RE: [pct-l] Flamed

["Reynolds, WT" <reynolds@ilan.com>]

My experience with California weather is the same as yours -- Late snow,
late thaw in the 90's after no snow in the 80's. This have been a change
from the 80's when I was "shocked" to find snow on Donahue Pass. So light
had been the snow years previously that I had NO IDEA that there was snow in
July. Ah, ignorant bliss!

I am not experienced with weather in Washington but it seems that snow is
arriving later up there since the El Nini-La Nina-winters of 97-98, 98-99.
Your experience that one could walk late into the year seems correct.

My personal fear about snow is steep slopes, cornices and ice chutes that I
must cross using skill I don't have and equipment I have never used.
However, most thruhikers that I met last year [June 17-18 @ Sally Keys Lake
-- early but not that early] felt that climbing the passes was less
dangerous than fording the stream and that postholing simply wore them out. 

I do have some experience with Sierra snowfield travel. I typically cross
snowfields in mid-morning and have no trouble using hiking poles. However,
most thruhikers that I talked to crossed snowfields in mid-to-late
afternoon, having spent the morning struggling over a pass. Post-hole city
they reported. I have often theorized that walking crampons would have
allowed them to start climbing the pass earlier in the day, thus allowing
them to cross the snow on the way down later and avoid postholing. However,
most of the thruhikers I met were too focused on getting to VVR to
contemplate this idea. [I tried getting some experience with snow gear in
Yosemite and Palm Springs -- no snow on the mountain -- so my theorizing
remains just that]

As for water crossings a hundred feet of good rope and the knowledge of how
to use it would have saved the cleaning bill on many pairs of pants. Having
the crossing of Evolution Creek fresh in their minds, almost all the
thruhikers agreed with this. 

Tom
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