[wotan]

Overall good conditions on Vesper.

Vesper peak

Thanks to whoever built the bridge.

The gully to Headlee Pass is mostly snow covered, and rather firm snow, but good views.

Felt like I was being watched tho, by the ghost of Michael Jackson?

Red white and blue-backside of Big Four, Copper Lake, and snow.

North face of vesper looks clean and dry

[PorcupinePhobia]

That's a nice hike, the forest walk before heading up to the pass is uncommonly pleasant, too.

[popzeus]

I think I met your group as I was descending, right on the talus slope below Sperry/after Headlee pass. It was a great day for a hike! Just to add to the report, it looks like the trail has suffered some winter damage below Headlee Pass in Wirtz Basin. The final approach to Headlee pass involved a lot more very loose talus/boulder hopping than I remember from years past. It seemed like everything I stepped on moved. It was a lot more noticeable coming down than going up. There is a lot of snow still in Wirtz Basin, too. Made for a fun glissade but if the weather stays as hot as it was Saturday, it won't be there for long.

[Moose]

Thanks for the report. How were the bugs? Did you use crampons, axe, etc.? Thinking about heading up here soon.

[popzeus]

Almost no bugs to speak of last weekend on the trail (except that the trailhead register was full of about a hundred black ants - they were gone when I returned). That is probably changing by the day. I was camped down by the South Fork Stilly that weekend and the mosquitos were raging. I used an ice axe and crampons. It was hot on Saturday when the sun came out and the only issues I ran into were descending Headlee Pass in the softening snow. The snow is not very deep and only covers about half of the pass, so you run into a lot of situations where you need to transition between loose soil/gravel and snow. The ice axe wasn't much good here, as there was no firm snow to plant it in. The pass will probably be relatively snow-free soon. The approach to Vesper from Lake Elan is completely covered in several feet of snow. Stiff-soled boots are probably fine, but I used my crampons on the steep part since I carried them up there anyway. Bring trekking poles! I didn't and they would have been really helpful on the talus slope below Headlee.

[Moose]

Awesome, thanks for the great beta and advice.