Multnomah Falls Summit Fail- Mountaineering skills??

Trip recommendations, current conditions, and other trail related Q&A
forestkeeper
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Multnomah Falls Summit Fail- Mountaineering skills??

Post by forestkeeper » December 14th, 2016, 12:05 am

Today, December 13th, 2016, I planned on photographing Little Multnomah Falls, Dutchman's and Weisendanger Falls covered in snow but was hindered at about the 9th switchback.
The trail from the overlook bridge was covered with pack snow and my Kahtoola Microspikes were digging perfectly.
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Was able to capture a couple scenes of Multnomah Falls midway up.
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The snow was getting deeper/higher on the upper switchbacks and the trail was shrinking in width.
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By the time I was nearing the 9th switchback, the snow drifts were about 4 feet high on the trail, with the boot path on the outer cliffside.
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After the large tree on the right, the trail had a high cliff dropoff of about 75 feet or so, with no protection should the snow giveaway with my weight.

Although I hadn't slipped at all wearing the Kahtoolas, I did think about my own body weight, including my ski attire and backpack putting additional weight on the outer edge of the trail. And as I thought of that 21 year old girl that fell off Munra Pt. last month, and that, I too was alone, I decided to not venture any further up the trail. :(

Is there any mountaineering techniques, maybe with rope, that I can apply at this switchback or any snow covered cliffside trail to ensure more safety? Or should I bring a shovel up and spend a few hours clearing snow? I would like to get some cool snowy waterfall/ trail pics.

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Charley
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Re: Multnomah Falls Summit Fail- Mountaineering skills??

Post by Charley » December 14th, 2016, 8:34 am

Steep side-hilling is much safer with an ice axe, depending on the depth of the snow on your uphill side. You hold it in such a way that it provides balance most of the time, may arrest a fall before the fall gets too bad, and may help stop a slide in progress. I say "may," because user skill and snow conditions often prevent the effective utilization of the tool. "Failure to self-arrest" is a regular line in the Accidents in North American Mountaineering journal.
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Andesite
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Re: Multnomah Falls Summit Fail- Mountaineering skills??

Post by Andesite » December 14th, 2016, 9:14 am

You've already demonstrated an understanding of one of the most important mountaineering skills - knowing when to turn around.

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VanMarmot
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Re: Multnomah Falls Summit Fail- Mountaineering skills??

Post by VanMarmot » December 14th, 2016, 9:43 am

Andesite wrote:You've already demonstrated an understanding of one of the most important mountaineering skills - knowing when to turn around.
YES! I wish folks would stop saying "fail" - which sounds SO negative - when they exercise good judgment and an awareness of their own comfort/skill level to turn back before it's too late. True, you can "fail" to reach a personal goal you've set for yourself for a particular hike, but making the tough (but necessary) call to turn back means that you'll have that chance to try again later. So good decision on your part to give yourself another try at this... In the meantime, there are several ways to raise your comfort/skill level vis-a-vis mountaineering-type situations, like the Mazamas basic climbing school or classes offered at REI or by guide services, etc.

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Koda
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Re: Multnomah Falls Summit Fail- Mountaineering skills??

Post by Koda » December 14th, 2016, 9:55 am

Well done Will, you’ve mastered the most important mountaineering skill… knowing when to turn around. Yes, in the wrong conditions what can otherwise be a simple hike can turn into a mountaineering route filled in with snow and ice.

The correct skill to get up there in these conditions is to go with a friend with the experience and skill to use a rope and a few anchors depending on the exposure. If your not comfortable crossing solo, I disagree an ice axe is “safer to traverse with”, an ice axe alone is not going to prevent you from falling nor will it guarantee you can arrest any fall you encounter with it.

Depending on the exact conditions of the trail you probably need a rope and anchors to safely traverse a slope you described. Honestly, I would just wait 3 or 4 weeks and see if the winter snow melts off with the next rain event.
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Bosterson
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Re: Multnomah Falls Summit Fail- Mountaineering skills??

