Thinking of doing Skyline on Sunday...anyone going Saturday?

[zippetydude]

I am probably going to go do Skyline on Sunday and I'm wondering if any intrepid explorers are going up tomorrow. After the recent rain and snow, I'm curious if I will make it to Long Valley or hit deep snow after Flat Rock and have to turn back. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

z

[Ellen]

Howdy Z,

I went up yesterday morning, specifically to finish ahead of the storm and thus avoid lots of new snow on the traverse. Started to get snowed on at about 7 K -- it was beautiful. Used microspikes on the traverse up to Grubbs Notch due to old ice. There was very little "base," so anything on the traverse and below will be new powder.

My biggest issue (and one I hadn't considered ahead of time) was the drive home in the rain. It scared me more than most of my crampon/ice-axe snow climbs.

The Craigmeister reports that Long Valley received 1.5 feet of new snow, so my Skyline "conditions are subject to change."

Some intrepid souls may be heading up Skyline tomorrow -- I'm tram shoeing

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[zippetydude]

Thanks Ellen. Have fun snowshoeing and post some pics!

z

[Hikin_Jim]

Oh dear. Hope he's OK.

HJ

[Ellen]

Howdy 2600Fromantari

You STUD!!! Congratulations to you and other stalwart souls who went up Skyline on Saturday

Regarding the snowshoe track from Coffman's up -- I've heard that a friend of the missing Skyliner snowshoed down to Coffman's Crag and back up on Friday evening. As you noted, the missing Skyliner was found in good condition on Saturday morning by SAR/Rangers -- he had the proper gear/clothing to spend the night out in those conditions.

In the spring of 2015, Miracle Marilyn and I hiked up Skyline after a big dump of soft powder. It took us 9.5 hrs (normally it takes us about 6 hrs). From the traverse up, it was a post holing nightmare -- we had to plow through at least 2.5 ft of soft powder. I won't do that again
Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[zippetydude]

Thanks for the TR! Nice job on fighting through the snow. I saw it was looking kinda nasty so I just went partway up and then took a leisurely route down exploring new routes. I keep my snow hiking confined to snowshoeing on routes that I enjoy. Fighting up the last couple of miles on Skyline is not included in that list! So again, well done.

Ellen, yes, everything is so much slower in the snow. I remember when Steve and Fern took 17 hours to do Skyline after a particularly heavy snowfall. That's about 14 hours longer than it usually took them...too long to actually enjoy for me.

I don't know who the regular was who got to spend the night, but I'm glad all turned out well. Impressive that a friend hiked down to Coffman's in search of him. That's a tough hike when you know every step you take going down is going to be 3 or 4 steps coming back up.

z

[guest]

Hi friends,

Surely you've checked the forecast, I've not seen this kind of snow-laden storm on the horizon for many years.
We're talking DAYS on snow ahead, by the looks of it. Even the North Ridge route, (aka Leatherneck) will get totally dumped on & crazy.

Be safe, & ready to turn around before you get in to "deep"!
I've also done the nightmare post-holing from at least the Traverse & beyond, (was so cold & completely exhausted, I could not remove my own cramp-ons once in the building), I was close to something, not sure what, maybe ready to see God!!
Like the guy who had to bivy, (good on him for the will to survive!), if your unable to navigate really well, and visibility goes to crap, you may find yourself heading straight up between a couple of the notches in LV, and get stuck, as these chutes get very steep & precarious towards the top, and are Really exhausting.
I was up the tram yesterday, (for a meeting, no hiking), and there's plenty of base, maybe close to a foot in LV already.
BE safe, and if anyone sees these posts & is considering, please re-considered, unless you've done Denali or other crazy climb!
S2

Today
A 30 percent chance of snow showers after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 43. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Tonight
Snow showers, mainly between 10pm and 4am, then snow after 4am. Some thunder is also possible. Areas of fog after 10pm. Low around 25. Windy, with a west wind 30 to 35 mph, with gusts as high as 60 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.
Thursday
Snow before 10am, then snow showers, mainly between 10am and 4pm. Some thunder is also possible. Areas of fog before 10am. High near 28. Windy, with a west wind around 35 mph, with gusts as high as 60 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 9 to 13 inches possible.
Thursday Night
Snow showers, mainly after 10pm. Low around 22. Windy, with a west wind 35 to 40 mph, with gusts as high as 65 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Friday
Snow showers before 10am, then snow after 10am. The snow could be heavy at times. Areas of fog. High near 28. Windy, with a southwest wind 30 to 40 mph, with gusts as high as 65 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 10 to 14 inches possible.
Friday Night
Snow showers. Areas of fog before 10pm. Low around 20. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 6 to 10 inches possible.
Saturday
Snow showers likely, mainly before 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Saturday Night
A chance of snow after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26. Blustery.
Sunday
A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. Breezy.
Sunday Night
Snow, mainly after 10pm. Cloudy, with a low around 23. Windy.
Monday
Snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 30. Windy.
Monday Night
Snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 19. Windy.
Tuesday
A chance of snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 36. Windy.
From NWS today, 5 Miles NE Pine Cove CA, 8,600 ft.

[Ed]

Good warning, Guest. Denali does not necessarily prepare you for a worst day in Southern California. I've spent time on Denali, on a trip eventful enough to be mentioned in a couple of books. Bad weather, avalanche danger, days that made me think of a Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, people I respected as good mountaineers starting to lose it. A day on one of our local peaks can be worse.

I guess the regular who triggered the SAR on Friday night is not going to fess up. One of the reasons I carry a SPOT is the ability to signal that I don't need a rescue, when I am overdue.

[guest]

Hey 2600fromatari,

I'm glad you've found a way to overcome the relentless drive of youth to Bag that Peak or die urge, Ha.
I agree re. photos, it's worth it to experience some of mother natures conditions (within safe limits, of course), since many of the most dramatic come from those.

I think the more people read some of our near-death experiences on here, the more they may take pause, and realize the mt. ain't goin anywhere, and the risks are worth it, (nor is it to require the great SAR's folks to risk theirs, as you mentioned).

Even attempting tram to summit can be risky during one of these mother of all storms of recent times, (just ask a blonde hikin machine from the post below!!).

S2

[MrNizegy]

Thanks for the smart concern. I've been monitoring the weather closely. I was considering going Friday, as I'm unable to go Saturday. The "ZERO VISIBILITY" possibility is not something I want to be in. So I'm going to head up Sunday for some snowshoeing. Sounds like its going to dump a ton! Probably head up to Wellman's if I've got the energy. The peak may be quite a slough.