[pct-l] snow questions

[weathercarrot at hotmail.com (The Weathercarrot)]

<< I was wondering if anyone could tell me what to expect for snow 
conditions.  Will I snowshoes?  Where should I send my snow gear ahead to?  
I reallize that it may still be too
early to a know any of these answers so how has it been in the past years? 
 >>

while mid-feb is too early to know anything for sure, it's looking like the 
sierra south of Yosemite will be close to normal this year (although much 
depends on overall air temps in late april through early June). Southern CA 
is looking like it'll be significantly below normal, unless there are some 
March and April higher elevation dumpings above Idylwild/Big 
Bear/Wrightwood. So if the current pattern holds, I would not be concerned 
about carrying an ice axe until you reach Kennedy Meadows/Lone Pine. While 
it's been a trend in recent years for fewer thru-hikers to carry ice axes, 
I'd suggest carrying one from Kennedy Meadows to Sonora Pass, or perhaps 
Tahoe. Many people ditch theirs at Mammoth or Tuolumne, but I personally 
prefer to continue farther with it.

Snowshoes are rarely used during the northbound time-frame, but in certain 
conditions they can actually be useful (but I wouldn't bother). Crampons are 
sometimes used by thru-hikers (more so in higher snow years such as '05), 
especially if you want to get an early start on the high passes and take 
advantage of frozen conditions. You can make better time that way. But most 
don't carry them, and wait until later in the morning to ascend when the 
snow has softened somewhat.

If I do the sierras in June again, I'll consider carrying yak trax, which 
are not a full substitute for crampons, but can be helpful when the snow is 
starting to harden up again in the evening as you traverse (or the morning), 
or even for general snowpack hiking. I wouldn't use them for going stright 
up the fall line on frozen ice/snow, because they don't dig in anywhere near 
as much as crampons. They're light and relatively inexpensive.

wc