All right then, that sounds good. Have you done the final 400 by any chance? Do you know how that usually is in June with the snow and whatnot?
I’ve been up and down the Final 400 in all kinds of conditions and in different times of the year, so I’ll try to answer this one.
From mid-summer until the first fall storm, you can expect to climb the Final 400 mostly, if not entirely, on dry rock. There may be snow or a little ice, but it should be easy to avoid. The blocky rock on climbers’ right is often a good way to avoid snow. At any other time of the year, you just don’t know what to expect more than a week in advance. On three trips up the Final 400 in June, I found dry rock, firm snow, and soft snow.
When the rock is dry (free of snow and ice), you’re just dealing with class 3 rock, which shouldn’t be a big deal. If you have to climb some firm snow, it’s somewhat harder. You may climb the whole thing with crampons and an axe. Slow down, focus, and think about every crampon and axe placement. You should practice climbing rock with crampons and axe somewhere else where a fall isn’t going to be serious.
Ice can form, even in the summer, when snow melts and re-freezes. If there isn’t much ice, you can probably sneak around it. If there is a lot, you will need some mixed-climbing experience and better crampons and boots. The Final 400 is not the place to teach yourself these techniques.
Softer snow can also be a problem, especially early in the year. (There was a lot of it the last time I was there in April 2019.) Soft snow may not support your weight, and it can make it hard to see or feel the rock underneath. It will make the climb less fun, and probably more dangerous.
