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| Hiking | 12.04 Miles |
4,071 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.04 Miles | 6 Hrs 57 Mns | | 2.02 mph |
| 4,071 ft AEG | 59 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I had looked at the snowpack status for another Agassiz summit a couple of weeks ago, but the bowl was nearly barren -- fully melted out, making the peak off limits.
Last week, however, a round of storms dumped snow on San Francisco Mountain over the course of five days, and it made the timing absolutely perfect to do this one.
Plenty of "old snow" in the trees, and I finally switched to spikes at the 10,2 switchback. The old snow was melted out on the south aspect from 11,1 to 11,3, but the new snow was crunchy enough to necessitate spikes on the ascent. (On the way down it had melted and was just a muddy river in this stretch).
At the saddle I headed uphill on Weatherford. Somebody had put a set of prints up here yesterday, but otherwise virgin snow. The ridgeline cornice was holding strong though I was wary of the stability of the boundary layer between the new snow and the old snow. There were a handful of thin spots that had previously melted out and only the new snow provided cover. These spots will likely melt in the next couple of days, again closing the window for oversnow travel to the Agassiz summit.
After a short break on the Agassiz summit, I headed back down to the saddle where a handful of others were resting. Here I opted to forego my spikes as the south-facing slopes of the 151 provided plenty of options for snowfree steps. After the route turns north though, the rest of the route was covered in new snow. This was fine without spikes as it was soft and hadn't yet been packed down or frozen like the old snow below the treeline.
I enjoyed the solitude of the summit for a few minutes until a friend I ran into earlier arrived and we shared some good stories and entertainment.  After a few minutes a stereotypical trail runner showed up in short shorts and a t-shirt, wearing a pair of cotton socks on her hands that another hiker had given her after she complained about frostbite. No pack, food, water, jacket or any other appropriate clothing. Nor the sense to maybe turn around when the conditions weren't as expected. Lol. That's not what trail runners do! Did she die? 
I opted for spikes again from the saddle down to 10,2. The snow in the trees will last for a few weeks. From 11-1 and up it'll be bare before the end of the week.
Perfect day on the mountain. Glad to bag both of Arizona's 12k peaks on the same trip. I hadn't done the double before.
52 degrees to start, 46 on Agassiz, 39 on Humphreys, 58 to finish. Light breeze on the saddles and summits. Calm otherwise. And that's how I prefer my PHX 100 degree days. |
| _____________________
| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
