Climbed Humbolt Peak this morning (4/11). Started out at 6:45am. There is a boot packed trail through the trees though it braids several times. From what I could see, all of the braided trails lead in the same general direction though. Once out of the trees, the snow was very crusty and iced over. Once past the initial snow field right out of tree line, the rest is relatively snow-free and dry. The winds picked up once we summited (12:15pm) and started to descend. The snow softened up nicely on our way down but was still firm enough for us to have to use spikes for the descent. Once back in the trees, I used snowshoes but my partner Tara didn't. Some sections in the trees were so steep that I had 'snowshoe glissade' so to say! I probably would not have gone through the effort of hauling snowshoes up/wearing the down. Though the snow didn't soften nearly as much because it was overcast for most of the day. I could definitely see snowshoes coming in handy for a warmer day.
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