THE SAWTOOTH IS NOT FREE OF SNOW. some guy put on here, maybe two weeks old or even three, that the sawtooth was clear and free from snow. He obviously did not hike it and was posting what he saw from the top of beirstadt. Although it is almost free from snow and only requires two snow crossings early in the traverse. One is on an intermediate slope and we did use micro-spikes. A group of hikers behind us did not have microspikes and decided to drop below the snow fields to cross on boulders and it added almost an hour to their trip by the time they hit the summit on evans. We did not have an ice axe and felt fine, totally comfortable. The total distance traveled over snow is probably only 150-200 feet in both fields, but we hit them early (8 a.m.) and the snow was rock solid and icy, a slip here would send you into the lake below, but a later crossing would probably soften up the snow enough to kick-step safely. No need for crampons, some reports say traversing with poles was stable enough. We did not have poles, but we did use microspikes and it was a great day, summer conditions everywhere else. Also we took the high route (the dotted line on 14ers.com) thru the part after the 'exit ramp' and it was really pretty stable. The guy before us was walking the high line with his dog and they both pretty much scampered across with no issues. Overall great hike, sawtooth was fun.
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