“Oh, Sierra Club. You people have been causing us lots of trouble lately, getting lost and injured."
It was early in the winter of 1969, near Lincoln Peak on the way to the Sierra Club’s Bensen Hut. The Forest Service ski ranger’s remark to snowshoers Frank Quinn, Andy Husari, and Carl Wisener was the catalyst for the founding of the Bay Chapter Snowcamping Training Series, now in its 50th season.
Frank, Andy, and Carl were experienced winter campers. They understood that the increasing deaths and accidents came from the backpacking explosion of the 1960’s. Inexperienced hikers were encountering the windy wet conditions of spring and autumn storms. And when trails were obliterated by snow, they often had no idea how to use the map and compass they might or might not have brought along.
Birth of the Training
And so that spring the friends came to launch the Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter snowcamping training. The idea was to safely extend the average backpacker’s season beyond July and August.
“The first one,” Frank Quinn recalls, “was out of a motel in Kingvale just west of Soda Springs. We had two or three times the response we expected. We had a seminar inside and gave instruction in proper clothing, map and compass, and avalanche awareness. We went outside to practice snow shelter construction and proper ice axe technique.”
Starting in 1970 everyone began meeting in Berkeley for an all-day seminar and dividing into smaller groups for the two trips into the Sierra. The response became overwhelming. We had to compose an application and screen applicants.
The training series offers seven different adult subgroup options with different trip dates, plus a group for families and youth groups for scouts. The training still consists of a one-day classroom session, followed by two trips to the mountains. Students are expected to use snowshoes. The first trip is just a few miles, since the focus is practicing new skills. The second trip is longer with two nights out.
Fifty Years and Counting
We have had 49 seasons without a serious accident, and as this 50th season begins, over 3,000 people have taken the course. We recruit assistant leaders and eventual leaders from previous years’ students. Some of our leaders have been teaching the course for over 25 years.
The biggest change from the first few years is the range of experience of applicants. Even with screening, some students turn out not to have the skills and knowledge we expect, but some applicants have so much experience we ask whether they really need the course. However, they always say they have learned something new, had a great time, and met some great people.
We are here to help you extend your horizons into winter. Be part of snowcamping history by joining us for our 50th season! All students must apply and we ask that all applicants be in good physical shape and have backpacking experience. The early bird application due date is November 30, 2018, with a final due date of December 16, 2018. The mandatory full-day classroom training is January 12, 2019. Trip dates vary by group. A limited number of scholarships are available. For more information and to sign up, visit www.snowcamping.org.
Top photo from the October 1986 Yodeler, the newsletter of the Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter. Bottom photo courtesy Walter Hsiao for the Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter Snowcamping Section.