How many of ya'll needed iceaxes/ crampons?

[cboyer1212]

Just those of you that hiked a little later in the season- late may early june- Im still haveing a hard time grasping conditions in the sierras and north by late june early july

[Sly]

Of course it depends on the snowpack but by late June in normal years you should be fine without one. Check Postholer...

http://postholer.com/

[handlebar]

The main problem with a late May start nobo will be the heat in the desert. So far this year, there is very little snow in the Sierras, but, of course, that may change. +1 check Postholer. I carried an ice axe but didn't use it on the PCT in 08, even starting north from Kennedy Meadows on June 3.

[cboyer1212]

thanks ya's

[Ender]

I didn't have one (well, more accurately I missed my bounce box and didn't get it till after the High Sierras), and didn't end up needing one. But there were a couple times I would have been more comfortable having an ice axe.

[knicksin2010]

It depends on the snow pack and when you enter the Sierra. You could always wait to buy that gear online and have it shipped to a resupply spot like KM or Lone Pine.

I started May 13, 2010 and entered the Sierra a month later. I found the microspikes to be extremely useful. I didn't need to self arrest, but the ice ax helped with glissades.

[fiddlehead]

Not a bad idea to learn how to self arrest using hiking poles (collapsible ones).
I don't carry them but borrowed a friends once when we had to traverse some icy hard pack.
I slipped and they saved me.
Of course knowing how (you've got to practice, practice practice to be able to do it in different conditions)
They probably won't help much on black ice but do great in certain conditions.

I don't think I'd carry ice ax again although I did have a self arrest going up Whitney one year in early season (June 10)
Probably wouldn't have attempted the traverse that got me if I hadn't had an ice ax and knew how to use it.
I would carry a hiking pole just for traverses, fords and setting up my tarp tent.
Don't use them for walking, myself.

Remember, when traversing, carry that thing in your upper hand and sink it deep each time.
I've already saved myself just cause I could grab the bottom of it on a slip before it turned into a slide.

[Miner]

I left Kennedy Meadows on June 24th, 2009 after loosing 3 weeks for an injury near Idyllwild. I decided not to have my ice axe sent. Other then 2 minutes across the north side of Glens Pass, I never missed it. And even on Glen, the snow was soft and the footprints deep, it was more a comfort factor since a slide there is a long ways down. I never felt the need for crampons as the snow was usually soft except for my too early 9am ascent of Mather Pass, but even there the footprints were really deep so I felt sure in my footing.

[Dont Panic]

Like other people suggested, it totally depends on the year. I hiked last year, a record snow year, and was glad to have both microspikes and an iceaxe; but when I hiked in 2008, a low snow year, there was no need for either.