High Sierra Topix

great trip report jimmeans!
i will be following in your footsteps in August as i begin a six day loop over the col and through Evolution and on to Piute Pass.

good to have some recent info on col conditions.
looks like you had a blast!

Just exited via the Col two days ago. The snow field doesn't seem passable in my opinion. The soft snow is gone, leaving a mostly corn ice or hard snow pack. There is no set path through the snow field at this point.

It has, however, melted enough that you can ago around and avoid all the snow. If are coming up to the Col, you can climb the Blue Gray boulders (as opposed to the other looser materials that is under the snow normally) on the left side (south side) and find a route that takes you to about the same level at the upper use trail or above. There are a couple places where you can cross over to the user trail -- a lower spot in recently melted snow/mid puts you on some pretty loose materials. The middle spot is a bit tight, climbing under a boulder, with a backpack on ... might have to take it off to be absolutely safe.

The slightly higher route might be a bit more of a boulder scramble, but is probably the best. It ends at or a bit above the upper use trail. So anyway, scrambling is the way it seems unless you have crampons (or now what to do on hard snow / ice). I may be wrong, but I wouldn't expect to go anyway besides the scramble!

Alex

We just exited 4 days ago. I completly agree with aufsess. Climb the Col using the boulders on the left (south) side. Avoid the ice and snow completely.
Please stay tuned for an upcoming report.

-Russ

The route through the boulders is the route that we were expecting to take when we approached the col in mid-June. This was based on the previous TRs that I was able to find on the net. Then we arrived at the col and saw people descending through the snow. Our timing was fortunate in that the snow conditions were near perfect.

Thanks Russ for the recent photo and confirming that avoiding the ice/snow is best. I will be heading up and over the col for the first time on July 30. The pic and advice is really helpful.

Jimmeans,

Thanks for this great trip report - I am using it to plan an upcoming trip to Lamark Col!

Happy Hiking,
Shannon