Travelling in snowy conditions

This is a question for experts and one's who love a challenge (but not foolhardy enough to land in some big trouble).

How does one travel to a trekking destination when some part of the roads are blocked with snow as is currently the case on many routes? And how does one trek on good amount of snow.

For your response please assume a person is willing to carry the correct equipment, has good fitness, time at hand and willing to reach the destination slow and the hard way.

I have heard that chains on tyres can allow vehicles to ply on snow, but that is not deployed often in India - can this be a solution?

Not knowing much about trekking but in case of vehicle the chains are very much used even in state roadways buses.

I do not claim to be an expert but answering your question as best as i can having dealt with the issue in numerous occasions.

I am assuming, you want to do a winter trek and are asking about how to get to the starting point when snow conditions are uncertain.

First of all ascertain the current snow conditions of the targeted objective and try to gather intelligence about route conditions.

It would be good to monitor the precipitation pattern of the place and nearby areas on accuweather or something, it shall give you a good idea.

After a good snow fall, give at least about 15 days for the routes to open. If there is a high point on your route, that part is likely to be blocked although a majority part may have little snow in the route. This reccee is a must.

Do not plan to drive your own vehicle. If your vehicle gets stuck, your mobility is lost. Try hiring local vehicles if they are plying or as a last resort u might hitch a ride on a BRO truck or a CPWD truck if those guys are working anywhere close.

If you do plan to drive .. do not venture if the snow is more than 6-7 inches on the road (u have a SUV I am assuming). Carry a snow chain...always helps. Probably easy to get in places like Manali or Dehradun. Or u may try ebay. Fresh snow is easy to drive, old snow is dangerous. Do not drive in mornings..the "pala- the thin layer of frost on melted snow" can be really dangerous. Do not brake abruptly, do not change gears abruptly, do not stop or park on slopes. Put the vehicle on second gear or something, or Lo-4X4 and drive at an even pace so that you may not have to brake too much. Do not try to climb out of cartwheel-tracks made on snow roads.... just follow in the groove already made by vehicles that went before you. Do not get too far to the sides- snow might have covered a ditch there.


As for walking on snow, its important to have highankle anow and water resistant shoes, good woollen socks (preferably the tibetian handwoven ones in homemade wool) since they do not hold water and reduce chances of chill blains and frostbite.

Wear a gaiter definitely since it prevents snow from getting inside your shoes. Do wear a pair of snow goggles. If not snow blindness, your eyes may generally start hurting very soon.

If you are willing to afford, a pair of snow shoes is of immense help when the snow is really thick and soft. Its essentially a shoe with an enlarged sole thereby distributing your bodyweight in a larger area and allowing the soft snow to hold you better. But they do cost a bomb.

Carry enough water to drink while you walk and do wear a heavy dose of sunscreen lotion especially on the face (like the cricketers do). The reflections of a sunny day on a snowfield can reflect and burn your exposed skin pretty quickly and the dead skin starts peeling off as soon as u reach delhi.

You should wear your woolen clothings in layers so that you can peel off a layer if you feel too hot while walking. Gloves are a must ...again the tibetian variety is preferable..your fingers wield better and it does not matter even if it gets wet a little bit. Headcover and balaclava help additionally for wind protection.

Thats all that comes to my mind right now. :-)

Thanks Sankat and Ashutosh for your replies. So Ashutosh, if the last snow was about 2 weeks back, I could take a chance. I don't have a 4x4 and don't intend to drive anyways for the reason you mentioned plus the fact that local drivers know the conditions much better. Sorry for persisting with questions but this may be very helpful in deciding whether to embark on a journey or not:

Assuming there is a less than 6 inches, week old snow (is it correct to assume, it would have become ice / sleet in that period) on the route, and a local is driving a bolero / maxx (vehicles they mostly use), without a chain. Will you advise against travelling - does this change if the vehicle has snow chains?

On the snow shoe, if you mean the large ones which attach below the trekking shoes, I believe one can hire them in Delhi. Again - can you elaborate, in how deep snow would one need these, I guess 6 inches can be walked with regular high ankle trekking shoes. Does the snow shoe work even for 2-3 feet and is it any good if it is not fresh snow but icy snow?

Sorry for so many questions - just want to be ready.

Assuming there is a less than 6 inches, week old snow (is it correct to assume, it would have become ice / sleet in that period)

Sleet forms on melted out but wet surfaces that refreeze during night. With 6 inches snow thats unlikely. Slippery surface will be along the vehicle plying tracks.


on the route, and a local is driving a bolero / maxx (vehicles they mostly use), without a chain. Will you advise against travelling - does this change if the vehicle has snow chains?

On such a route snow chain may not be that essential. Even otherwise a local Bolero driver would rarely take a chance. Especially the regular Boleros that ply are not a bad deal.


On the snow shoe, if you mean the large ones which attach below the trekking shoes, I believe one can hire them in Delhi. Again - can you elaborate, in how deep snow would one need these, I guess 6 inches can be walked with regular high ankle trekking shoes.

