One of my favorite winter tree-climbing adventures is a
sleet climb. What is sleet? This is what the Illinois State Climatologist
Office
has to say:
Sleet - also called ice pellets. Sleet is formed when raindrops or melted snowflakes freeze as they pass through a below-freezing layer of air near the earth’s surface. Sleet does not normally stick to trees and wires, and usually bounces on hitting the ground. An accumulation of sleet often has the consistency of dry sand.
Why climb during a sleet storm? It’s a natural multi-media experience.
- Sight. Little pellets bouncing all around. If it lasts long enough you get a ground coating quite different from a blanket of snow.
- Texture. Hard frozen grains of ice. They roll around in your hand like BBs.
- Sound. This is my favorite experience. Nothing sounds like falling sleet. The volume is about mid-level, much noisier than snow fall. The sound of sleet-fall on bare branches has a much different pitch than when it falls on a conifer. I climb my magnolia tree for maximum noise levels. Those leathery 4- by 9-inch leaves put out a big rattling sound you won’t hear from other trees. The bonus to magnolia climbs is privacy. No one is going to see you through those thick glossy leaves.
What to bring on a sleet climb:
- Dress warm. You don’t want to get cold.
- Wear a windbreak shell. Sometimes the sleet is mixed with rain or the sleet turns to rain altogether. You do not want to get wet while aloft.
- Wear eye protection. You do not want your eyes struck by falling ice pellets. Prescription eye glasses, safety glasses, or comfortable ski goggles work fine.
- Bring a high-energy snack. You do not want to get hungry out in the cold.
- Bring a little something to drink. It’s easy to forget to drink when it’s cold. Hot is good!
Think I’m crazy? Tell me how crazy I am ONLY after you have experienced it for yourself.
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