The number of cars in the South Fork Trailhead lot surprised us. Twenty cars seemed more like summer traffic, not winter. In the first couple miles before Poopout Hill we passed a dozen or more people, mostly snowshoers out for the day. A few people headed toward the Summit. There was one especially well equipped solo climber with what must have been a 60 pound pack, complete with a snowboard, helmet, and lots of dangling bags. The snowshoe traffic had nicely packed down the snow from a couple days prior and made the way easy all the way to South Fork (Slushy) Meadow.

At this point, where you cross the headwaters of the Santa Ana River’s South Fork, the usual winter mountaineering route is straight up the drainage below Dry Lake, which is where we headed. We passed a back-country skier with climbing skins on his skis and before we knew it, we were breaking trail through the snow. Fresh, powdery, yet sticky snow. The kind where you sink as much as a full foot down, and then bring several clumpy pounds back up with each step. The kind that has a way of slowing you way down and tiring you out. Matt kept plugging away and pulled ahead, aided by his bigger snowshoes and Ironman conditioning.

We rested at the edge of Dry Lake, enjoying the snowy expanse and our lunch. We watched the ridges above as the windswept snow curled off and took guesses at how windy it was. Funny thing was we never considered stopping, and continued up above Dry Lake behind another pair of climbers. We thought there would be a bunch of people ahead of us, but it was just us 4 breaking trail through the beautiful virgin snow.

I had done this same route twice in snow last Spring, but this time it was surprisingly different. As we continued up the 2nd chute (couloir) from the left (East), the light clumpy snow got deeper, the incline steeper, and the progress significantly slower. We had anticipated summiting easily in the late afternoon, but by sunset Matt was barely on top and I still had a quarter of the way to go up the chute. At that point, the wind kicked in as we neared the ridgeline. A cold hard wind laced with stinging snow. And the snow below us gave way to the underlying rocky scree blown clear of any accumulated snow. I wasn’t sure which was worse – struggling through the soft snow lower down, or balancing atop the steep scree in my metal-bottomed snowshoes. As it got darker, my quads continued to complain and cramped up. My water froze. The wind increased.

And yet in the midst of this, I was treated to the most magnificent sunset. Brilliant reds on the Western horizon. Deep purples and grays to the North and East in the clouds over Big Bear and Joshua Tree. Stunning. I wish I had been able to have photographed what lay below me, but I was too cold, too exposed, and too anxious to reach the summit.

Sometime after 6pm I finally made the top of the ridgeline and came across the other two climbers who were digging a platform in the snow for their tent. I asked them if they knew they were not yet at the summit, which lay a half mile to the East, and told them that I thought the rock shelters would be exposed and accessible due to the minimal snow accumulation above treeline. Anxious to get out of the wind, they followed me to the summit, where I found Matt in his tent. The other climbers searched for a spot among the rocks, but all the shelters were full of blown snow and pretty useless. They eventually gave up and went back to their original spot on the ridgeline. I felt kinda bad.

I’m not sure exactly how hard the wind was blowing at this point, but I was amazed that Matt had been able to pitch his tent, by himself, and that it hadn’t blown away with him in it. He invited me in, glad for the ballast. It was a cozy 3 season tent, which meant that the 2 of us barely fit, and that snow blew in through the ample vents and swirled inside. The wind continued to beat the tent. We conservatively estimated 50 mph winds with gusts into the 60s. Everything was frozen. No drinkable water. Too windy to cook or heat anything. After a  bag of cold lentils and a few swigs of emergency whiskey, we hunkered down in our bags for a long night, hoping the wind would lessen.

