High Sierra Topix

maverick wrote:

Maiathebee wrote:
Don't want to make him buy an ice axe in addition to all the other stuff he needs.

An ice axe or crampon in an inexperienced hikers hands can be dangerous and deadly.
Only after proper training and practice should one use these useful pieces of gear
that require one to be highly proficient in their usage.

Yes, of course. Let's not add evisceration or crampon cartwheels to the list of Things That Can Go Wrong. Careful preparation and good judgement of the situation and everyone's abilities in relation to that are imperative. This is why I am even on this forum doing research. And as you can see above, my original question wasn't "should I take a newbie on that snowfield" but rather "will the snowfield be there."

Thanks again.

maverick wrote:Hi Maiathebee,

Welcome to HST!
Would not take a total newbie on that route. It is steep and can be quite
intimidating even for backpackers with experience, especially if one does not
time the crossing at the optimal time of the day, and without an ice axe and
crampons usage/experience.

Here is what it looked like in late July of 2010, which was a moderately wet year. I would guess from my other experiences this year that we are about a month ahead of 2010, so a ballpark would be that the traverse from Iceberg to Cecile will look like this by late June. Perhaps someone who has been up there recently can comment.

Thanks kpeter! That photo is pretty informative. I think we'll plan to hike up to Iceberg on an afternoon and see what the snowfield is like. If it's there, we'll head back to Ediza to camp and down to Shadow the next day.

Appreciate any updates as we get closer!

In 2010 they had a trail crew working on the trail from Ediza to Iceberg. It had been something of a well-traveled but unmaintained path. They were doing stonework, diverting water, pruning brush, etc, so an excursion from Ediza up to Iceberg should now be "a piece of cake."