SummitPost.org

Hi all,

I've never done S. Fork pass. Is it one that'll be much worse for wear late season drought year? That is, given the lack of snow coverage, will it be unusually nasty? (I have a pretty high tedium threshold.)
Thanks for any useful feedback...

I would think it would be better. It tends to be nasty when the snow is thin and icy. Probably no need to touch snow now. That doesn't make it a piece of cake, but a heck of a lot better, imo.

THEGIB,
Hi,...I asked this question here about a year ago:
Southfork Pass, Palisades
I was just talking to a guy a few of days ago, who was a backcountry ranger in the Palisades (Inyo National Forest) for a couple of years, and he described that pass as 'nasty'. That seems to be the most prevalent term. It's steep, filled with loose talus, and, on the North side, empties onto a hazardously steep glacier. So, I changed my mind, and decided not to do it (I'm in my sixties and usually travel solo).

Thanks for the encouraging report BB, and thank you Obsidian for the link. I hope I'm up to (nearly) equaling Princess Buttercup's estimation.

Just to finalize; I didn't bring my brand new unused microspikes because... I'm sooo experienced I don't need 'em. Right. The approach to both right and left chutes had 3" powder (from two weeks ago) over hard ice. I could just reach to the top of the ice in the left chute, but then it was mud that didn't provide anything but a mess. Live and learn. Reminded me of trying to climb Darwin from the glacier in October many years ago and encountering the same dumb low angle slope of ice. Turns out I didn't learn a thing. Here's to next year!