[pct-l] Fwd: Sierra Snow Melt

[dude at fastmail.ca (dude)]

here is a post from the ultra running list that talks about snow levels 
near Lake Tahoe.  might be helpful to some...


Six of us ran the Western States course from Squaw Valley to Robinson
Flat yesterday, a distance of 24.5 miles.  We hit our first patch of
snow after one mile of hiking up to Emigrant Pass.  We were in and out
of snow to the Watson Monument.  Once we dropped over the lip onto the
west side of the pass, we ran for about 1/2 mile before we began to hit
snow again.  And the snow was fairly solid at that elevation (around
8000ft).  In fact, we had some difficulty following the trail at times
(and two of the runners were very familiar with the course).

Of the 24.5 miles, perhaps 10 miles were snow covered.  The snow cups
were minimal (although we did have to deal with them occasionally).  The
snow allowed for fairly good footing...perhaps the dusting of snow that
fell the day before helped.  The 7 1/2 mile dirt road stretch between
the Red Star Ridge aid station and Robinson Flat was mostly clear of
snow, although there were some fairly deep patches of snow as well. 
Unless it warms up (it has been below average temps here for about a
week or so), Red Star will not be accessible from Robinson Flat for at
least a couple of weeks.  As is typical for this time of year, Robinson
Flat is still covered in snow, although I heard that Cavanagh Ridge is
completely clear of snow.

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