On our way down we dreaded going back across the snow patch at the top of the switchbacks and the one below trail camp. These felt very sketchy on the way up, and on our way down we saw a man fall about 20-30ft off the one under trail camp. He was badly injured and thankfully there were a lot of people around to help get him out as he was unconscious . He had to stay on the mountain overnight because helicopters can't rescue this late in the day because it's too dark (6pm-ish). We started booking it down to the portal to get help as no one had a radio or working walkie talkies. On our way down no one we passed had these either. A lady who was with the man came up on the trail behind us as we descended, she passed us up and was able to bump into search and rescue who had just finished helping another man down that made this exact same fall earlier in the day.
These two patches of snow are very scary especially because of the snow melt. There are a lot of loose rocks on the one at the top of switchbacks, and the one below trail camp is very unstable. If you have microspikes or crampons be smart and USE THEM! If not, then invest in your life and buy them!
