Connor: Strange as it seems, crossing Kaweah Gap is likely to be much trickier than the west side ascent to Trail Crest, and you need to get good beta on it. Although it is 2500 feet lower, it seems to hold snow much longer than the exposed west flank of MW.
Last July, after the Whitney MT had been clear for at least a couple weeks (and the West Side before that) Kaweah Gap was socked in from the tunnel above Hamilton to KG, till around July 15, when the first HST hikers pushed to Whitney. Beyond that, it was clear sailing all the way to the Portal. So the long and short of it is, if Kaweah Gap goes, the JMT side switchbacks will be fine.
If Kaweah Gap is socked in, you will need all your snow gear and very good route-finding, including a probe. Snow gets bridged and undercut wicked from Precipice Lake to Kaweah gap, on and off the trail.
So your critical beta will be from either the
SekI Trail Conditions Report the wilderness office at SEKI or High Sierra Topix. There is nothing posted yet either at SEKI or HST, so I would call the SEKI wilderness office ((559) 565-3766) and start a thread at High Sierra Topix.
HST Not a lot of snow this year, but what there is will be running, at its highest, so you will need good beta on the creek crossings, and there are several. I can give you details on each one as you get beta on general conditions.
