I'm thinking these guys will walk out today. I sure hope so and it sounds like a gang of skilled people are up helping. It makes me think how easy it is to get lost in familiar, well bounded terrain. We spend so much time considering snow pack and avy danger. It is easy to underestimate how essential navigation is to a successful day out. Especially when you are in familiar locations, not expecting to pull our your map+compass navigation skills.
CLo and I found ourselves turned around up in the very same vicinity, between Pan Point and the snow field. It was that last Friday to enjoy the early fresh October snow before the snow line jumped up. I'd been up twice in the past 10 days.
We skinned out of the lot in reasonable visibility but temps were clearly rising. Once we broke out of the steep switchback to Pan Point we were feeling confident on reaching around 9000' for a great run down. The wind was blowing and were were breaking our own skin track, making our own navigation decisions. It felt good to have what is often a highway to ourselves. When we stopped for lunch, visibility had dropped to 50-100' and wind was really picking up. I put all my clothes on and was still cold.
I was sure we were on the moraine between Paradise Glacier and the start of the Muir snowfield. CLo was sure we were west of the Muir snowfield toe, on the moraine that leads along the ancillary snowfield well above Nisqually Glacier. These are dramatically differing places and we were both unimpressed. My altimeter read ~7600'. CLo was right and I came around after some map+compass looking. If we had kept climbing we would have rejoined the Muir snowfield around 8000'
I think we both wanted to continue ascending to prove out our guess on where we were. To be honest, It didn't hurt that the snow quality was degraded by wind and new moisture. Knowing how disoriented and off track we were, even if now we knew our location, was the factor that really turned us around. It certainly wasnt going to get easier on a broad snowfield. Once we made the decision to turn around it felt good to have flexed our "screw this, lets turn around" muscle.
Then we had to get back. I felt silly and disapointed in myself for becoming disoriented so close to the trail head in a familiar general location. I also felt some concern because the weather was degrading and the Pan Point, Pebble Creek, McClure Rock area on the map is actually a huge, varied space. Plenty of room to wander around in, especially with bad viz.
I had just printed out and added to my map set the Camp Muir "Get Your Bearings" image
from this brochure
. We rode back to the steep switchback at Pan Point by compass. It was handy to just read the bearings (192 Magnetic) and go. We could have derived this from the map but all that takes time and focus which is not always in full supply when you are disoriented.
Man, I hope these guys are warm and safe now cause I know just how they felt at the start of their adventure.
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