Feb12 2010

[abmartin9]

Friend and I are fairly experienced in the mountains but have not been to San jacinto yet. Weather permitting we're going to climb next Saturday. My question is crampons or snowshoes, will not be attempting the northface. Just wondering what the conditions are currently so I can make a good decision. Thanks for any input.

[sdtrackrunner]

What route are you planning on taking? From the tram I would start out with snowshoes and carry crampons and an ice axe and know how to use them if you want to go up or down anything steep. That is, if you're not skiing. There's usually a pronounced melt/freeze cycle with the warm sunny days and nights in the 20s. This usually leads to a mixed bag of firm crust, breakable crust over sugar, corn, wet snow, rotten snow, you name it. The east face can be a really good place to take a surprise long slide into trouble when the snow is glazed, as it is most mornings until the sun does its work. There's a lot of snow this year so the area is showing more of its alpine qualities and snow conditions.