Below-average temperatures and lake effect snow showers, which could lead to more snow — especially in the mountains — are expected for the Olympic Region throughout the first week of December.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation issued an advisory alerting visitors of icy trail conditions in the High Peaks earlier this month.

“The Adirondacks are already experiencing winter conditions despite pleasant fall days at lower elevations,” the advisory stated. “In the High Peaks, the Lake Colden outpost caretaker is reporting icy trail conditions and unsafe lake ice. Ice traction footwear, such as micro-spikes or crampons, is needed to safely move on the trails.”

With hiking and other forms of backcountry recreation such popular draws throughout the Olympic Region, the Lake Placid News sat down with Adirondack Mountain Club’s Mary Glynn to review some important considerations — for hikers of all ability and experience levels — when venturing into the backcountry during the colder months.

Glynn serves as the club’s education programs manager. She has extensive backcountry experience, having served as a guide in New York and Vermont for the last decade. She has climbed all 46 High Peaks in the Adirondacks and completed summer and winter through-hikes of the 138-mile Northville-Placid Trail.

Glynn is a certified Wilderness First Responder, a state-licensed guide, a ‘Leave No Trace’ Level 3 Instructor and a certified Interpretive Guide. She is also Mental Health Wilderness First Aid and American Canoe Association certified.

The Adirondack Mountain Club is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of wild lands throughout the state. They offer courses in winter survival, wilderness medicine and orienteering, among other topics. They also provide guided trips throughout the Adirondacks. More information can be found at adk.org.

Winter clothing

When it comes to winter clothes, Glynn’s biggest recommendation is to avoid wearing cotton fabrics.

“Cotton holds either five or seven times its weight in water,” she said. “It gets so heavy when it’s wet, it’s not going to dry and it’s going to make you that much colder.”

She said people should opt for wicking fabrics, such as nylon or wool, whether they are going for a long hike or a short hike.

Glynn also advised, especially for frequent winter hikers, to invest in a good pair of insulated boots. She said people often try to wear two pairs of socks in summer hiking boots. Not only does this not provide insulation, Glynn said, but it can be counterproductive, as the double layering acts to constrict blood flow to the feet. This increases the risk of frostbite, she noted.

When it comes to wearing layers, Glynn echoes a popular phrase in outdoor education: “Be bold, start cold.” It means that people should start their activity feeling a bit chilly, with the idea of warming up as they continue moving. She said this takes practice, and people should reevaluate how they feel about 10 minutes into the activity, and consider adding or taking off a layer.

If people start with too many layers on, they may overheat, begin sweating and soon become cold and uncomfortable from the sweat in cold temperatures.

Glynn says people should still have a backup plan in case they get wet, either from sweat, precipitation or fall into water.

“I always keep a dry set of base layers in my backpack too,” she said. “In case you get soaking wet if something happens, you can put on those dry base layers closest to your skin, and that will make a big difference in terms of how you feel.”

Snowshoes, microspikes and crampons

When hiking in the winter, traction devices are essential. Snowshoes, micro-spikes and crampons all provide it, but are different pieces of equipment each having its own set of conditions for best use, according to Glynn.

Snowshoes provide traction and distribute body weight, preventing one from sinking into the snow. Micro-spikes and crampons fit around boots and provide traction, by using spikes that dig into snow and ice but are not as large as snowshoes. While they do not distribute body weight and don’t prevent people from sinking into the snow, they are less bulky.

Snowshoes are best used when there is a solid layer of snow. Micro-spikes are better for thin patches of ice on hiking trails and crampons are similar to micro-spikes, but more aggressive in their bite and best used for very steep terrain, such as when one is ice climbing.

Glynn said she puts micro-spikes in her backpack starting Oct. 1 in case ice is encountered early at higher elevations. They’re small and pack easily.

She reminded people venturing into the backcountry that using snowshoes or skis is often required by law.

“In the High Peaks Wilderness eastern zone, there is a regulation that if there are 8 inches or more of snow measured off trail, you must legally have snowshoes or skis on your feet,” she said.

Forest rangers issue tickets to people they encounter failing to abide by the law. She said the regulation exists for two very important reasons.

“It helps keep you safe and it helps keep other folks using the trail after you safe,” she said.

When people travel through deep snow without skis or snowshoes on their feet, they leave what are known as “post-holes,” depressions in the snow from their tracks, according to Glynn. These compress and harden over time, especially in freeze-thaw cycles, and can lead to subsequent trail users twisting their ankles or worse.

Glynn said some common traction devices aren’t suited for mountainous trails.

“We like to say ‘Yaktrax’ are best left at home,” she said. “They’re good for the grocery store parking lot or getting your mail, but they are not good for anything with an incline. While they are readily available and are the cheapest option, think of your traction device as the top way to prevent injury. They’re worth investing in,” she said.

Glynn recommended bringing zip ties along as a means to temporarily repair a traction device if it partially breaks while hiking but urged people to make sure the zip tie doesn’t break in cold temperatures. She said people should be familiar with how to do a zip tie repair. The internet has plenty of tutorial videos.

Light source

Glynn said it’s important to have a reliable source of lighting for winter hiking, which features shorter days and lower sun angles — making it even darker in the forest — than summer hiking.

