Attempt on the Mount Anne Circuit: (Pt.4) Snowed In

I was awoken by a startled voice calling out

“Boys, look outside!”

As I unzipped the flap on my bivvy, a white and foreign world came into view. Everything was covered in snow. The puddles of water had turned to ice and a low fog hung eerily across the landscape obscuring most of our surroundings from view.

At first I was in disbelief but this was rapidly replaced with concern. We were not prepared for snow and there would be no chance of getting off the shelf until the snow melted. At this point I uttered something emphatic.

I got up and put on my frozen shoes to attend to urgent business. The air was frigid and my fingers instantly began to numb. I cautiously walked towards the edge of the shelf, unzipped and then began to gracefully slide off the mountain. I instinctively dropped spreadeagle and clutched at anything I could reach. Fortunately some small shrubs halted my fall and I was able to scramble back up and gingerly make my way back to the tent nursing my injured pride.

Yelling between our tents and over the wind we agreed to remain in our tents until the snow began to melt. As if nature was mocking our plans, it then began to snow, sleet, and hail. By now I was beginning to get quite worried. The inside of my tent was full of condensation, my sleeping bag was beginning to get wet and wasn’t providing effective insulation and we had no way of contacting the outside world. One fact that all the reviews agreed upon was the impossibility of climbing the Notch in wet or icy conditions. 

Even if the snow melted and we somehow managed to negotiate the Notch successfully, all our gear was wet and if the foul weather continued there would be no way of drying it. If one of us became injured in the slippery conditions, or started to become hypothermic, we had few options to create heat and the difficulties in lighting our stoves was still fresh in my mind. The remoteness of our location meant that there was no chance of contact with the outside world. I began to pray that we would have an opportunity today to make good our escape.

I woke up to hear one of the boys excitedly announce that the snow was melting and the fog was beginning to lift. It was 10am, meaning that we had been in our tents for nearly 16 hours. We jumped to and quickly packed our tents and equipment away. Tim was having trouble with his fingers and hands becoming numb in the cold. Pete and I had basic gloves that seemed to prevent us losing sensation, so we were able to help out with a few things.

My shoes were full of snow and ice. I knocked out what I could and then devised a plan to put on my dry socks, cover these with plastic bags, and then put on my wet pair. This appeared to work well, keeping my feet dry and warm and adding an extra layer of insulation and grip inside the shoe.

Finally we set out to climb back up to the ridgeline below Mount Anne. 

By now the fog had lifted and the now snow-tipped peak loomed up ahead of us. It was a wet and cold hike but hauntingly beautiful with the melting snow ornamenting the plants and trees.

It was time to make good our escape!