First: Oh, no they are not.
It's kind of a tribute to my son. I did the Mineral King hike with him last year - he's a teenager (and a Scout) - but he wanted to get back to his girlfriend in a hurry, so he pushed and pushed the schedule, and we covered over 50 miles (including an attempt on Eagle Scout Peak) in 4 days, instead of our original 7 day plan - we hiked until 10pm two of those days. (and he also likes this cartoon rock band called "dethklok" - so the screen name is kind of a sarcastic tribute. He's not joining us on this trip, because he's pursuing educational goals).
Second: appreciate the trip info - hope it's available before we depart.
And also - thanks for the info on the Fresno REI store. We are coming from San Luis Obispo, so Fresno is a tad out of the way for us; but we're going to consider this as we get closer to the depart. date, and if we don't get any clear betas telling us that the gear is *not* needed.
We know that we can probably bypass the Whitney summit if the switchbacks are not clear by the 22nd/23rd. We could even re-route to Army Pass, right? We could re-route along Timber Gap+Blackrock to get into Big Arroyo, if Kahweah Gap is blocked. But if Mehrton is impassable, I guess we're really bunched-up; and on the first day.
I remember from last year, that up Hamilton Gorge, along the cliffs, there was a waterfall that just crossed the trail. Straight over sheer sloping granite. Then, down hundreds of feet into the valley. If there was ice, or significant water flow, I couldn't imagine how anyone could ever get past that. The trail up by Hamilton lake and above is pretty mind-blowing. In my opinion, it is easily as impressive as the trail up to Half Dome in Yosemite - both by engineering, and vistas. But I think it's got to be very fragile in winter conditions. There was one creek where I saw an old steel bridge, smashed down in the gorge by a boulder, further upstream, was another stone bridge, also collapsed, only about 1/3 of the way across. There was a complete wooden bridge. Last year. Hope that one is still intact.
Our scouts are all 15 or 16, (so we're not talking about 12 year olds fresh out of Webelos), all Life Scout rank, and they're all athletes; track team, swim team, the one who isn't, is our most experienced backpacker. They've all showshoed. I think they're all even experienced snowboarders too. But none of them have ever used an ice-axe.
I have a lot of faith in these boys - I am actually more interested in trying to make their parents comfortable (the ones who aren't hiking with us) than anything else. I'm pretty sure we'll contend with whatever we encounter, or prudently step back, where necessary.
