snow?

[Perry]

it snowed?

[guest]

Hi folks,
My friends went snow-shoein Sun & had 2 ft. of powder. I didn't feel like being cold, (and need a new pair of gortex boots), so I did my usual cross-country thing, this time out of Snow Creek area.
Went up a ridge to about 2,500 ft. dropped into a beautiful canyon (it's off limits from the bottom, so I guess I won't mention the name), to some beautiful fall colored Sycamores, Cottonwoods, and a couple waterfalls.
The ground was almost too soft in places, but everything smelled & looked so fresh, (except the hugh power lines on the ridge).

Snow line appreared to be a bit below 4k.

As I turned to head down, I heard a dozen very large rifle shots at approx 3k ft. or higher, (I'm checking into the legality of hunting in what I believe is NFS land).
The views of the north face of San Jac (the last 3k was always shrouded in clouds) kept changing with the storm clouds & light.

It never did rain, so was a truely awesome day to be out.

ss

[Perry]

Here are some shots I took around 11 am today:
http://www.palmspringsarts.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=76

[Cy Kaicener]

The Desert Sun says Palm Springs is getting more showers today which means more snow on SJ. I will be going half way up Skyline on Friday and then take the tram up and will let you know how much snow is at Long Valley. Call 760 327 0222 for a recorded message by the ranger for conditions higher up.

[Newmountaineer]

Any beta on how much snow there is high on the mountain? The tram website says 12-18 inches in Long Valley. I'm guessing (perhaps wrongly) that this means there is likely more high up on the mountain?

[Cy Kaicener]

Two experienced hikers have asked my advise on going up Skyline tomorrow (Friday). I dont know whether to encourage or discourage them so I am giving them all the information that I can. I will be going half way with them. Here are some of their questions which I answered to the best of my knowldge.

Is the route straight forward if you have never done it before.?
What is the difficulty of the last section in these conditions?
Temperature conditions

[halhiker]

Are they experienced hikers or experienced mountaineers? Having experience hiking won't help with the route finding skills needed to do the skyline in the snow nor will it help them with the terrain. If they have mountain climbing experience then they should be OK. You know how for a first timer there are a couple of places you can get off the trail at the top in the best of conditions. Coming down from Joshua Tree yesterday, it looked like the snow on the northern side of the mountain was still quite low. Have them carry ice axes.

To answer your questions directly:
route finding will be tough at the top
the last section will be the toughest: a lot of snow, maybe ice
it will probably be below freezing at the top

[Cy Kaicener]

Norma, Dave G and I started up Skyline just before first light on a windless day. We saw patches of snow at the 4000 ft level and it covered the trail at 4500 ft. Someone had gone up on Wednesday (according to the tram personnel) camped overnight and made it up yesterday, so Dave and Norma had steps to follow in the snow. I turned back at 4700 feet as I did not want to tackle any ice. One of the tram guys said that there was only a couple of inches of snow at Long Valley, so anything in the shade would have a lot more.

[lee]

Thank you, Cy.

[Cy Kaicener]

Lee - Goodluck on your hike up Skyline with the outdoorsclub on Sunday. Start a lot before 7 am if you can. The snow should slow them down a bit. Bring crampons.