honest, part of the reason I go to the hills once a week, winter and summer, is to be alone. So I do mostly 13ers, 12ers, etc., now. And I am totally OK with that. I don't have a "list" - I just want to get to the top of things and enjoy the adventure and the view.

Long story short (or maybe longer?) - Nobody can tell you what is best/safest for you. Unless you want to live in a bubble. And I doubt anyone on this site wants to be in a bubble.

Good luck - and be safe out there!

[Gulf_Coast_Hiker]

Like some others on this site, I tend to go solo. Winter and summer. Not exactly sure how that started out other than to say I'm old and started hiking mountains (mostly 12ers and 13ers) in my late teens (1960's). After I got out of the Navy (1971), "way back then", 14ers weren't a big draw and I didn't know anyone who did them nor was there 14ers.com to meet people. I always felt comfortable in winter and preferred camping and snowshoeing alone. That's how I started out.

Fast forward to the 1980's. Kinda got hooked on 14ers but didn't know how to meet people and/or there wasn't all that much out there in real guide books. (Borneman and Lampert was the only book I had). So, I just studied a lot of maps and kinda went alone.

Now, it's difficult to be "alone/solo" on most 14ers. And to be totally honest, part of the reason I go to the hills once a week, winter and summer, is to be alone. So I do mostly 13ers, 12ers, etc., now. And I am totally OK with that. I don't have a "list" - I just want to get to the top of things and enjoy the adventure and the view.

Long story short (or maybe longer?) - Nobody can tell you what is best/safest for you. Unless you want to live in a bubble. And I doubt anyone on this site wants to be in a bubble.

Good luck - and be safe out there!

This is good stuff, Jay. I appreciate your experience and posts. For me, I sometimes have friends that join, but mostly been solo so far. And I'm okay with that even though I'm and old fart who lives at sea level. But I've not done any of the really hard 14ers. Will definitely try to have company for the more "interesting" peaks.

[JerJerBinks]

Download a gpx file. I’d always copy the route description into my notes on my phone and add all the pics of the route to my photos.

I've done this before too and often still do for 13ers, but there's actually an app for this. The 14ers mobile app (totally free) allows us to download route descriptions, pictures, gpx etc for all of the 14er routes that are on this site/app. It even has a map function for navigation and recently was upgraded to include 3d fly through for many or potentially all of the routes. Can't say I've tried the fly through, but the resources are top of the line. Download and access through the app. It was made just for you!

[Anima]

I've been climbing 13ers / 14ers solo since I was 16 years old. Many in shoulder season and winter. I do a lot of remote 13ers. Probably have summited 200+ peaks over 13k solo at this point.

I wouldn't say climbing solo is reckless, but there is a lot more risk involved. Some of the things I do that put my parents at ease:
1) Tell them where I am going: where I am parking the car, which peaks I expect to summit, when I expect to be back.
2) Carry a garmin inreach and turn on tracking. I keep mine on 10min-interval tracking car to car. Originally I had the inreach mini but after it broke I upgraded to the inreach mini 3 and the tracking is much more reliable in terms of connecting to satellites quickly. This way if something happens to you (assuming you are still with the inreach) S&R can be pointed to your exact coordinates either by you or whoever has access to your tracking.
3) As a general rule, don't travel in avalanche terrain alone in the winter. People do it, but it should be reserved for those who can evaluate the risks and accept them. If you've never travelled in avalanche terrain before, you are probably not in a position to evaluate the risk of any particular slope. Avalanche courses are cool, but they are not a substitute for actual experience with snow and traveling in avalanche terrain.

If you're only doing things in the Front Range / Tenmile / Mosquito / etc that have trails and you're doing them in daylight, thats about as safe as its gets for solo mountain travel in any season.

In the winter I carry a big down jacket (supposedly rated to -40F) insulated pants, mittens, and good boots. If you really want to be climbing 13ers/14ers in the winter routinely, then warm boots are something you cannot skimp on. Double mountaineering boots (think La Sportiva G2SM) have the warmth, but are overkill for most Colorado Peaks. If you are just hiking, Salomon Tundra Forces are a great option. You will run into people here you say you can wear three season mountaineering boots or even winter trail runners. IMO this is terrible advice. While somedays are warm enough to warrant this, the average winter day in Colorado is too cold and windy, especially if you have to stop, get hurt, spend the night out, etc.

One thing I'd like to point out here, at least from my experience, is that without a significant amount of experience it's hard to wrap your head around the risks of solo climbing. If you asked me what I thought about doing things solo when I had summited 50 peaks vs when I had summited 400, my answers would be very different. At 50 peaks, I would have said its exhilarating, enables me to climb more, and there is nothing to fear. At 400, I still enjoy it, but don't walk around in the dark by myself if I don't have to and am more apt to turn around. Some experiences I'd like to highlight where I was very glad to have a partner:
1) Getting stalked by a mountain lion at 10:00pm near the Huron trailhead in late November of 2022. Would not have enjoyed this solo.
2) Having a very large black bear outside my tent (also around 10:00pm.) Would not have enjoyed this solo.
3) Summited Belford at 5pm on December 30th in the Dark. Both my headlamp and backup headlamp and batteries died. Fortunately my partner had more backup batteries. Otherwise would have been a very long, very dark stumble back to the car.

