I don't buy that, Mike.Kpeter given your restrictions you should have figured out those alternatives on May 1 rather than now. Waiting in the hope of a hot spring kind of screws up your planning. Rather than being hung up on all the details of different years the May 1 snow data should have rang a bell that it was very likely going to be a late season. I know that rlown has been moaning for months that his planned late july trip was not likely going to work.
With the data available on May 1, there was no way to know what kind of conditions we might face in mid July. Fresno saw unseasonably hot weather in early May, with several days in the 90s; nobody expected such a cool spring, with its rash of late spring snow events. It is quite a contrast to last year, when we had a relatively warm spring and a quick melt. If we are lucky enough to see a few weeks of hot weather, we could easily catch up to the 2006 example. Or not. Only time will tell.
For me, snow at high elevations is not a problem. I like it. It's the skeeters I don't like. And at this point in time, there is no way to predict mosquito severity, especially at the 10,000+ elevations we all favor. I hit the trail on 8/3 and am hoping for the best!
Mike