Anyone else planning a trip on or around that weekend? Would be great to connect on things like:
- how close can we get to the trailhead?
- snow depth (crampons only or definitely snowshoes too)?
- weather (3 season or must have 4 season tent)?
- overnight temps (0 degree or 20 degree bag? foam+air pad or just air?)
- condition of the gully and last 400
- avalanche risk
trailhead depends on weather and how many boulders have dropped on the road between the "gate" at the bottom of the switchback and where the snow begins. Two years ago on April 1, we could drive around everything up to the snow which began well below the portal. Don't leave your cars up there unless the forecast is rock solid. Walking from the gate at the bottom of the switchbacks to the portal is a nice 90 minute hike. If you're not acclimated, that will give you a good sense of how fit you are. It will only get worse.
Snow depth - we used snow shoes up the North Fork up to about 12,000 feet on day 1, because the stuff was sloppy soft and you could not walk on crampons or just boots. Lower down it wasn't even easy on snow shoes. If you hit the area before sunrise on a cool day, you may be able to just walk up on crampons. Conditions are dryer this year - we were there following the biggest snow March ever and it was rather warm.
Tent - we had 50-80mph wind gusts at night, but the night before you could have slept without a tent. A 3 season tent may be fine if the winds are low, but how do you know that until you get up there? A decent bivy bag may be a better choice than a 3-season tent with flimsy poles. It's all about the wind, not the temps.
bag: a 0 degree bag will be much better than a 20F bag, unless you wear a down jacket and other layers in the 20F bag. I brought a -20F bag last time, but this time I'll do the 0F to cut some weight. I'd never even remotely consider my 25F bag.
ground pad - foam is fine, "just air" only if it is insulated
conditions? right now? Dunno - need to go up there to find out.
avalanche risk - don't go in if it has just dumped 2 feet of fresh stuff. Talk to the locals, check eastern sierra avalanche forecast site for overall risk. play it safe.
We'll be up there Aril 12 for the weekend.
