Hey Guys, no need for a full trip report. Ill just touch on the hot topics that always seem to come up. We did a successful one day summit yesterday. It was incredible. Gear: Poles, crampons, ice axe (people with micro spikes were mostly unable to ascend the chute)
SUPER warm. I usually bring quite a few layers, but even with the 3am start, it was tee shirt weather all day. At top of Trail Crest there was zero wind. I never needed anything more than a long sleeve hiker shirt.
The snow melt is going insanely fast. So the water crossings are mellow in the wee hours of the morning, but upon our return in late afternoon, they were raging! All foot stones covered with water flow up to our calves. You WILL get wet. And they are very slippery and dangerous.
The log crossing still has a broken piece in the middle, but can be easily passed
Trail finding starts to become difficult around Mirror Lake. people have been breaking trail in the snow leading all over the place. mostly in interestingly wrong directions. We mainly stuck to the trail areas with minimal short cuts. once at the top of the rocky switchback area above mirror lake, expect full time snow. Crampons not needed. Good trail has been broken in leading to Trail Camp
Trail Camp has plenty of spots to filter water.
Crampons and Ice axe mandatory for a successful Chute ascent. we reached the Chute at 9am. An hour later than we had hoped. And it was well past its prime by that time already. Still very doable, but those with micro spikes were not doing well. Several parties bailed, and another borrowed a descending climbers crampons.
From Trail Crest to the summit, trail is fully clear of snow (except right before summit). about 1/2 mile before summit, cut up early before snow field and boulder hop your way up. Much easier than taking the trail all the way around and trying to navigate last snow field.
hope this helped. This board always helps me before I head up, so trying to return the favor!
