Rae Lakes Loop, too late?

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I'd guess we're done with high elevations unless serious 4 season camping is the plan.

If Mammoth Mountain is any indication they say they have 3-4 feet from mid-mountain to the top. Even with rain at higher elevations I would imagine there is a few feet of snow on the passes.

I could upload a picture of the Sierras – just drove over to drop a load of boxes at my new place and there's a pretty white blanket over most of the ridges and peaks. The weather's clearing early, it's quite beautiful even from the valley with all the clouds hugging some of the mountains.

The snow level increased progressively during the storm, but seemed to stall at 9k, at least in the northern Sierra. It would be prudent to anticipate feet of fresh snow at 10k and above, a lot of which will be there until next summer.

Plan B? There's still plenty of subalpine hiking to be done, and the dust will be history :-)

Cheers,

Rick

I did the loop on October 24th in 12 hrs, 31 mins. It was 90% snow covered from Charlotte Lake junction to Rae Lakes and 60% snow from Rae Lakes to below Dollar Lake. The snow on the north side of Glen Pass had an icy crust with powdery snow underneath resulting in postholing knee deep (energy and time consuming). Otherwise, the snowcapped peaks were a spectacular sight. I'll link to a complete trip report soon, but here is a video link:

"I did the loop on October 24th in 12 hrs, 31 mins."

Nice video. I like your others, too. 12 and a half hours is pretty quick, particularly with postholing. What did you do for food, and what kind of pack did you use?

Thanks!

Complete trip report with splits and many photos:
http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=917823

Here is some info about what I used.

Backpack: I used the Deuter Futura 25 to carry all the extra warm clothing I brought (pants and jacket) and didn't really have to use. I typically use the Ultimate Direction Wasp on adventure runs.

Food: Powerbars, Gels, ShotBloks, SaltStick electrolyte capsules

Footwear: La Sportiva Fireblade

Headlamp: First time using the Petzl Myo RXP. While heavier, they provide ample light to run comfortably on rough trails at night.

I brought Kahtoola Microspikes and they turned out to be extremely helpful on the descent from Glen Pass.