... I just got the email that I got my first choice in the lottery. .... my permit is for the 22nd of June.
I don’t particularly want to deal with too much in the way of snowy conditions beyond maybe micro spikes at most. I was always wary of the late June date, but my research seemed to indicate it wasn’t so early as to be impossible depending on conditions over the winter.
Am I correct in thinking it’s been an unusually snowy winter and I should probably let my permit go and make alternative arrangements? Or is there a date I should wait until to be able to say with reasonable confidence one way or another? I have a SEKI wilderness permit as a backup to do some sort of loop/out and back depending on conditions at the various passes, so I’m not too gutted if the answer is give it up.
Nicholacci: Pretty sure there will still be significant snow in late June, and people will still be using ice axe and crampons to climb the slope west of the switchbacks and the cables. In fact, the HST has a serious obstacle at that tunnel above Hamilton Lakes. It is likely that its chute will be covered with snow/ice, and ice axe and crampons would be necessary to cross. Lookup on youtube: "Hamilton Gorge HST Trail Condition 7/24/17"
