Breaking Trail

[knuckledragger]

Yesterday I went out snowshoeing upa small mopuntain behind the house. It took us aproximatly 50 min to an hour to break out a 1/4 mile. I have 30" tubbs mountain snowshoes and my oldest was useing my 25" Redfeathers. we were consistanly in snow from knee to waist deep. My question is what is your average speed when trail breaking? I really want an idea how out of shape i am after spending more time in a classroom than on the trail the last year.
Dave

[TFR]

Originally Posted by knuckledragger

Yesterday I went out snowshoeing upa small mopuntain behind the house. It took us aproximatly 50 min to an hour to break out a 1/4 mile. I have 30" tubbs mountain snowshoes and my oldest was useing my 25" Redfeathers. we were consistanly in snow from knee to waist deep. My question is what is your average speed when trail breaking? I really want an idea how out of shape i am after spending more time in a classroom than on the trail the last year.
Dave

Given all the snow we've had, that sounds perfectly reasonable. If you've read the Trip Reports recently, you'll see it took 3 strong hikers 10 hours to do Giant. There are several other examples in the same ball park.

[eddogg12]

Originally Posted by knuckledragger

...50 min to an hour to break out a 1/4 mile...

That sounds about right, a big thanks goes out to everyone breaking trail in the high peaks.

[WalksWithBlackflies]

I've been breaking about a mile/hour, but that is on flatter grades (10% max), on perfectly smooth trails with no roots/rocks to contend with, in powder snow, with 36" snowshoes, and I had been bareboot running in the snow for the prior 6 weeks. So your pace is reasonable. If your legs aren't conditioned for the resistance they encounter when trailbreaking, your pace will definitely suffer. Great workout though!

[mudhook]

Sounds very reasonable. I can attest to that. I have broken trail many times in what I thought was deep snow here in the Cats and flatter areas in the ADKS , but nothing like what I encountered Tuesday just going to Nye. I owe someone a bucket of beer and berries for what was broke out.

[rockysummit]

Ah, beer and berries, almost as good as bologna and whip cream! (3 stooges line)

[lowlander]

Its funny this post came out the same day I spent 2:30 going about a mile and a half towards NE Halcot. This is the first time I've been sore in about a year. Reading about everyone else having the same problems, is making me feel better, though.

[adkdremn]

Originally Posted by i12climbup

I dunno about that ..... think I'll have to disagree ..... some of the most memorable hikes were the failed summit attempts. A peak summited after having failed several times is one of the sweetest rewards. When setting out on a winter hike, I already know that my chances of summiting are much less than in summer. To be fair, tho, it's only human to feel disappointed that a goal has not been reached, and I think that is what you are alluding to .... the initial feeling of failure. That feeling doesn't usually last long, and what is left are the good memories you've had being with your friends and enjoying the mountains, knowing in your heart that you'll be back.

I agree wholeheartedly with this! I've only been involved in one trailbreaking effort. Two Octobers ago there was that huge early season dumping, 2+'. This was my first time hiking in winter conditions, my brother in law and I spent the night at the Howard lean-to hoping to do LWJ, UWJ, Armstrong and Gothics. Fortunately we met up with 3 guys who were also planning on the same trip. We made it only half between the WJ lean-to and the WJ Notch, it took us a good 5+ hours to go not real far. Sure we were disappointed about not reaching the peaks, but I can tell you I was awestruck by my surroundings. It certainly wasn't a waste of hike to me, I loved every minute of it!
And oh yeah, I got to meet Neil which certainly made the weekend for me!:p