Re: Yosemite Skiers Survive Snowy Ordeal

Vernal Equinox March 20, 2011 // Tales of Ostrander Hut

By Sandra Ann Harris

Alive. Yep, still here. Survived our annual backcountry skiing trip into Ostrander Hut with tales of adventure. Much more adventure than we'd bargained for and thank god for the superhero skiers in our group of 21 who broke trail for 10 miles to get us out safely.

The snow was thigh deep. They took turns at the front of the line breaking a path for miles and miles and over thousands of feet of elevation gain and loss to get us to our cars parked at the Badger Pass Ski resort.

Each skier could only break trail for a few minutes before stepping out of the track to let the person behind move into the lead and break for a few minutes. We were a long caterpillar snaking our way through mountains of snow for more than seven hours.

It was a blessing that there were three other groups we encountered once we got down from the mountains to Glacier Point Road. These other groups were also struggling to get back to their cars to safety at Badger Pass Resort. Each had broken short stretches of trail that helped us in our exodus.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ski/detail?entry_id=85537

Glad they survived!

Have you read the comments left by the readers of the story? Not a lot of love by some. It's funny (and sad) how negative some people can be when making (more or less) anonymous posts.

Usually made by people that have not done much if anything themselves.

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Old Dude

Plaw, yeah, I usually ignore comments in newspapers and blogs... they frustrate me too much sometimes.

I just read some now. Some people are harsh!

a guy i know was there the day before with a buddy of his, they both were hiking with snow shoes... i don't recall how far they got, but far enough to where they were sinking knee deep in the snow (even with snow shoes on). they realized that the weather prediction of 2-3 inches was now turning into feet (ended up being 3 feet)... so they turned around to go back to their car... the snow was coming down so hard and fast, they could barely see, and it also covered their snow shoe tracks... by luck, they found their car... he said his hands were soooo cold, that he could barely get his keys to open the car door...

Great decision for them to turn around. Always look at the forecast before handing out, especially when it is this cold. Even hiking to Half Dome; some people don't check and they get storm in on their way.