“I always say two is one and one is none when it comes to headlamps,” Glynn said. It’s also important to have a backup lamp in case one fails or needs to have its batteries changed. She recommended keeping the lamps and spare batteries in an insulated area closer to one’s body heat. Doing so, she said, helps to preserve their charge.

Shelter

Glynn recommended that people going on longer hikes in the High Peaks should bring some form of shelter in case they become immobilized and have to spend an extended period of time in one location. A tent, tarp or sleeping bag are all possibilities.

“If you or someone in your party becomes injured to the point that you can no longer move, it doesn’t take long to get real cold, and rescues can take several hours before help arrives,” she said.

The role of others

Glynn acknowledged that everyone has their own risk tolerances and risk-management practices, depending on their level of familiarity, trail conditions, trail popularity and other factors, but said that she recommends doing bigger hikes with others.

“I wouldn’t recommend doing High Peaks alone because hypothermia is not something you’re going to recognize in yourself, and if you are hurt, you’ll have someone there to get help and look after you,” she said. “But, if you’re going up on a popular peak on a nice day, you’re almost certainly going to run into other people on the trail.”

It’s always important to let someone, not partaking in the activity, know of the plans and times. Glynn said ideally that a person not hiking should be given two times: when the adventurer(s) expect to be back by, and a second time sometime after that when, if they are not back by then, it is time to call authorities for a search and rescue.

The person being given the information should be savvy about that outdoor activity. They should have an understanding or, ideally, personal experience of the route, according to Glynn. If that’s not possible, the person or group venturing out should make sure that the person who would contact rescuers if needed is at least aware of the area, including specific trail routes and bailout points. Putting the information in writing can help if the person is less familiar with the area.

Glynn said that being able to pass on not only a distress call — but detailed information about the route — to rescuers can enable them to locate the person or group much faster.

Know before you go

It is important for hikers to be familiar with the route and the weather before venturing out. Glynn said conditions can change on a dime, and it was best to do a final check as close to departure time as possible — while noting that many of the trailheads and the roads leading to them do not have cell service.

The DEC’s conditions pages and Adirondack Mountain Club staff members were good resources on the latest conditions, according to Glynn. The Adirondack Mountain Club operates the Cascade Welcome Center on state Route 73 and High Peaks Information Center at Heart Lake.

“We field calls every day about that stuff,” she said.

Glynn said that the internet and social media can be helpful, especially for photos of up-to-date trail conditions, but cautioned that they are often — even if not stated — subjective. She noted that one person’s definition of an “easy” hike might be vastly different from somebody else’s.

Glynn recommended mountain-forecast.com for peak-specific weather forecasts, noting that people often underestimate how drastically different conditions can be at higher elevations.

“We see snow most months of the year in the High Peaks,” she said. “I got snowed on while on top of Mount Marcy in June 2020 when it was 65 degrees at the base.”

“A good rule-of-thumb is that for every 1,000 feet of elevation gain, you lose about four degrees of air temperature, and you need to factor that in with higher wind speeds and everything,” she said. “It’s easy to be 20 degrees or more colder up high.”

Glynn said it was important to know the signs of hypothermia and frostbite and know how to treat them.

“They can be easier to treat early on when you’re noticing things going wrong,” she said. “That’s when you can use hand warmers, bundling up, changing your layers and eating food as fixes.”

They become harder to treat the worse they get, she said, at that point often requiring the intervention of others.

Food and water

Glynn said her biggest advice for food was to pick something you actually enjoy eating.

“We see it so often, people pack food that they might see as being lightweight or efficient, but they don’t like its taste,” she said, adding that they either just don’t end up eating it, or they put it off eating it longer than they should.

Staying hydrated is important in the winter. Even if one is not sweating, Glynn said they are losing a lot of moisture by exhaling into the dry air. The cold also may make it harder for people to feel thirsty, even if they are dehydrated. Glynn said it was important to keep water insulated so it doesn’t freeze.

Frequent smaller snacking — as opposed to one or two bigger meals during the hike — is better, she said. Not only does it keep energy levels up, but taking extended breaks in the cold is impractical.

“I like to think of my stomach as a wood stove,” she said. “A fire is a lot harder to start when it’s down to nothing.”

She advised packing food that is lower in moisture content to avoid having it freeze before consumption. She added that she prefers food that is easy to grab at, such as trail mix.

If emergency strikes

Glynn said if one finds themself or a member of their party in an emergency, to try to remain calm. She said people should do whatever they can to keep warm and try to insulate themselves from the ground.

She saves the DEC’s emergency dispatch number, 833-697-7264, in her contacts so that if she were to get into an emergency situation, she could find it easily. People can also call 911.

If people are unsure of their situation, it is better to be safe than sorry, Glynn said.

“It’s better to call off the rescue team than to call them in way later when things have become way worse,” she said.

Glynn said that if a person is using a phone, to keep it close to them to avoid battery loss and, if they get a call from an unknown number, to answer it.

“It might be a member of law enforcement trying to ping your phone or a ranger asking ‘hey what resources do you have with you, how many people are in your party, where exactly are you, stuff like that,” she said.

Glynn emphasized that wilderness rescues often take a long time and it’s important to keep that in mind. Being prepared and having thought out what to do in a variety of emergencies helps to prevent panic, and may ultimately save a life.

For more information on winter hiking safety, visit tinyurl.com/93n73478.