“Abort the Summit” by Nutnfancy (‘Glacier Call’ Pt 2)04:33

PART 2: Going to Plan B could save your life. Sometimes hikers get so focused on accomplishing their wilderness goals, they lose sight of the danger that creeps upon them. They may have over reliance on their fitness levels, their LCBs, and their gear. Conditions change rapidly and can pose lethal threats in high alpine environments. In this Nutnfancy backpack adventure with friend “Cr0cket20,” you will see how we divorce ourselves from ego to make the right call at about 10,000 ft elevation on an icy, foggy, and sleet driven glacier. I try to be ready for about any alpine emergency, carried within my Kelty SuperTioga backpack. But good gear preparation is actually just a small part of the equation. It can’t and won’t compensate for poor judgement and foolishness. As shown in this adventure series, despite excellent rain gear and insulation, in these sleeting and drenching conditions it is impossible to stay dry while on the slope. Core temperatures can plummet rapidly. This consideration along with occasional zero-zero visibility conditions, our tiredness levels while on the steep slope, the passing storms (thunder and lighting too), lack of crampons and ice gear, and approaching darkness made my decision clear as the “Expedition Leader” to change our plans and get out of there. Maybe it was a “Glacier Call” that kept us safe. Descending to our bugout location, we bivouac in the driving rain and sleet. Tents are erected, we don some dry clothes, crank the stoves, and warm food and hot chocolate bring some comfort. This drama was thematic for the trip but along the way we did have fun: discussing gear, observing and showing the beauty, cutting up, and enjoying the antics of our friend and faithful companion “Allie the Mountain Dog,” highly trained for this environment. Along the way you will meet another well-prepared and experienced hiker with his male Great Dane dog that passes us as we break camp. He is summit-bound. We discussed the seriousness of the conditions and our experiences. Trails were buried in feet of snow, making navigation tougher and more exhausting as well. Pausing for several hours of photography, this same hiker passes us on the way down, having made the same call that we did. After finding himself in a whiteout (storm) as we had, he found himself hiking in circles around a rock outcropping. Like us, he made the right decision, called it a day, and retreated immediately to lower elevations. He too lived to hike another day. I give a big thank you to my friend Cr0cket20 who was a great companion on this Nutnfancy memory. You rock! /////////////////// Music: Kevin MacLeod, Torley Wong, and Jimmy G