I see a few folks have hit up White this late season and the Barcroft gate may be open June 10th. What has the snow coverage been like this past week?

i read elsewhere that the road was open to crooked creek and closed beyond due to high drifts. what is the distance from crooked creek to the barcroft gate?

The Barcroft Team drove a snow cat to Sheep Pass last weekend and hiked the 6 miles to Barcroft from there, so no luck yet...
The website says it may be July before the road is open to the gate.

Try this link for updates.

http://www.wmrs.edu/road%20status.htm

Thanx guys, I ascertain that White is not a good choice for a day trip right now.

quit yer complaining - I know college bums that have hiked from Crooked Creek to the peak and back in a day -
or try the crest traverse - start at Campito, next to crooked creek turnoff, to sheep and Paiute and onto Barcroft where remnants of St Alfonzo's Pancake breakfast shack can still be found, past the research station is site 12,640 the highest elevation native american site in No America

yaknjorgl wrote:quit yer complaining - I know college bums that have hiked from Crooked Creek to the peak and back in a day -
or try the crest traverse - start at Campito, next to crooked creek turnoff, to sheep and Paiute and onto Barcroft where remnants of St Alfonzo's Pancake breakfast shack can still be found, past the research station is site 12,640 the highest elevation native american site in No America

Whose complaining? I'm short on time!

The highest elevation native american site in North America ? Didn't King and other 19th Century climbers report finding rock walls and other signs of native americans visits on higher Sierra summits ? Galen Rowell thought that they built by Big Sheep hunters. Are those reports all discounted ?

when I worked at the research station 1992-2000 - it was the highest-elevation recorded dwelling site in north america - meaning it was a villlage - a dozen rings and decades of living - sheep herders took them over, built up the walls and added "fences" - but this science game changes with every edition of national gepgraphic

The road is currently open as far as the Patriarch Grove intersection. There are some snow patches below Sheep Pass, no signs of plows or snowcats.

If you want a "full value" day, I would suggest the West Ridge; there's easy access to the start off of White Mountain Peak Road, about 19 miles north of Bishop on the 6.

A friend who spoke to a ranger today said the road is supposed to be open this weekend. It is probably best to check with the rangers later in the week for an update.