Attempting a Presidential Traverse in the winter isn’t for the feint of heart. It takes planning, gear, knowledge, intestinal fortitude and, well, it takes some luck. What it doesn’t take is extreme cold, high winds, and a ton of snow and trail breaking. Those things can stress the journey to the breaking point. The team of one in this case was led by Redline Guide Will Murphy and things seemed to be in their favor. The temps warmed a bit, up from a recent record wind chill (-109°F), the winds slowed some, and luck seemed to be on their side. Only one issue: the snow. The ridge, while bare in places, was littered with drifts like waves on an ocean. This slowed the pace to a crawl and getting anywhere was a slog. While the plan was to hike north to south staying at Sphinx Col before heading further south on day two, the snow slowed the team to the point that they only made it to a spot near Edmands Col. On day two they threw in the towel after some forward progress was made but the realization that any direction except back was going to be grueling. They backtracked to Airline and made their way down to where they started. What follows is a short summary from Will along with a number of photos.
Overall the deep snow hampered progress. I broke trail over many sections, so progress was slow on each day. We set up our tents on the leeward side near Adams Five. While cold and breezy, all things considered the night passed uneventfully. Day two was cold and breezy. Getting underway the deep snow continued. Wind blown ridges were easier with micros and the sheltered spots had up to thigh deep snow. Given how much time it was taking and the effort expended, we turned around while ascending Jefferson, realizing that any direction we went would require a long hike. The preferred safe option was to head back the way we came. All told, our guest had a challenging winter experience while attempting a winter Presi! —Will
