Hey SPers, two of us are heading out in a couple of days, hiking in from Onion Valley and south on the JMT for a bit, then east to Shepherd Pass, Tyndall, and Williamson. I'm interested in opinions on a couple of the basics that we still haven't made decisions about:
1) Axe and crampons. If we were just going in and out from Symmes Creek, i think we'd haul 'em in just in case. But the extra miles of hiking we do the first 2 days makes me wonder if the axe and spikes are really going to be worth their weight. We can time Forrester Pass and Shepherd Pass to not need them, but i'm wondering if we'll be sorry not to have the gear while going up Williamson. I'm better on snow than on rock, so if there's 1000' of snow to go around on the west face of Williamson, i'll want to have the gear to just go up the snow.
2) Bear can. If we camp the first night somewhere south of Vidette Meadows, the 2nd night at Shepherd, and the 3rd in Williamson Bowl, do we really need a bear can? Aren't there still several bear lockers along the JMT near Vidette? And aren't Shepherd's Pass and Williamson Bowl bear-free? My old Garcia can weighs like 3 lbs, and that's a lot of miles to be carrying that extra weight.
3) Tyndall route. What i'm reading is that North Rib is "better" than the Porcella North Ridge description. If i'm a crappy climber on rock, am i still going to be happier on the North Rib, or should i just stick to the scree/talus junk on the ridge?
4) Williamson route. I've done Muir and Split, but i'm not very confident so i'm going up with the plan that i'll probably bail and let my partner summit alone. But i might give it a shot if it seems i'm on-route and nothing looks class 4 to me. I've read and seen pictures about the furthest lake, the water mark, the chute, etc., but being a baby i'm wondering if anyone has pictures with route lines or anything? I had those for Muir and they helped me a lot.
5) boots/shoes. I'm used to wearing trail runners for everything except climbs with crampons. The crampon boots i have are warm and dry but of course suck for walking 15-mile days like we'll be doing. So what i bring depends a lot on whether i need crampons, but in the end i'm wondering: boots, shoes, or both?
Thanks for any help. It sounds like i'll see lots of you up there!