We left the Portal about 7:30 AM on 7/11/09. Nice hike up to Trail Camp. Set up camp and relaxed. Windy and cold which continued throughout the night. Watched the typical afternoon cloud build ups over the ridge line moving west to east then dissipating over the valley. Left trail camp around 6:30 AM next morning. Some icy patches. Outer foot or so of the trail along the cables was free of snow with some ice on the rocks. Holding the cables and supports helps except for one spot near the top end where the cable is too far away from the trail, so slow cautious foot placement was required. Watch out for nicks in the cable. Two people cut their hands. A section of the long traverse to Trail Crest was still mostly snow covered but passable on the outer side. Strong wind and very cold from Trail Crest to the summit. Glad we had jackets and gloves. A large snow patch just below the summit was well tracked and easily traversed. Left the summit about 11:00 AM. The snow is melting fast so the trail conditions should improve each day. Icy patches probably refreeze each night so caution in the AM. Most ice patches were melted upon our return trip. Lunched and packed up at Trail Camp. Reached the Portal around 5:30 PM. Overall another great time on the MT.
