[pct-l] Snow along the Southern JMT?

[bharve at dslextreme.com (Bruce Harvey)]

Sergeant,  Instep crampons won't be needed.  Partner and I hiked over Mather
southbound morning of July 18.  North side had a snow field about 40 feet
wide to be crossed.  Other hikers who had crossed it two days earlier said
it is necessary to wait until the day has softened the snow.  However,
partner and I crossed it in early morning when it was icy and rock hard.
The icy state didn't concern us, as there were foot print cups deep enough
that feet wouldn'tt slide out unless we were already falling.  Crossing with
trekking poles felt absolutely stable.  The snow field could be circumvented
by scrambling on all fours across fairly large talus either above or below
the snow field.  I briefly considered doing the talus scramble with leather
gloves.  I wouldn't have considered it without gloves.

Crossed Forester July 20 mid-day.  There was a snow bank about 12 feet wide
and about 6 feet high.  The south face of the bank was steep, but not a
problem with soft snow.  If snow had been hard ice, I still wouldn't have
used any sort of crampon there even if carrying them.

No snow on Pinchot or Glen.

All in all, you're in more danger from mosquitoes along Woods Creek!

Regards
----- Original Message ----- 
> :-----Original Message-----
> :Sergeant
> :Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 2:12 PM
> :Has anyone on this list been on the southern JMT, between
> :Mather Pass and Mt. Whitney in the past couple of >weeks?  I'm concerned
by reports I read on >TrailJournals.com about significant snow