July 11, 2004, Fryingpan - Whitman Crest

Andrew Oakley (aka Androolus) and I took advantage of a sunny Sunday to give this tour a try, encouraged by favorable reports such as Amar's (http://www.turns-all-year.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=tr0307;action=display;num=1058068376) from exactly 365 days prior.
Snow started just a little above Summerland, we then booted up slopes immediately W, trying to avoid the very steepest slopes while still going up to Meany Crest. From Meany Crest on we skinned up the gentle slope of the glacier towards Whitman Crest. Crevasses immediately under the crest but none particularly near our route. A truly pleasant and gradual skinning slope with views all around. Topped out just below the Crest (around 9300), which looks big from below and is then revealed to be just a bump on the way to little T. You get a good view of little T from there, good enough to again make me wonder why anyone wants to climb that choss pile. Took about 5.5 hours up and we started down about 4 PM, until the last 500 vf nothing was really "too" soft, it was all at a nice consistency.
The E facing slope off Whitman Crest starts at maybe 30 degrees and then gradually eases to a very mild slope where you can make nice easy turns. The snow here was really nice firn that was quite smooth, except for some old tracks that made big white gopher tunnels on the snow and some occasional odd dirt depressions. A very welcome change from the all too typical July experience of bouncing between the suncups. From Meany Crest back down to Summerland the more N facing slope was nicely steep, on nonglacial snow that was a little mushy but not sluffing too bad, gradually degenerating to less than fun as we got closer to the trail. There were a few ski-offs before reaching Summerland. In that last 500 vf Andrew took a high route and I fall-lined the undercut drainage and we each had our travails reaching our approach shoes again.
This is a great tour in a scenic location, cruising flat in the middle but with more pulse racing turning to be had at either end. Snow on lower Meany Crest slopes look to be good for maybe a couple weeks yet, looks like fun turns albeit would be a long hike for just those slopes.
On the way back down we ran into a small bear on the trail, he was a timid enough fellow as soon as he saw that we had a camera (quickest way to get an animal to get out of sight, point a camera at it).
Here's the gentle slope of the lower Fryingpan heading towards Meany Crest.