Princeton or Yale the 21st. Conditions?

[hollamby]

Hey everyone,

Was wondering if anyone had conditions for Yale or Princeton. I am climbing one or the other next friday. I am assuming roads are clear and fine for TH (I will be on 2 wheels probably), true?

Bring the snowshoes and axe I am assuming?

Any help would be great.
Ryan

[hollamby]

No one hiked these this weekend?

Thanks

[Aubrey]

I was up on Tigger today. Just updated the Princeton Road trailhead (made it to the switchback at the radio towers). Climbed Tigger and then went down the ridge close to the saddle of Princeton. Snow was deep in some spots, though snowshoes might be more hassle than they're worth (just a personal opinion). After doing Shavano yesterday, we decided we were done wallowing in the snow (postholed in some sections, even on the ridge), so we didn't go on to Princeton.

It could be done without one, but I felt much more comfortable with an axe (more for balance than safety/necessity, but it was still nice to have on the steep sections and on the ridge). And we saw someone descend Princeton via the standard route, but my risk threshold isn't that high, especially with all the recent snow (yesterday and Friday) and the direct sun (today) the mountain received.

[seekanddestroy99]

Approached Yale from Silver Creek today, patchy snow up to the Beaver lake at 11,300 feet, then consistent snow up to the top. Denny Creek approach looked about the same in terms of snow/elevation, but is more south facing and had a lot of wet slide activity midday. Neither really required an ax. Will post TR soon.

[tmathews]

I attempted Yale on Saturday from Denny Creek. There was 3-6" of fresh snow and postholing in the trees above 11,000 feet and it continued to snow on me the entire time. I had my showshoes with me, but didn't put them on (they may have helped in some areas where I postholed up to my crotch). I only made it to 12,300 before turning back due to snow and wind. My trail was being erased pretty quickly and I was the only person on the mountain the entire time, so I didn't want to press my luck.

A note of caution: About half a mile past the turnoff with the Brown's Pass trail, there is an odd-looking lump in the trail. This is a mound of ice. I slipped and fell going up and again trying to work my way around it on my way down. I'm not sure how it formed; it was probably from an earlier melt-off. Past that section once you cross the creek again, the snow becomes deeper and the trail harder to follow. I was able to use my GPS to guide my way through the trees, but I'm pretty sure that the wind and snow took care of most of my trail on the wind-exposed areas by mid-afternoon on Saturday.

Hope you have better weather!

[hollamby]

Figures I just read a good TR and then I see your post here. The weather sure can change a lot. It looks like the people on Sunday had much much better conditions than you did. Want to head up Friday with me?

Thanks for your information