Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Williamson - Tyndall Conditions

Anybody out there in WPSMB land been up to Williamson and/or Tyndall recently who has a conditions update. I'm interested in the Symmes Creek crossings down low, snow conditions over Shepherd Pass, and how the West Face of Williamson and North Rib of Tyndall are looking.

Any info on the above would be great.

The snow is melting very fast. I did not climb Williamson or Tyndall, but I did go over Shepherd Pass on July 3 and July 6. The creek crossings were okay along the Shepherd Pass Trail, but you had to wade across them including the one at Anvil Camp(poles helped). There were a few snow fields to cross including one at the pass. Conditions seemed really similar to 4th of July weekend in 2005 when we climbed Williamson. Here are pictures from July 3 - 6, 2011, but remember it's melted more since these were taken:

http://kathywing.smugmug.com/California-...2181036_hRGXRvX

Was up there this last weekend. As Kathy said, the creek is running pretty high and you have to wade.
There is a log crossing at Anvil Camp now, but you have to look for it. It's slightly upstream from the trail.
Shepherds pass has tons of snow. Depending on the time of day and condition of the snow, you can boot it up/down, but when it ices up, you would probably want to use crampons.
Tyndall N. Rib requires no crampons.
Williamson chute can be done without crampons, but was safer to do with. About a 200' stretch which may have melted enough to avoid by now. I found a way around it using a chimney with an uncomfortable (for me) pucker factor.

Have fun!

I just did a trip there July 1-5. This photo gallery has pictures of all the areas you're talking about. If you have more questions feel free to ask them here or drop me an email:

Williamson/Tyndall July 1-5, 2011

Here are a few selected shots:


First creek crossing. Water up to her knees.


Shepherd Pass


Snow in the gully on the West Face route. Having an ice axe and crampons makes for easy walking. The rock on the right side will go but it's heads up for 3rd class.


The exit off the West Face that leads to the summit plateau on Mt. Williamson.


The North Rib of Tyndall.

Hi Sierra,

I attempted a dayhike of Williamson on Monday... Didn't make the summit as fatigue and altitude got the best of me =( Turned back in the middle of Willamson Bowl.

I did figure out a cool trick though: Bring a pair of Aquasocks. Put the on at the first creek crossing, then take them off after the fourth and put your hiking shoes back on. Saves 3 shoes on/off transitions. It was fast and efficient. I stashed the aquasocks in the bushes after the 4th crossing and picked them up on the way down.

There IS a log crossing just upstream from the trail at Anvil Camp.

The pass can be navigated without crampons if you walk up the scree slope to the right and meet up with the trail to the right of the large boulder that splits the snow. But you do have to cross a big patch of snow right near the top that would be scary if the snow is icy (before ~9am).

Hope that helps.

Thanks everybody. This is helpful.

Your Aqua Socks thing might be worth investigating. In looking at Kurt's photos from the link he posted above it looks like they waded the first stream crossing then hopped on rocks on the next three. The last time I had to wade a creek I used an old school method Kurt Wedberg showed me for how mountaineers used to break in their boots back in the 60s. They would put their feet in the boots with no socks and wade the creek. On the other side they would dump out the water, put on dry wool socks then put their boots back on and walk for a while. Over the course of using them on the trail they would break right in. I supposed I could do this method as well.

Looks like great conditions. I'm psyched!

Went up last weekend during the storms. The creeks are all fine and easy to cross. West Face and North Rib had minimal amounts of snow. No need for crampons or ice axe.


Shepherd Pass


Williamson & Tyndall


Going up the chute on the West Face.


Still some snow.


The chimney


Climbing the chimney


At the summit.


Black stains and chute.


Polemonium flower


Hiking up the North Rib

[img]http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hpho...9_7776713_n.jpg[/img]
At the summit

More photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a...fb1d&type=1

Trip Report: http://www.pebblecrawler.com/2011/08/trip-report-mt-williamson-mt-tyndall.html

Wow those photos are spectacular! Thank you for sharing! And congratulations on a stellar summit!