Desolation Valley is Melting Out Fast (May 2-3)

[Vaca Russ]

We climbed Pyramid again on Saturday. The Rocky Creek Trail is now clear of snow. There are just a few patches of snow below the summit block.

Here are some pictures of the Southern Desolation Wilderness.

1Heather.JPG

2Aloha.JPG

Lake of the Woods is clear of ice.

3Deso Valley.JPG

4Deso2.JPG

We climbed down the SE ridge to the lake at about 8900 feet.

5Lake.JPG

The weather was great, there was a fullish moon and it really wasn't too cold so we spent the night.

6Morning Camp.JPG

Here is the unamed lake and Pyramid Peak.

7Close Lake.JPG

8Mountain Summit.JPG

I hope this report helps somebody with their plans!

Thanks,

-Russ

[wildhiker]

Thanks for all the photos, Russ. Your photos look north at the south facing slopes and show very little snow. I was up on the Tahoe Rim Trail in the Mt Rose Wilderness at the north end of the lake on Sunday May 3, looking at the north and east slopes of the Desolation Wilderness. They look considerably snowy still above 8000 feet, although I have no idea how deep that snow is. Here's a photo stretching from Mt Tallac on the left to the end of the Crystal Range on the right.
-Phil

P1080926-CrystalRange-from-MtRoseWilderness.jpg

[TahoeJeff]

There is about an inch or so of new snow up there now.