[pct-l] To be early or not at Kennedy Meadows?

[reynolds@iLAN.com (Reynolds, WT)]

Absolutely correct which is why I recommend adding 2 weeks to the time snow
pillow readings hit zero before assuming that the relavant pass is passable
by mere mortals like me. 

Again, however, passsble is a relative term.

-----Original Message-----
From: AsABat [mailto:AsABat@4Jeffrey.Net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2002 9:37 PM
To: Reynolds, WT; Bighummel@aol.com; spurhiker@pocketmail.com
Cc: pct-l@backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] To be early or not at Kennedy Meadows?


Tom thinks:
>
> Looking at southern snow pillows does little to predict the passes further
north.
>
> There IS a snow pillow on Bishop Pass thatw ill be typical of the PCT
passes.

The "Bishop Pass" snow pillow is actually down in Dusy Basin. I watched the
snow levels in late July 1998 and saw it was clear before I left for a JMT
section. After climbing ice up Bishop Pass and slogging through snow into
Dusy Basin, we saw the snow pillow in a sunny meadow. The only place there
was no snow was on the "pillow" itself! Elsewhere the snow was 1 to 2 feet
deep, deeper in the trees. Snow continued another mile or so down canyon.
Palisade Lakes to Mather Pass was solid ICE and it took us 7 hours to climb
3 miles.

Point being, just because the snow pillow goes to zero doesn't mean the
trail isn't still snowed in. It might just not be as deep.

AsABat