4/9-4/10 snow conditions

[sbkelley]

Hey all, thanks for keeping up this great resource.

I've done the C2C twice before - once in March of 2008, the other in October of the same year. I remember quite well how snowy and icy the March trip was, and had crampons/axe then (and used them!) I'm thinking about doing this again with a small group April 9-10 this year.

Question: since it's been a pretty dry winter (I live in PHX), do you guys think that the final climb on Skyline Trail below the tram would still be holding enough snow in mid-April to necessitate crampons and an axe? I'm thinking I should bring the gear anyhow, but wanted to see what the locals thought. Thanks in advance!

[Hikin_Jim]

It hasn't been a dry year here. In fact, we just got another round of snow last night. Some ski areas further north (Mammoth) are reporting historically high levels of snow (~600").

Now, what will things be like in a few weeks? Who knows. The last round of storms was followed by hot weather, and things were pretty clear below 8000'. We'll see. Stay tuned.

HJ