Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Big Willy & Tyndall Conditions

Hello All,

I’m considering going for Williamson & Tyndall next Friday as a day-hike (May 20th). I comfortable with big mountain days so I’m not worried about the mileage or the vert, as long as it’s dry. I have the gear for snow if needed, but that is a major consideration for how fast I can move. I’m looking at the extremely low snowpack in the southern Sierra, as well as the Williamson webcam on this site. It looks like the NNE aspects visible from the webcam are still holding snow in places, mostly in the big slope NNE of the summit of Willy.

Extrapolating from this, is it safe to assume the North Rib of Tyndall will be holding snow as well? What about gaining Shepherds given its northern approach? Or the black stain gully up Williamson, is it inset enough that I should expect snow?

Thanks!

You should check out this:

https://www.sps2022.com/post/williamson-trojan-barnard-tyndall

My guess is that you are likely to encounter snow on Shepherd's Pass, but unlikely to find much snow up from the black stain (other than maybe some in the chimney). I would think there are going to be intermittent snow patches on the North Rib. Keep in mind that the guys who did Tyndall and Williamson are (almost too) comfortable free soloing 5th class terrain.

Thanks for sharing that, BFR, that is a perfect reference!