Afternoon gents.
Weather and road condition permitting, I've got a trip planned for Easter weekend up against the Whitney Zone. I've been on Whitney a few times, but I'm new to this adjacent area. I know there is a lot of combined experience on this board, so please chime in if you've got some useful input. I very much appreciate it.
Plan: Leave San Diego Thursday after work, drive to Horseshoe Meadows (or as close as I can get) to sleep at high altitude. If that road isn't clear very high, I'll head directly to the Portal Road.
- Early start Friday from Meysan Lake TH, travel the west side of the creek all the way up to just above Meysan Lake. Set up base camp.
- Early start Saturday, climb Irvine and traverse to McAdie. On return, decide if I have time/energy for Mallory, or just head back down to camp the way I came. If Mallory is in reach, I'll have a funky time getting back to camp, it appears.
Here is an idea of the path(s) I might take. I want two peaks for sure, and a possible 3rd if conditions/time allow. 
- Early start Sunday, pack up camp and head back down to car, eat an entire pizza on the way home somewhere.
My concerns are:
1. Road conditions. Any input on the situation with Horseshow Meadows Road? I understand the actual campground doesn't open until late May. Portal Road - I know Doug has been up there working, and they may be blasting this week. Just curious if I can get my 2WD up to any place near the portal.
2. Snow conditions. It's supposed to be sunny and somewhat warm at the lower elevations. I anticipate a slog in wet snow until I get fairly high. I'm mostly worried about avalanche trouble - big wet slides coming down to ruin my day. The first 2/3 of the trail seems to run below some fairly steep terrain. In addition, I'm worried my camp spot (blue X) might be a bad choice. Thoughts?
Thanks for reading and chiming in. I'll keep my eye on the board and the weather reports.