It didn’t. It got worse. All night long the sides of the tent punched at us.  The hours crawled by and I stopped looking at my watch. I unsuccessfully tried to ignore nature’s call. With the windchill, it was well below zero, and made any trips outside very unpleasant. By sunrise we figured conditions would not be getting any better and it was best just to pack up and head down, which we did. As we traveled back West along the ridgeline, the gust were so strong that I struggled to stay upright. A third of the way back down the chute, the wind quickly lessened in the shadow of the ridgeline, and the soft snow turned pleasant as we descended. We passed a large group from Pasadena practicing avalanche safety. At Dry Lake I broke out my stove, downed almost a liter of coffee, and ate a crunchy, frozen, hard-boiled egg. Yum.

Hydrated and fueled, we made great time the rest of the way back to the trail head. The distance was a bit over 15 miles total round trip with the same out-and-back route. It took me over 9 hours to reach the top, which is 3 hours longer than previous trips. We came down in 3.5 hours, a half hour quicker than before. I guess we were motivated to get out of the wind.

Afterword – Lesson Learned:

To quote Matt, “When they have to tell us it is going to be windy, we should probably pay attention.” Next time the weather report warns of high winds, and especially when I see snow blowing off the ridges, I will avoid sleeping up there and opt to overnight lower down. Had we left earlier, we could have easily summited and then come back down in just an hour to camp comfortably at Dry Lake.

Which leads me to the next point, speed and time. I wasn’t prepared for how much the snow conditions would slow me. Breaking trail in soft sticky snow with a 30 lbs pack increased the ascent time by 50% over similar previous climbs. Leaving earlier in the morning and planning on setting up camp earlier in the afternoon would at worse mean you avoid putting yourself in more compromising situations and at best mean you have daylight to enjoy lounging around camp.

The cold had greater impact than I anticipated. I was surprised at how quickly liquids and solids froze up. I need to add a Camelback insulating hose cover to my Winter equipment list. And better plan for the freezing of food, having more items that can be easily eaten without heating when tired and cold. Twice during the trip I put on heavier gloves, and twice, instead of warm hands, I got numb fingers. Cold gloves are heat sinks that suck warmth away. Mittens would be better, and keeping them deep in my pack or close to my body would help.

In terms of equipment, generally we were in good shape, although a good 4 season mountaineering tent would be added to the list next time. I slept warm and dry in my Mountain Laurel Designs Bivy, insulated by: long underwear, down pants and jacket, two comforters, a balaclava, and a down hood. I was on top of a full-length 3/8 foam pad and a torso-length Exped DownMat. With the exception of my numb fingers and driving snow hitting my face around the summit, I was comfortable climbing throughout the day in long underwear and a shell, and had extra layers if needed.

Overall, it was the weather that changed the game. The combination of fresh snow, low temperatures, and high winds all conspired to keep us on our toes, and created an environment where small mistakes or accidents could have been costly. Fortunately we were careful, or lucky – probably both. It is very easy to be lulled into a false sense of security in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. Just because you are within a couple hours of, and can look out and see 20 million people, doesn’t mean that extreme alpine conditions don’t exist. Be careful out there!

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Below is the text of the public legal notice from the USFS:

“The Mountaintop Ranger District, San Bernardino National Forest, proposes to construct and designate the Skyline Recreation Trail, a non-motorized, multi-use trail within the bounds of the Skyline Fuelbreak, located along the ridge south of the Big Bear Valley.  The trail is intended to separate motorized from non-motorized traffic on Forest Service Road (FSR) 2N10 to increase safety for all users.  FSR 2N10 is a popular meandering, unpaved road that is frequently traveled by people driving vehicles, motorcycles, and bicycles.  The combination of mixed use and number of users has resulted in several near misses, as well as documented accidents between vehicles and non-motorized users.  The Skyline Recreation Trail will be designed and constructed to encourage bicyclists to travel at safe speeds, thereby promoting safe shared-use for all non-motorized recreationists.  Along the majority of the route, the trail will roughly parallel Forest Service Road 2N10 and follow an east-west alignment.  The recreation trail in the fuelbreak is also intended to decrease the use of non-system trails in the vicinity of the Skyline Fuelbreak. As a result, the Mountaintop Ranger District also proposes to close and restore intersecting non-system trails to their natural condition that pose risks to Forest resources or hazards to Forest visitors.  Signs will be installed to mark the trail and to direct and educate trail users away from non-system routes as necessary.  Trail construction will utilize best management practices to mitigate resource concerns and will follow Trails Management Handbook guidelines (FSH 2309.18).

