I am looking at KG as an ascent, because I think Connor is going W to E, so the stretch I am talking about is the same as Laura's: whichever direction you are going, its the section between Hamilton and KG that you need to be looking at. The clear sailing, if there is any, will be on the east side of KG, not the west. Exposures are in the 1000s. "100% above 8,000" translates as "socked in for 2500' from Hamilton Lakes to KG."
I would be concentrating my research on that section, beginning with the SEKI wilderness office in Three Rivers. i notice you are from Cal. If not too far from SEKI, I would be up there the weekend before your trip, checking at the WO, the permit desk at Lodgepole, if its open yet (the rangers there rotate in and out of backcountry duty) and backpackers coming off the trail at Crescent Meadow . Conditions change fast in this area and the only reliable beta I got last year was less than a day old from other hikers who had just backed off. Even folks coming from Bearpaw, including rangers, did not know what was going on above Hamilton .
If you go ahead, let me know. there's a another whole skill set involved in dealing with the animal population at Hamilton.
