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The Epic Hunt for Nevada Himalayan Snowcock
Submitted by: Backcountry Press Outdoor News
Posted on: 02/25/19
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this site are that of the authors and not necessarily that of TBC Press
Article # A19-2120
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There aren’t many birds that can stand up to the rough conditions that high alpine meadows and mountain slopes offer, but the Himalayan snowcock is a champion among them.
These tenacious birds were introduced to the mountains of northeast Nevada in 1963 from their native range in the Himalayan Mountains. However, the population wasn’t fully established until the 1980s.
Like another introduced bird, the chukar, the snowcock is more than capable of thriving in areas where most hunters and birders are reluctant to venture. Read on to learn more about hunting this fascinating exotic game bird.
The best habitat for the Himalayan snowcock consists of high alpine meadows above the tree line where they can forage and raise their chicks. Typically, these meadows are located at elevations between 9,000 and 11,000 feet, though the birds can be found up to 16,000 feet. This means they are surrounded by rugged mountains, steep slopes, and drop-off cliffs. They utilize grassy cliff ledges in very steep areas. The rough topography and high elevations make these birds difficult to get to—let alone hunt.
If you think chukar hunting is hard, you might want to practice a bit more before you attempt to hunt the Himalayan snowcock. The rugged and inaccessible environment is tough to navigate and these birds have an annoying habit of spooking well before you get close. They often make high pitched whistling sounds. Listen for them as you hike along. Pay attention to the direction they came from. You’re more likely to hear the birds before you see them.
Calling the chase for the Himalayan Snowcock a ‘hunt’ is a little misleading if you compare it to the pursuit of the other upland birds we have in North America.
As its name would imply, this majestic bird is native to the Himalayan region of south-central Asia. The terrain it calls home in Nevada’s Ruby Mountains is equally inhospitable.
NEVADA HIMALAYAN SNOWCOCK SEASON:
- Season: Sept – Oct
- Open Counties: Elko and White Pine Counties
- Limits Daily/Possession : 2/2
Special Regulations and Information:
- Hunting Hours Sunrise to sunset
- Open to nonresidents.
- Prior to hunting Himalayan snowcock, persons must obtain a snowcock hunting free-use permit available online at www.ndowlicensing.com.
A Hunting Trip for Himalayan Snowcock is more like Big Game than Bird Hunting.
Sure, it’s possible to hunt this bird in a day with minimal gear. But to really give yourself a chance at finding this elusive bird, you’ll have to commit to spending multiple days in the wilderness, traversing the rugged terrain where they live and carrying a lot of weight in the process. This is where the pursuit of the Himalayan Snowcock goes from being simply a hunt to more of a high altitude expedition – not dissimilar from what you would encounter while mountaineering.
You’ll need to have high fitness levels and the right equipment for your adventure to increase your chances of success. You can also expect the weather to vary from high heat to snow, adding even a little more to the Snowcock’s deserved reputation as the Holy Grail of upland birds. Here, I will break down the gear needed to get yourself into the rugged backcountry for a multi-day Snowcock hunt.
Shelter
Leave the Coleman car camping tent at home. This is essentially a backpacking trip and you’ll need to treat it as one with the shelter you choose. A tent can take up a lot of room in your pack and add up to a significant percentage of the weight you carry. You’ll need to choose a quality, lightweight backpacking tent or shelter system. Try and keep your entire shelter under 4 pounds if possible. If you’re sharing with a teammate, you should also share the weight on the way up.
Lightweight fabrics such as Cuben Fiber are the major trend in the industry at the moment. They will help you drop even more weight from your pack, with some tarp shelters weighing in at just over half a pound! For the lightest in the industry check out Hyperlight Mountain Gear or the new Cuben Fiber range of tents from Big Agnes.
Backpack
You’ll want a pack made for the backcountry and one that’s engineered to carry the weight of the gear required for this trip. Many of the hunting companies out there have packs made for adventures like this, some even capable of packing out hundreds of pounds of big game meat. Although they can be expensive and sometimes heavy, these packs are made to take a beating and you will know your money will be well spent.
An alternative to a hunting-specific pack would be a pack from a reputable hiking/backpacking company such as Osprey. They make some of the best packs in the business, come with a lifetime warranty and are a purchase you’ll have for many years to come.
Boots
Make no mistake about it: this will be the most painful and uncomfortable upland trip you’ve ever had. If you don’t wear the right boots, it will quickly turn into a sufferfest. If you choose to save money on any gear for the trip, do not do it on your boot purchase!
Before you decide on boots for your trip, keep in mind that the footwear you use while walking a pheasant field will feel completely different traversing scree while carrying a heavy pack. I know mine did! The Snowcock doesn’t live anywhere near established trails and you’ll be side-hilling scree and climbing rocks for the majority of your adventure, much of it with a pack pushing past 50 pounds. The terrain is unforgiving, and negotiating it is essentially a combination of mountaineering and hunting.
Choosing a boot targeted for these activities is a must, especially one with a full rand surrounding the boots to help them survive the beating you will dish them. A lightweight mountaineering boot or a backcountry hunting boot is the ticket here, but whatever you do, make sure you get fitted properly by a knowledgeable shop. You can have the best boot on the market, but if it’s not fitted properly it won’t matter. The top performing boot from our group was the Mountain Hunter from Lathrop and Sons.
Water Filtration
The water situation in the Rubies can vary from season to season, and you’ll need to filter water while on the move to avoid carrying the extra weight. We encountered crystal clear alpine lakes, seeps and springs coming from the mountain, ponds full of little red bugs, and dirty creeks full of deer poop – we drank it all!
With so many water filtration devices on the market these days, it can be confusing choosing between them all. But when all four of us showed up on the trip with the same system, it spoke volumes about the genius behind our filter of choice: the Sawyer Squeeze filter. This is an inexpensive, lightweight, easy to use and incredibly effective filtration system. It comes with plastic bags to fill with water; you then attach the device to the bags and simply squeeze out the clean water. But wait, it gets better! The bags can be a pain to fill and you can make your life easier with the Alaskan Terry hack of using Smart Water bottles instead of the supplied bags (they are much easier to fill). I personally brought up two Smart Water bottles, one for dirty water and one for clean water. This way I could fill one and leave the other filled with the filter attached and ready to go.
Nevada’s Ruby Mountains
