Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics recently shared a timely reminder about something many winter hikers experience but don’t always understand: postholing.
And if you’ve been out recently, you’ve probably seen it.
This winter was cold. Really cold. The kind of winter that built a solid base of snow in the higher elevations. But with the recent warm-up, that snowpack has softened, especially on the surface.
Which means conditions have changed.
What Is a Posthole?
A posthole is the deep hole left behind when a hiker steps into soft snow and sinks down, sometimes to the knee, sometimes to the hip.
Imagine walking along a packed trail. The surface looks stable. But underneath, the snow has softened.
Your foot punches through.
You climb out.
And you leave behind a deep crater.
That’s a posthole.
On a short stretch, it’s frustrating. Over miles, it destroys the trail surface, creates hazards for others, and makes travel exhausting and potentially dangerous.
Why It’s Happening Now
In the Catskills, especially peaks like
-
Hunter Mountain
-
Blackhead Mountain
-
Slide Mountain
snow can linger well into spring.
Even when it feels like spring in the valleys, the tops are often still very much in winter.
Cold nights + warm days = a surface crust that softens as temperatures rise.
By late morning or afternoon, what felt solid at 9am may no longer hold your weight.
That’s prime postholing territory.
Microspikes and Crampons: Necessary, But Not Enough
We talk about traction a lot in winter, and for good reason.
Microspikes and crampons are essential for icy conditions. They help prevent slips and falls. You should absolutely carry them in winter and shoulder season.
But here’s the part some people miss:
Traction devices don’t provide flotation.
If the snow is soft, spikes won’t stop you from punching through. In fact, they can make it worse by concentrating your weight into smaller points.
The right tool for soft snow?
Snowshoes or skis.
They distribute your weight across a wider surface area, keeping you on top of the snow instead of in it.
Why Postholing Is a Problem
Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics highlights three main impacts:
-
Safety hazards – Deep holes freeze overnight and create ankle-twisting traps for the next hiker.
-
Trail damage – Repeated postholing degrades the packed trail surface.
-
Search & rescue risk – Exhaustion and injuries increase when conditions are misjudged.
And yes — that’s our friend Andy Mossey (now Executive Director of the Woodstock Land Conservancy) in their educational video explaining it clearly and calmly.
If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth a watch:
What To Do Instead
If you’re heading into the mountains this time of year:
-
Check elevation-specific trail reports.
-
Start early while snow is firmer.
-
Bring snowshoes if there’s significant snowpack.
-
Turn around if you’re consistently sinking.
-
Expect snow at elevation well into April (and sometimes May).
This is classic Catskills shoulder season. The valleys feel like mud season. The summits are still winter.
Planning for that difference is part of being a responsible hiker.
This Isn’t About Shaming Anyone
Most of us have postholed at some point. It happens.
Especially in a year like this, long, cold winter, then a sudden warm-up.
The goal isn’t to call anyone out. It’s to help all of us make better decisions as conditions change.
Up high, it’s still winter.
Planning for that, and bringing the right tools, is part of taking care of the trails and each other.
