“Am I forgetting anything?” Tips on Pre-Adventure Planning
by Andrew McLean
Being organized and prepared can often make up for any failings in your climbing and skiing ability. You can be the greatest shredder in the world, but if you can't make it to the base of the peak, thou shall not shred.
Planning
I start early (days, not hours), lay everything out, double check it, roughly divide it into piles and of course, go over a detailed list. This is especially important if you’re going on a two or three day trip where time is limited. Forgotten gear can lead to an unscheduled, out-of-the-way drive, a late start, and ultimately, not making your goal.
Laying the Groundwork
I'm a huge fan of TOPO! mapping software and GPS units for laying out adventures. They allow you to trace out your proposed route, get an idea of elevations and distances involved, and mark important waypoints. It allows you to do moderate approaches in the dark or bad weather, which will hopefully put you in a position to pounce once conditions improve.
Local knowledge is key. Before a trip to the Canadian Rockies, I called a local skier who said that June is a "transitional" month and not recommended. We ignored his advice and spent many miserable hours slogging through waist deep hell only to arrive at slopes that were naturally releasing all around. The word "transitional" was forever burned in my mind. As a last thought on pre prep, always check your gear in the comfort of your home, not when you are hanging from a single ice tool trying to get a ski on.
Packing and Flying
Airline standards are usually two pieces of luggage per person with a maximum of 70 lbs each. Skis count as a bag, so it's worthwhile to have a big burrito style ski bag that you can load up with 70 lbs of stuff padding your skis at the same time. Curbside Sky Caps are worth a hefty tip, often checking bags all the way through, over looking slight weight infractions, and bypassing long lines. Paying the excess baggage fee on one extra 70 lb bag checked in multiple times on a trip can double your airfare! Carry-on luggage is a good place for small objects, but don't carry your beacon, GPS or radio with you, as they are easily confused for detonation devices and promptly whisked away. Once you've packed your bags, double stuff them into durable overbags (big stuff sacks) to prevent straps from getting caught in conveyor belts and your luggage from "accidentally" opening.
Hit the Ground Skinning
Try to pack and unpack only once per trip. More importantly, try to make it such that you can get out of the car or plane and be ready to go with minimal gear shuffling. On a trip to Denali, within minutes of arriving in Talkeetna, our bush pilot grabbed our gear, threw it in the plane and we took off for the glacier. Due to bad weather, the next planes didn't leave for another three days – something that could have easily happened to us if we had stopped for tea & crumpets. Tricks like these include putting your skins on your skis, having all of your gear for the day in one pack, prepacking some lunch food, having topos easily accessible and having all your gear organized according to how/when you think you might need it.
If done correctly, by the time you get to where you are going, you will be so sick of planning, organizing and packing that the rest of the trip will seem easy. Powder is too fleeting to waste it while spinning in a state of confusion. By taking the time beforehand to get it all dialed in, you can make the most of a short trip, unexpected bad weather or, God forbid, other people's disorganization.
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