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As many of you know the heavy snowpack in the Northwest is contrasted by the incredibly low snowpack in the Sierras this year. I know of at least a dozen NWHikers that plan to make a trip down there this year. Hopefully we can share beta here and link to all their reports.
Going to Sierras this year w/ Dates:
Jenjen (lives there now)
Opus (Doing the PCT)
Slugman plus crew (mid-June) Trip Report
mike220 (riding with Slugman)
RayD (lives in Cali)
ree n' Riverside Baker
DogNTallGrass
BarbE, SD & Darryl 6/5 -6/17 Trip Report
Dona and I( Bigfoot Jim) are PCTing Kennedy Meadows (south) to Old Station June 1 to Aug 1 Trip Report
Karen² & Schmidt Alti-Babe 06/30-7/15
bobbi & silly_traveler 6/21-23 ~ 1000 Island Lakes Trip Report
Thinking of visiting the Sierras this year:
kite
puzzlr - considering joining a friend doing the PCT for a week
RichP
Links:
Official Inyo National Forest Website (confusing because old site is still on the web and some searches still point to it)
Topo Maps
Dan at closedcontour created this very useful map.
Eastern Sierra Weather Center
NOAA snowpack analysis
California State Snowpack Data
Sierra snowpack map (Updated May 1st)
An overview of the Sierra Snowpack, north central and south. Compare various years to the max, min, and average.
Daily snow depth summary for various Sierra locations. Note that this is depth and not the more useful SWE (snow water equivalent).
Hiking Forum:
High Sierra Topix
SummitPost
Yosemite Forum.
Wiki summmary last edited by David¹ on Thu Jun 28, 2012 5:27 pm (this post can be edited by any member)
Wiki summmary last edited by David¹ on Thu Jun 28, 2012 5:27 pm (this post can be edited by any member) |
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
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 Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:31 am |
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I just joined High Sierra Topix, some good info there. Example: there's a heat wave going on right now down there, snow is melting very fast, what little there is. Peak river flows from snow melt usually happens in mid-June, this year it is looking like May 1st. Here's a nice quote: "Also there's a report on the Whitney Portal site that Horseshoe Meadows, Onion Valley & Whitney Portal roads will all open officially on April 27 (though the latter two are apparently unofficially open already). For Horseshoe Meadows that's also about 6 weeks earlier than last year."  Horseshoe meadows road goes up to almost 10,000 ft.
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Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cle Elum |
Where are you planning on going Sluggo?
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
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Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:51 am |
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JJHoffman
Member
Joined: 01 Apr 2012
Posts: 28 | TRs | Pics
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Meeting a buddy in Reno and heading down 395 into the sierras 7/30-8/6. Still planning destinations and it looks like everything should be accessible (snow-wise) by then.
Virginia Lakes and Twin Lakes are on the list so far....
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Tomlike
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Joined: 22 Jun 2010
Posts: 407 | TRs | Pics
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Tomlike
Member
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Wed May 02, 2012 10:47 am |
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Riverside Laker
Member
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 2818 | TRs | Pics
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We flew over Yosemite area on Sunday and admired the relatively reduced snowpack.
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mike
Member
Joined: 09 Jul 2004
Posts: 6398 | TRs | Pics
Location: SJIsl |
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mike
Member
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Wed May 02, 2012 6:18 pm |
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Anyone flying south in the near future let me know what the Warners look like. Reportedly 50-70% normal.
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David¹
Token Canadian
Joined: 25 Jul 2002
Posts: 3040 | TRs | Pics
Location: The Great White North |
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David¹
Token Canadian
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Thu May 03, 2012 6:24 am |
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This photo of the Kearsarge Lakes was taken April 28th from 11,760ft Kearsarge PassSource: Summit Post
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ree
Member
Joined: 29 Jun 2004
Posts: 4399 | TRs | Pics
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ree
Member
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Thu May 03, 2012 8:30 am |
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cascadetraverser
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Joined: 16 Sep 2007
Posts: 1407 | TRs | Pics
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If you want to avoid the crowded trails check out Steve Roper`s The Sierra High Route. A good companion book is The Last Season by Eric Blehm.
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David¹
Token Canadian
Joined: 25 Jul 2002
Posts: 3040 | TRs | Pics
Location: The Great White North |
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David¹
Token Canadian
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Fri May 04, 2012 3:05 pm |
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I have updated the Sierra Snowpack Map (see above)
To get an idea how extraordinary that is here is the one for the Northwest
Tioga Pass is snow free and scheduled to be opened on Monday - that's the earliest date since the all time record was set in 1977 (records go back to 1933)
Posted today on Summit Post w/r/t Bishop Pass:
| Quote: | | Pen and I just got back. We carried our skis up Taboose Pass, skied and carried down to about 10,000 on the other side, looked toward Mather Pass and abandoned the trip.
There is virtually no snow to ski on in the Sierra at 11,000 feet. The conditions at and around Taboose Pass remind me of late June in normal snow season. IMO, give it three weeks and you can walk anywhere up to 13,000' without encountering much snow at all. |
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Tuskadero
Member
Joined: 28 Apr 2009
Posts: 110 | TRs | Pics
Location: Kenmore, Wa |
Amazing. I swear there was almost as much snow as this when I hiked the JMT last late Aug/early Sept!
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
Joined: 27 Mar 2003
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
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Fri May 04, 2012 5:07 pm |
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mike220
Slug's taxi service
Joined: 05 Sep 2009
Posts: 181 | TRs | Pics
Location: Shoreline, WA |
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mike220
Slug's taxi service
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Fri May 04, 2012 7:36 pm |
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| Slugman wrote: | I'm really looking forward to parking the camper van at 10,000 ft. The minute I take my first step, I'll be at the highest elevation I've ever hiked.  |
its gonna be like the moon landing for us,
"one small step for a slug, one giant leap for slugkind"
unless your driving, then it will be a bunch of us yahoos jumping out ahead of you 
"Natural stupidity trumps artificial intelligence every time"
"Natural stupidity trumps artificial intelligence every time"
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There is one pass for which we may need microspikes, but even that may be wide open before we go. I might, just maybe, be coming back having done my first 14'er. 
One problem, we may be heading into prime mosquito time, no one really knows for sure, the conditions this year are pretty rare. I'm really looking forward to parking the camper van at 10,000 ft. The minute I take my first step, I'll be at the highest elevation I've ever hiked.