Your comments are being requested to help identify key issues, mitigation measures, and/or analyze effects of the proposed action. Please be as specific as possible in expressing your comments so they can be effectively addressed. Comments received, including names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public record for this project and will be available for public inspection. A public meeting is scheduled for August 20, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at the intersection of 2N10 and 2N06.

The preference for receiving comments is by email. Please send comments to: comments-pacificsouthwest-san-bernardino-big-bear@fs.fed.us by August 31, 2011 with the words “Skyline Recreation Trail” in the subject line. If you are unable to send comments electronically, you may send them to the following address: Skyline Recreation Trail, Attn: Omero Torres, Mountaintop Ranger District, P.O. Box 290 Fawnskin, CA 92333.  Although your comments are always welcome, comments received by August 31, 2011 will be most helpful. For more information about this proposal, please contact Omero Torres, P.O. Box 290 Fawnskin, CA 92333, 909-382-2760, omerotorres@fs.fed.us.”

If you are interested in helping move this Skyline Trail project forward, please contact the Big Bear Valley Trails Foundation.

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Pine Knot (1E01) Trail

Grays Peak Trail

Seven Oaks Trail

Paddlers were treated to sunny skies and a cool flat lake as they tested their stamina at 6700’. The Big Bear PaddleFest is a member of Open Air Big Bear and third in the Conquer the Bear/Conquer the Cub series of cross training races held throughout the year in Big Bear Valley. Some stills:

1. Outslope – A trail’s tread should always be slightly higher on the uphill side so that water can easily drain off. A gentle outslope of at least 2%, preferably 5%, is recommended. Trails without this outslope catch, hold, and channel water, helping erode and destroy the trail. Proper outslope encourages water to sheet across and off the trail.
2. Proper Grade – Harkening back to your high school geometry, Grade = rise/run, or the elevation gain between two points always expressed as a percentage. When applied to trails, there are 3 aspects of grade to watch for:
   1. The average grade of the trail overall should not exceed 10% (8% is better).
   2. Limit the maximum grade, the steepest parts, to 20% (15% is better), and only for short sections less than 50 linear feet.
   3. Follow The Half Rule – A trail’s grade shouldn’t exceed half the grade of the sideslope. In other words, a trail should be less than half as steep as the slope it traverses.
3. Rolling Dips – Rolling Dips, aka “Grade Reversals,” are little drops in a trail that forces water to drain at the low spot. Rolling dips are subtle downhills, just 10′ to 50′ in length, that prevent water from gaining volume, momentum, and erosive power. They also should be frequent – every 20′ to 50′ depending on soil and water conditions. Rolling dips replace water bars on good trails. (Rolling dips good, water bars bad.) Rolling dips also make a trail more enjoyable, providing variety and relief.

Good trails will simultaneous incorporate all of these principles. When you come across a trail in poor shape, you will see that these features have not been incorporated. When not planned for, water will always win and end up destroying trails! Ignore these elements on a trail and plan on significant maintenance requirements for that trail.

Other Elements of Good Trail Design

A few other guidelines to remember: Follow natural contours. Connect positive control points (viewpoints, water, other attractions). Use bench-cut construction and excavate soil from the hillside. For highly technical trails where grade will sometimes exceed 15 percent, use natural rock, rock armoring or other rock features to add challenge and improve sustainability. And don’t guess at grade. Use an inclinometer.

Building sustainable trails decreases time and money demands while increasing user enjoyment and resource protection.

Reference Links

• USFS Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook
• IMBA Trail Building and Design
• American Trails Design and Construction
• CCCMB Build Skills

Building Sustainable Trails Videos