Last thing I'll say, but understand that it can happen to you. Whatever "it" is. I've seen people free-fall of ridges because they grabbed a lose rock, get caught in avalanches, get stuck above something they cannot downclimb, get frostbite etc. One minute they were fine, the next they were not. When your solo, there is no one there to tell you something is a bad idea, so you have to be confident in your own ability.

[bigredmachine]

2 percocets always in my FA kit. It may not help in all situations, but a fracture or serious sprain, will allow you to at least possibly find some cell service.

I've only used it once (super bad rolled ankle) just below the boulder field on Longs...I could not put any weight on it. Two percs and 30 minutes later and I had the best Longs decent of all time. Joking, but not.

[Istoodupthere]

Download a gpx file. I’d always copy the route description into my notes on my phone and add all the pics of the route to my photos.

The 14ers mobile app (totally free) allows us to download route descriptions, pictures, gpx etc for all of the 14er routes that are on this site/app.

These are the kind of things I’d know if I didn’t go solo all the time.

Also, I have a garmin watch. The accuracy on mileage and elevation isn’t perfect but it has a breadcrumb feature. This has come in a handy a couple of times, especially when I didn’t have a gpx file. One time that sticks out was the descent from California in the winter. Hard snow above treeline didn’t leave bootprints. Plus low visibility meant I was confused on where I needed to re-enter the woods. My watch showed how off course I was.

[Jorts]

A few anecdotes for you:

1) A solo Summit County resident descended into the wrong drainage off of Missouri years ago in October and there was a coordinated SAR call looking for him for a few days. He was eventually located because of the heat signature from the fire he was able to start with his stove. It was a close call because weather moved in.
https://www.summitdaily.com/news/rescue ... ckcountry/

2) A solo La Plata County resident went into La Plata Canyon a few years ago for a big run. Weather moved in and he has not been found. There were a few other incidents of solo travelers disappearing around that time.
https://coloradosun.com/2022/10/21/trai ... in-safety/

3) A hiker on East Thorne fell nearly 1000 feet and did not survive. He was live transmitting his location (via SPOT I believe) to his wife. We located him in a remote pinner gully off of a remote couloir. He never would have been found without the SPOT.
https://www.summitdaily.com/news/missin ... verthorne/

Takeaways for improving your survival odds traveling solo should something go sideways:

Carry a sat com that is preferably live transmitting your location to someone.

Be able to start a fire.

Carry a bivy you can climb into and warm clothing.


I ski tour and mountain run solo often. The risks are real but they can by mitigated.

[DestroyMySweater]

I guess I'll also be the contrarian. I think the best safety gear is a partner -- and this is from someone who does basically all their trips solo. Doubly so for Winter and 3x for any avalanche terrain being negotiated. Chances you're going to dig yourself out of a slide are frighteningly low.

My question here is what is the actual data on partners digging people out of an avalanche that otherwise they would have died in. In other words, if you are partially buried and can get (or could have) yourself out, having others with you isn't the issue. On the other hand, I've read quite a few CAIC reports where both/multiple partners are buried, so having a partner didn't actually help (BTW, that's why you should spread out when going through potential avy terrain). There are also plenty of stories when a partner right there couldn't dig someone out (this happens more than you'd think).
I'm not saying having a partner doesn't help, but I do wonder about how much help it is when it comes to surviving avalanche. I think the bigger help of a group is in the actual assessment and observation of conditions -- the more eyes and ears that you have the better. I think I'd just say that winter hiking comes with certain risks that can only slightly be mitigated by hiking with others.

[Jorts]

I guess I'll also be the contrarian. I think the best safety gear is a partner -- and this is from someone who does basically all their trips solo. Doubly so for Winter and 3x for any avalanche terrain being negotiated. Chances you're going to dig yourself out of a slide are frighteningly low.

My question here is what is the actual data on partners digging people out of an avalanche that otherwise they would have died in. In other words, if you are partially buried and can get (or could have) yourself out, having others with you isn't the issue. On the other hand, I've read quite a few CAIC reports where both/multiple partners are buried, so having a partner didn't actually help (BTW, that's why you should spread out when going through potential avy terrain). There are also plenty of stories when a partner right there couldn't dig someone out (this happens more than you'd think).
I'm not saying having a partner doesn't help, but I do wonder about how much help it is when it comes to surviving avalanche. I think the bigger help of a group is in the actual assessment and observation of conditions -- the more eyes and ears that you have the better. I think I'd just say that winter hiking comes with certain risks that can only slightly be mitigated by hiking with others.

I don’t know the statistics, but it happens often enough. Look at the CO accident reports on CAIC (the CO ones include close calls without fatalities). I know of at least one accident that occurred on Kendall in Silverton a couple years ago where the buried person was saved by his partner.

Having said that, if I’m solo I subconsciously push the envelope less. Maybe there’s a realization that if I’m caught with a partner watching me from a ridge line I at least have a chance.

This story is nuts. The guy went out the Loveland ski area gate solo and was buried but luckily another backcountry skier saw him and unburied him in time:
https://www.summitdaily.com/news/crime/ ... ose-calls/