6 inches is fine with trek shoes and gaiter. U dont need snow shoe for that.


Does the snow shoe work even for 2-3 feet and is it any good if it is not fresh snow but icy snow?

Snow shoes look like these
http://www.rei.com/product/825002/ms...snowshoes-mens

They are like smaller versions of skis to be attached below ur shoes. Doesn't matter if its trekking shoe or not. In deep snow exploration walking across vast, virgin snowfields they are good and we use them because you dont sink too deep into the snow. Otherwise plowing thru 3 feet deep soft snow is like walking in a sandy desert where ur feet sinks in every step. Doesnt matter if its fresh or icy/slushy

Thanks mate - really clarifies things. Will give it a shot with trek shoes, gaiters (already have a pair) and hire of snow shoes.

Though on the locals being conservative - sometimes there are unscruplous arrangers who pressurise them to make a quick buck from you - had a lucky miss recently when the guy insisted that the route from Mussoorie to Thatyur through Sua Kholi had opened and everyone else said it was not, we decided to go with him. Luckily, he could not get a vehicle way past the agreed time and it was turning dark so we declined - heard later that a jeep overturned on that day on snow - could have been us. Also, one local driver said that they do not use snow chains around there (might not be aware) as they were very expensive (15000 for a set) - which Sankat has clarified is not the case.

If Ashutosh isn't an expert, noone is.

Just on the subject of snow-chains though -
No one should presume that these are regularly used by jeep drivers anywhere. I would entirely agree that they'd be expensive, which means most jeep drivers (read: all) won't go near them. Specially because - they don't need em most of the time in most parts of e.g. Uttarakhand.
I am also very skeptical of their availability in Dehradun. They certainly aren't needed in that valley. That leaves the nearest place they could be required - Mussoorie. Except for the highest parts of that town (which are a dead-end as far as through-traffic is concerned), snow on the ground is not much of an issue, mostly melting in a few hours. Ok, it can be a few days also, on rare occasions. And on the Dhanolti road it can be more of an issue, as we know from this month itself. Notwithstanding, no jeepie is going to go out and buy chains when they're that expensive, for a few days' use. Add to that, I have never heard of or seen Uttarakhand Transport buses using snow-chains. What do they do if they can't get to e.g. Picture Palace or Library in Mussoorie? Simply stop at Kincraig lower down (usually snow-free).

So what do the jeepies rely on in snow conditions? E.g. on the road around Dhanolti the PWD will send a bulldozer to push the snow to the sides, and thereafter the drivers rely on - their skills and experience.

Hi Dilliwala Ji! The state transport which i was talking was Himachal Road Transport. In winter they use chains on the routes beyond shimla such as kaza, spiti e.t.c.

Makes sense and tallies with what I have seen - I guess Spiti is a totally different ballgame as the route is under snow for a much longer period.

@Dilliwala - sorry every comment evokes another question, how much do you reckon the trekking speed slows down in moderate snow (1 foot). Asking because if I plan to walk 10 km route per day, do I need to be able to do 20 km normally?

I didn't know that about HRTC, thanks for the info.



You're asking a non-trekker.

No doubt Ashutosh will reply soon.

Hope he replies soon - spoken to an arranger for HKD starting 29th Jan, he will come back tomorrow with details but looks feasible.

and ashutosh, when you reply, please let me know if snow shoes will be any use if the snow has become old and is a bit hard. The guide i contacted seemed to think that they are very heavy and useless and crampons may be better - in another thread Tilak had advised that Crampons will be no use on a track like HKD.

Sorry...saw this pretty late coz of my Harsil visit.

You have to calculate your snow field trudge to 30-40% of normal speed as a general rule. You normally would target about 3 -4 Km in the snow condition prevailing in areas ahead of Osla and Taluka. If it wd have been unexplored glacial morraine kind of area, my estimate wd go down to 2-3 Kms max. The numbers on snow condition at Osla seems tougher than Harsil. Harsil has road activity and Osla /Har-ki-doon do not. That means you are likely to face at least about 4 ft of soft snow at this time.

Your guide seems to be misunderstanding the term snow-shoe. He might be mistaking it for Koflaches. Koflach-Crampon combination is good for hard snow conditions...little use for soft snow although they provide in general a better protection against cold as well. But surely in these conditions snow shoe is a better bet and may add a couple kilometers to per day trek plan.

Ashutosh - just back today, went 5-6 km ahead of Osla and snow was about 3 feet in places, though mostly 1.5-2 ft as it was the sunny side. The guide was reluctant and delayed the morning start by 2 hours, so decided to return back, though we could have easily gone on for atleast 1 km more. As per their estimates, the route should be open in 2-3 weeks.

Will post pics and details on the HKD thread - but need to say a Big Thank You to you as your post was the one which made up my mind. By the way, took a snow grip, which was handy on the Taluka-Osla route, which had a compressed icy path made by villagers travelling often. Could not manage to get snow shoes on hire, would have been very handy on the Osla-HKD stretch - maybe some other time.

Link to the other thread.

Har Ki Dun in Jan 2012