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Attn: June/July Permit Reservation Holders
#3283 03/28/10 09:20 AM
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,253
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OP Offline
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There is a heck of a lot of snow still about on the north faces of the SoCal mountains. We saw 12' drifts on Mt. Badden-Powell yesterday. If your plans are to go high from a northern trailhead in the next 60 days plan on utilizing an axe and crampons.

Hmmm...97 Switchbacks are on a north facing wall and start 800'-1,000' higher than San Gorgonio.

Hey Steve, when does the official Whitney Zone 2010 clampon discussion start?

Re: Attn: June/July Permit Reservation Holders
wbtravis #3287 03/29/10 07:12 AM
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July is nearly 100 days away. That puts the end of July almost 130 days away.

A lot will happen between now and then.

Never tried Whitney in June...................DUG

Re: Attn: June/July Permit Reservation Holders
DUG #3289 03/29/10 09:24 AM
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Yeppers, June 1st is but 62 days. I was at the Whitney Portal Ghost Town on 7/4/06 and have pictures of Bishop Pass area that particular weekend, which look like they were taken 2 months earlier. The previous weekend, I used crampons and axe to summit Mt. Baldy.

A lot of time and energy is going to be spent by these folks acquiring permits, air fare, rentals, clothing and gear they should be aware of what conditions can be like. I spoke to a woman in 2001 who flew out from Connecticut in June 1998 and never got beyond LPL because of snow...lotsa bucks but no Buck Rogers.

There is still a lot of time to gain experience to get a better margin of safety.

Re: Attn: June/July Permit Reservation Holders
wbtravis #3292 03/29/10 10:57 AM
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My bad - I thought today was the 22nd, not the 29th - though I doubt a week is gonna change things much for those going mid to late July.

I have gone up 1st week in July every year for ahile now. Last year was the 5th of July, couple years before was the 4th.

The trail isn't as nice as mid Sept, but it was a nice hike every time.

If I were buying tickets etc I would always try for later in the season. When I used to fly back from Hawaii to hike Whitney we would go in late July vice early.

I hope to get my team up there 1st week in July this year...............................DUG

Re: Attn: June/July Permit Reservation Holders
DUG #3297 03/29/10 07:01 PM
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DUG,

I know there are a lot of factors involved in all this and we are a long way out. I conversed with someone on the other board via pm, who seemed to be shocked when I told him the snow could be down as low as the N. Fork in late April. All I'm trying to impart, if you've got a permit for this time period be prepared for the worse and be happy if it's better than that.

I'm tired of reading about the same accident where all that has changed is the date and names on this here mountain.

Re: Attn: June/July Permit Reservation Holders
wbtravis #3315 03/30/10 07:03 PM
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Rod Offline
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It is not going to help matters for those un-prepared or trained for snow when we are expecting more snow down to 2500 feet in the next few days.
This being an el nino year it is still very possible that we will be experiencing rain/snow all the way through till the end of April.

Re: Attn: June/July Permit Reservation Holders
Rod #3318 03/30/10 07:35 PM
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Bee Offline
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Originally Posted By: Rod
It is not going to help matters for those un-prepared or trained for snow when we are expecting more snow down to 2500 feet in the next few days.
This being an el nino year it is still very possible that we will be experiencing rain/snow all the way through till the end of April.


I had rain and snow in Yosemite all the way to the end of June, last year. (which explains the unusual amount of accidents/deaths on the cables at that time) frown

B


The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.
Re: Attn: June/July Permit Reservation Holders
Bee #3319 03/30/10 08:17 PM
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DUG Offline
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Originally Posted By: Bee
Originally Posted By: Rod
It is not going to help matters for those un-prepared or trained for snow when we are expecting more snow down to 2500 feet in the next few days.
This being an el nino year it is still very possible that we will be experiencing rain/snow all the way through till the end of April.


I had rain and snow in Yosemite all the way to the end of June, last year. (which explains the unusual amount of accidents/deaths on the cables at that time) frown

B


I had sunshine all day from the Valley to Cloud's Rest on Memorial Day when we finished my son's hiking merit badge. A little snow left near the top, but about the same as every other year. Even got off with just a warning for speeding near the enterence on the way out which caused me to miss the toll taker - again. Starting to think that I'm blessed or just lucky. Plan on taking the team to Cloud's Rest this Memorial Day too. Only weather problems I've ever had have been in Sept...............................................DUG

Last edited by DUG; 03/30/10 08:18 PM.
Re: Attn: June/July Permit Reservation Holders
DUG #3320 03/30/10 08:23 PM
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Posts: 1,261
Bee Offline
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Last year was an unusual year with the late snow/hail on halfdome -- many people were caught off guard.

B


The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.
Re: Attn: June/July Permit Reservation Holders
Rod #3324 03/31/10 07:43 AM
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We brought our then-11-year-old nephew out to California for a two-week sight-seeing vacation in late June 1998, which was a major El Nino year, evidenced by the fact that Tioga Road was still closed at the very end of June (it didn't open that year until July 1 -- see Tioga Road, Glacier Point Road, etc. opening and closing dates since 1980).

Out of pure curiosity, I looked up historical El Nino years and found the following of interest:
  • They seem to occur in two-year periods (i.e., 1997-98)
  • Recent major El Nino events were 1982-83 and 1997-98
  • The 1997-98 event was the strongest ever recorded
  • The second year of a two-year period for stronger El Ninos seems to correlate with later-than-normal Tioga Road summer openings (i.e., June 29 in 1983 for the 1982-83 event, June 30 in 1995 for the 1994-95 event, and most notably, July 1 in 1998 for the 1997-98 event)
  • However, this does not seem to hold true for lesser El Nino events (i.e., May 2 in 1987 for the 1986-87 event, May 15 in 1992 for 1991-1992 event, May 31 in 2003 for the 2002-2003 event, and May 11 for the 2006-2007 event)
CaT


If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracle of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.
- Lyndon Johnson, on signing the Wilderness Act into law (1964)
Re: Attn: June/July Permit Reservation Holders
CaT #3327 03/31/10 10:50 AM
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In 2005 and 2006 we went over Cottonwood Pass the same weekend in mid-June. Even though winter of 2006 had more snow, the pass was virtually snow free in 2006. In 2005, we had use axes to get over the pass, climb through snow to climb out of the Chicken Spring Lake area and cross numerous snowfields on our way to Cirque Peak. In 2006, the pass was clear, the climb out was clear and no snowfields.

Every year is different and a lot of factors go into what is left on the north walls and slopes in this time period. If you have a permit into mid-July in an El Nino year, you should be prepared in some way shape or form for what could remain of winter.

Heck, I've already push back a Waterwheel Falls trip to mid-July to insure Tioga Road is open and there is parking available in Tuolumne.


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