Me and three buddies decided to day hike on 6/11. Hit the trail a little late at 4:15 am. It was a beautiful day, sun kept peeking in and out. By the time we got to Trail Camp it was 11:30 or so, a little later than we had hoped. Hiked past Trail Camp and followed the boulder field then cut across and hit the Switchbacks. We had crampons on, but not needed for most of the switchbacks. We got within about 100 feet of the cabled switchbacks. The snow was frozen solid and a slip would have taken us about 1,000 feet down the hill. Three of us braved the slope and got across the small snow field to the first cabled switchback. This is where three of the four of us decided it was the end of our journey. We had crampons and ice axes but decided it was past our experience level. We were all 4 first timers. Snow and ice completely covered the cabled switchbacks. A guy named Jason had joined up with us and decided to go ahead with the fourth member of our group as we turned back. Turns out they made the summit and were back at camp at 7:30 pm. Looking back, most people are hiking straight up the chute to the left of the boulder field. Its all snow and ice but seems to be the way to go up, and back down as well. I wouldn't recommend the switchbacks just yet, especially for first timers like us, One guy, coming down the chute lost his footing, flipped forward on his belly and slid down the ice a ways in the chute. The ice tore through his jacket and burned several layers of skin off of his forearms. All in all it was a good experience. I hope to try again next year, maybe in August and will definitely not try the day hike again. Will spend the night on the mountain and try for the summit next day. All in all a great experience.
