Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Mt Agassiz/Mt Sill conditions

I am planning on leaving to do Mt Agassiz/Mt Sill on the 16th. Does anyone know how much snow there will be? We will be bringing an ice axe and crampons, but how treacherous will Sill's south approach be? I've heard its only class 2/3 depending on what chute you take, so even with some snow and ice it shouldn't be too bad right?

Also the plan for us is to leave the South Lake trailhead by 7 am, bag Agassiz and be back down and camp near Bishop pass for the night as an acclimation hike. The next day we would be attempting Sill right from Bishop pass, heading near Potluck pass and avoiding the glaciers and class 4 sections.

If anyone has been up past South Lakes, can anyone let me know how the conditions are? Besides an ice axe and crampons, we don't plan on bringing any real technical equipment. I'm assuming there's no avalanche danger?

I haven’t been there since August. Your plans sound plausible but not easy, if the road is still open. This time of year, you may have enough snow to be a real pain, but not enough to make it a true snow climb. You might need snowshoes in places, but I don’t think they are justified. My guess is that the snow won’t be consolidated enough to justify an axe, though you may need crampons. Of course, it’s better to bring gear you don’t need than to need gear you didn’t bring.

Some mapping sites include a layer called “Sentinel Weekly”. It’s a weekly satellite view that shows where the snow is and isn’t. Unfortunately, you have to pay extra for it on CalTopo. If you don’t have access to it, send me a PM with your email address, and I’ll send you a screen capture of that area.

Here is a shot of Agassiz from yesterday afternoon, the route appears pretty free of snow. The trail up to Saddlerock Lake (the last major lake before Bishop Pass) was packed snow, patchy ice, and dirt.

The road closure right now is about 1.2 miles down canyon from the trailhead, so factor that into the approach. The sun went down around 4PM and got real cold real fast.

For what it's worth, I'll add that our region of California is in a 3-week stay-at-home lockdown, and non-essential travel is prohibited. All local campgrounds and hotels are shut.

Also FWIW, the WIlliamson webcam shows Willi got a dusting of snow last night. So probably a little more snow now than in the picture.