Enchantment Lakes, June/July 2011

[E.L. Boston]

Headed into the Enchantments from roughly June 27th to July 4th. I've read some trip reports (paying special attention to the weather portions), but I still have a couple questions:

1) What sort of meteorological conditions should I expect?

2) How much residual snow should we be prepared to deal with?

Though a native to the PNW, I've spent the winter in another part of the country, so I'm a bit out-of-touch this year. I hear the winter has been wetter and colder than usual, yes? Please forgive me for asking what might otherwise seem like obvious questions. :(

I'm not totally inexperienced with alpine hiking, but I typically find myself in sub-alpine regions. So, while I am supremely prepared for treks into the lowlands, higher elevations are not quite second-nature to me…

[Mary D]

Recent trip report here:
http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7991734

[E.L. Boston]

Hey, that is a recent report, isn't it? This report hadn't even been written when I was scouring the web last weekend, trying to get an idea of what the conditions were like. What a boon!

Thanks for the tip! :)

[Jake Palmer]

Aasgard pass might actually be easier this early in the year while it's covered in snow, but I would still recommend going up rather than down. You think you know what steep is until you start hiking up or down that beast. You can probably get away with microspikes or yaktrax, but make sure you have at least some form of traction device.

[Anonymous]

"You can probably get away with microspikes or yaktrax, but make sure you have at least some form of traction device."

+1 And an ice ax. It can get pretty icy up near the top.

[E.L. Boston]

You know, I had been eyeing those Yaktrax XTRs with interest for a while now, but I have heard a lot of stories about them not holding up worth a….edit: We can't use the word *ahem* dee-ay-emm-enn? Really? Really?! Sigh. Anyway…. Unfortunately the only other traction device I own at the moment is an inherited pair of giant, beastly old Black Diamond crampons, but they might be just a little overkill, don't you think? Maybe I just need to bite the bullet and buy a pair of Microspikes. One of my buddies has a pair of Stabilicers, but they seem prone to getting crap stuck between the sole of one's shoes, and the "footbed" of the device.

Anyway, about the ice axe: really? This late in the year? You don't think set of solid poles + traction devices will be sufficient? The pictures in the thread mentioned by Mary didn't look too bad, and I *will* be there two weeks after those shots were taken…

I'm not suggesting you're offering me bad advice, mind you; I'm just a little surprised. But then again, I've never been up there before, so what the hell do I know? :D

[Anonymous]

"Anyway, about the ice axe: really? This late in the year? You don't think set of solid poles + traction devices will be sufficient?"

It is all conditions dependent. Maybe you could get by with poles. If I were you, I'd check with the RS in Leavenworth just to be sure, or peruse trip reports out on the Web. Aasgard is a north facing pass, and this has been a heavy snow year.

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