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Mt Lyell early June
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I am planning to climb Mt Lyell in the first week of June. I am unsure what type of gear I should pack. I have heard the Sierras are known for deep loose snow. Will snow shoes be necessary? Can I easily camp on the snow? |
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Deep snow yes. Loose snow- not so much this time of year. Though by afternoon you'll be wallowing in your snowshoes as the snow becomes soft and wet. You can camp on the snow, you'll have to with little other choice. There is still 12-15 feet of snow at Thousand Island Lake. 4 days would be rushing it, even on skis. No way you'll pull off this itinerary on snowshoes. Go spend 4 days and climb Mt. Hoffman from the Valley. |
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The problem with Mt Hoffman is I specifically want to get away from the valley into the less traveled parts of the park. I love trekking and would like to explore the interior of the park a bit more. Would it be possible to climb Mt Lyell out and back in four days? |
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On snowshoes you are still pushing it. From the Valley just to the Meadows you are talking at least 10 miles, with 4000' of elevation gain, and most of that distance on snow shoes or in patches of wet snow. It's another 10 miles or so and more elevation gain from there to Donahue Pass. With snowshoes I don't see that happening in 4 days, it'll just be very slow going. You could try coming in from the East Side via Gem Lake for a shorter approach (though not much easier in terms of snow and elevation gain). |
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Well, not going to be too busy since the road won't be open until July... Lyell is still going to be a very ambitious mission in 4 days RT from the Valley. Check out the Clark Range- lots of great options, easier to access. |
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After measuring some distances, it looks like I need to either eliminate Lyell from the trek (which would still leave at least 12 miles of trekking in a day) or aiming for another peak. Either case, this plan was way too ambitious for my time frame. Are there any other peaks in the interior of Yosemite that are a bit more reasonable? At a quick glance, it looks like Mt Dana might offer similar altitude with an easier ascent. It would also allow me to hike out via Tioga pass to Mono Lake. |
Chris McCarthy wrote: Do you need to get back to your car parked in the Valley? With Tioga Pass still closed, its a long drive around. Not trying to pile on with all the negative questions. In fact, if you come up with a workable itinerary, I just might use it as inspiration for a similar trip of my own. Personally, I think Tioga Pass will open in June. They're just being conservative and refusing to say when they'll get it open, because one time they did get hugely delayed when a plow was damaged by a boulder. |
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I took this pic last Friday  |
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^^^^ WOW ^^^^ |
George Wu wrote: Hey George, I won't have a car. My plan is to bus to the valley, hike through the range, then bus or hitch back to Sacramento. With Mt Mammoth nearby, I suspect there will be enough traffic to get a ride north from Lake Mono. |
Rude Boy wrote: This is super useful, thank you! How was the snow? Was it think pillowy or thawing and icy? |
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I'm guessing that Rude Boy's photo is taken from the south, but where? What elevation? Looks like pretty solid snow from 10 or 11K and up. |
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It freezes overnight and is frozen early morning. Softens up fast when the sun hits it. This was over 12k. I was on skis. Lower elevation is gunna be mashed potatoes later day if it's getting full sun. Your plan is mighty amibtious. |
Rude Boy wrote: I tend to shoot for the moon hoping to get to orbit. There are plenty of possible routes to wash out on if I fall behind schedule. |
