[pct-l] Trail Crest to Whitney Portal/ Lone Pine

[Marion Davison]

Brian Lewis wrote:
> To Will's comment of "Hopefully the trail down from Whitney will be
> relatively ice/ snow free by the time I arrive around June 19th",
> Brick Robbins replied: "Not likely        Bring an Ice Axe".
> 
> FWIW, I started in the Sierras on June 7th last year, and after some fairly
> easy snow down near Guitar Lake, the trail up to and at the top of Whitney
> were essentially snow free on June 11th.  If anywhere I might have used the
> axe at Forester Pass the next day, but in fact really did not, and mailed it
> home later on, before finishing the Sierras.
> 
> I'm not saying that my experience is necessarily typical or that my choices
> of equipment to use (or not use) in snow are inherently correct for everyone
> (!), but in a low snow year I would at least suggest looking at trail
> journals of early hikers to see what they have to say about actual
> conditions.
> 
> 
> Brian Lewis / Gadget '08
> http://postholer.com/brianle

OTOH I have seen large quantities of snow on the 100 switchbacks in mid 
and late July in a normal snow year.  I have seen the rangers out 
clearing the 100 switchbacks with snow shovels in August in a big snow year.
Marion