Beautiful Sierra

As I left Kennedy Meadows South, I definitely didn’t feel like a gram weenie anymore. The weight of crampons, microspikes, an ice axe and a bear can with an eight-day food supply was weighing me down. Gravity was not my friend at the moment, but the excitement of roaming into the Sierra Nevada range gave me the strength to walk up hill.

Feeling the gravity

For the first 700 miles of the PCT, I heard a lot of talk about the Sierra. There was fear-mongering, and talks about snow levels, altitude sickness, dangerous passes and river crossings. Facebook posts about where to flip or hang back for a few weeks until there would be less snow.

Since I started the trail, I haven’t even thought about skipping the Sierra Nevada because of snow conditions. I’ve been waiting to see this particular mountain range for years and believe me it is wonderful.

The first few days out of KMS gives you a slight feeling that the desert is over, even if I did bump into more rattlesnakes than during the first 700 miles. Snowy peaks start to emerge, patches of snow appear behind corners and water is plentiful.

The trail goes over 10,000 feet in the first days and early wake-ups to beat the melting snow become a habit. The days start by quickly putting on layers as the temperatures are below-freezing and then walking towards my bear can, wondering if it had been “attacked” during the night . In the darkness I drink my coffee and take down camp, my headlamp shines a path for me as I start to ascent of the days particular pass. Forester pass, Glen pass, Pinchot pass, Kearsarge pass, Mather pass and Bishop pass are all very different but they share a common theme, get to the pass in the dark and summit as the sun rises, and then rush down before the snowpack gets slushy and post-holing ruins your day.

I remember when I was trying to research the Sierra before the trail and I was always a bit frustrated as I couldn’t find information with dates. So, my post today will be a bit different as I want to pass my experience on pass conditions.

20th of May | Forester Pass | microspikes & ice axe

The approach to Forester isn’t that bad. Nothing steep until you get to the base of the pass. I would recommend to cross the last river at mile 775.9 the day before, so you don’t have to get your shoes wet before the climb.

The first switchbacks were not visible the day when I went over, and even if I saw a group get to the second part where the switchbacks were not snow-covered. I somehow managed to climb too high, and had to downclimb a bit and traverse to the visible trail. The traverse across the snow shoot had a really good boot track and it was a breeze to get over.

Forester Pass

On the way down, I opted to glissade all the way down to the lake to save my knees. Just have your ice axe ready to slow your speed down.

21st of May | Kearsarge Pass | trekking poles

This one is a breeze. The switchbacks are not snow covered and once you get on the east side there is a very good boot track to traverse all the way. On my way to Lone Pine I did it in the morning with solid snow on the traverse and on the way back I did it in the afternoon in slushy conditions, still didn’t have any problems.

Kearsarge Pass

23rd of May | Glen Pass | Microspikes & Ice axe

Again the approach is very breezy. The switchbacks were undersnow and we just beelined straight up using the visible boot track and then traversing easily to the top. The descent can seem intimidating as the slope seems steep but the boot track was amazing. Would recommend to do this one early morning when the snow is still hard.

Glen Pass descent traverse

24th of May | Pinchot Pass | Microspikes

Easiest pass so far. The approach is long though, especially if you don’t want to camp on snow. But the actual pass is chill. Good boot track and no steep terrain.

Pinchot pass

25th of May | Mather Pass | Crampons & Ice Axe

First of all, the pass looks more intimidating from the bottom than it actually is. But still having crampons made it a lot easier and enjoyable. I traversed the right side, above the avalanche debris. Instead of red-lining it, I followed the boot track straight up. Just take it slowly one step at a time and you will be fine. At the top, there is a cornice you have to climb over but it is only a few feet high and you can easily see where others have gone over. The descent on the other side is steep at parts so I would recommend having spikes or crampons on. A buddy of mine slipped and unintentionally glissaded down and got a really bad rash/burn from it. This was my favourite pass so far on the trail.

26th of May | Bishop Pass | Microspikes & Ice Axe on the way down.

Easy work. This will be a breeze for you. First switchbacks snow-free and then the last 5 miles was snow. The actual pass isn’t steep when coming from the PCT but the descent is steep so I opted for spikes and an ice axe for safety when glissaiding down.

Bishop Pass approach

I hope this helps on your journey through the first part of the Sierra. Keep in mind that conditions change, and even if there are visible boot tracks you should always keep in mind that they might not be the right ones. My recommendation is to get close to the passes the day before and take advantage of the hard snow by waking up very early. When you get to the top of the passes, enjoy the views but always keep in mind that you still want to get down as far as you can when the snow is still hard.

I will continue going through the Sierra tomorrow and will keep updating whenever I get some signal.