Backpacking Skills

If you take a compass navigation class, the instructor is likely to teach you how to translate between magnetic bearings and “true” bearings, despite the fact that the grid lines on almost every map printed today are based on true north. One of …

Describe a piece of hiking gear or hiking clothing that you damaged, destroyed or wore out this year, including what it was, the circumstances leading to its demise, whether you plan to repair or replace it, and if the latter with what. …

I took part in a rescue effort last week on Mt Washington, trying to revive a man who collapsed on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, we believe from a heart attack. There were about a dozen of us altogether, performing CPR and assisted …

Have you ever observed the footwork of a very experienced hiker? They tend to walk very efficiently, at a constant pace, often without looking at their feet. It’s something I do unconsciously now, but it took a couple of year of serious …

Have you ever come across a meadow of wild flowers and walked across it? How about tall prairie grass? If you have, you know that it takes very little to create a noticeable path through such an area. Once created, others have a strong tendency …

Most people who call 911 don’t start CPR and assisted breathing after someone goes into cardiac arrest, even when someone explains how to do it on the phone. That’s a shocking revelation, since CPR and assisted breathing is the BEST thing you …

One of the downsides of carrying an ultralight or lightweight backpacking load (20 pounds or less) is that it makes you weak. If you’re not used to carrying a 40 or 50 pound load, including food, fuel and water, you’ll run out …

When I go backpacking, I carry a small stuff sack with my tent stakes and extra cordage. I typically carry betwen 6 and 11 tent stakes with me, extra paracord and Kelty triptease. This is one of the more general purpose elements …

I backpacked the northermost section of Vermont’s Long Trail during Hurricane Ike in 2008. I didn’t realize that I was hiking through a hurricane at the time, even with the heavy rainfall and wind, since that kind of weather is the norm …

A Rutschblock test (pronounced ROOTCH BLOCK) is a snowpack compression test used by winter adventurers, backcountry guides, and avalanche forecasters to test for avalanche danger. It is designed to simulate the shock that a skier, snowboader, or snowshoer/climber, exerts on the snowpack …

If you do any backcountry skiing, ice climbing, snowshoeing, or mountaineering, I recommend that you take an Avalanche Rescue and Forecasting course. I took a great 3-day certification class from the Eastern Mountain Sports Climbing School this past weekend, and found it …

Building snow shelters is an important winter skill which can be used in emergency situations in the backcountry. Snow is a great insulator and works by preventing warm trapped in its crystalline structure from escaping. But more importantly perhaps, is that snow …

Lightweight Winter Glove Woes I’ve been having a real problem this winter dialing in my lightweight winter gloves. I sweat a lot when climbing up peaks or breaking trail and I have a tendency to soak out lightweight polypro or gore windstopper …

I was reminded of the dangers of solo winter hiking while climbing Mt Avalon (3, 442 ft) in Crawford Notch. There’s a balance between ambition and self-preservation that one needs to be cognizant of if you hike in the mountains or any …