Tramshoe to summit 2/12/17

[Ellen]

Howdy All

Snowshoed from the tram to the peak yesterday with friends -- Cameron, Marilyn and Kalen. Starting temperature was ~34 F. There was a wee bit of snow over an icy crust.









We went up the traditional winter route, past the base of Miller saddle and continued on to the base of the gully by Jean. We deferred to Cameron as to whether we would continue up "Jean's gully" to the ridge or head back down to the base of the Miller Saddle. After Cameron tested the snow with an ice-ax, we followed him up to the ridge and headed towards San Jacinto. Gorgeous rime ice on the ridge but couldn't get my iPhone to work. Once at the peak, we met fellow San Jacinto hiking meetup members -- Kimla took these photos:











After lunch in front of the hut, we headed down.





Fortunately, the snow had softened a bit. Cameron observed that the "snow" on the north side was like ice-cubes that had melted and re-frozen. The "snow" on the south side was more like Styrofoam. Bottom line -- due to the "freeze-thaw" cycle, I will be hiking in the desert until the snow conditions improve.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[RocketJ]

Fantastic pics Ellen. I see what looks like ski tracks in one of your photos. Would you say the snow conditions are suitable for skiing/snowboarding right now (or in the next few days?)

[Ellen]

Howdy RocketJ

I defer to other folks on the board who ski. Here's the weather for the summit:

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... vxhZ4-cGcw

Miles of smiles,
Ellen