Post by Bosterson » December 14th, 2016, 12:40 pm

Koda wrote: The correct skill to get up there in these conditions is to go with a friend with the experience and skill to use a rope and a few anchors depending on the exposure. If your not comfortable crossing solo, I disagree an ice axe is “safer to traverse with”, an ice axe alone is not going to prevent you from falling nor will it guarantee you can arrest any fall you encounter with it.
I would contend that if you were considering roping up for the Multnomah Falls trail, maybe it's just not a good day to be up there. Contrary to popular opinion (this is not directed at Koda, rather something you see expressed on the Oregonian and on here by non-climbers), ropes are not always - or even frequently - the solution to snow exposure. If you're roping up but not placing fixed anchors to belay from, you're just more likely to pull your partner off with you. Multnomah Falls is great and all, but bringing snow pickets, tying off anchors around trees, etc, just for a couple of switchbacks - that sounds like conditions where it may be best to practice your snow walking skills or else leave it for another day.

As others have said, knowing when to turn around is always skill #1, so again kudos for that. In terms of continuing in that terrain, I would agree with Charley about taking an axe - full "self belay" technique would be one way to get through a steep section where you're worried about slipping.

It's hard to tell from just a photograph, but unless you were worried that the "path" through the snow was so far to the outside of the pavement that there was potential for it to be over the edge of the asphalt, where the ground underneath could be uneven and the snow could give way, I would also just say that practicing walking on snow in different conditions would be another useful skill for a situation like this. If you're worried the snow might give way, test your steps before fully weighting them. Also keep in mind that Microspikes are great for compacted snow and/or ice, but are mostly useless in soft snow (because the spikes are so short). If your Microspikes were gripping pretty well, it sounds like the snow was pretty hard, which makes it less likely to collapse under you. If in doubt, you also could kick new steps higher up the hillside as you cross, but if it was difficult to kick into the snow, it again was likely hard enough to hold your weight.
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woodswalker
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Re: Multnomah Falls Summit Fail- Mountaineering skills??

Post by woodswalker » December 14th, 2016, 1:01 pm

I know right where that is. We took that one pretty slow coming down. We went up to the Basin on Monday. We had spikes, there was another group up there as well and we definitely had to do a bit of side-hilling and reverse step kicking coming down, but we were fine. We were seeing some pretty spectacular falls up there though. Some of the folks that fell were wearing spikes. It was totally the right call to turn around. In retrospect, I wouldn't be eager to do it again. One epic snow adventure is enough for me.

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Re: Multnomah Falls Summit Fail- Mountaineering skills??

Post by Lurch » December 14th, 2016, 1:07 pm

I'll back the others. Knowing when to turn around is a win in my book, not a fail! I've seen conditions there pretty damn bad, it's even worse when you snake your way through and get on top, only to realize you don't have a way back down.

Even if you did get past *that* particular section, it's only going to get worse, and you probably wouldn't/shouldn't get through the switchbacks by Weisendanger

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woodswalker
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Re: Multnomah Falls Summit Fail- Mountaineering skills??

Post by woodswalker » December 14th, 2016, 1:13 pm

The switchbacks at Weisendanger were definitely not working for folks.
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Koda
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Re: Multnomah Falls Summit Fail- Mountaineering skills??

Post by Koda » December 14th, 2016, 1:58 pm

Bosterson wrote:I would contend that if you were considering roping up for the Multnomah Falls trail, maybe it's just not a good day to be up there. Contrary to popular opinion....
I agree, your explanation was better than mine. Absolutely fixed anchors but I felt the same thought, if Forestkeeper was is not comfortable crossing then just wait for the trail to melt out.

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Forestkeeper asked for advice on mountaineering skills so I offered up a tid bit of an opinion. If the OP is insisting on figuring this out then yeah lets carry on the conversation of proper skills but he really should go with someone experienced to learn first hand from rather than try to compile some skills and tips in a forum thread....
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