Mt San Jacinto hiking in mid-December?
 

Hi - What's the likelihood we'd encounter snow on the trails in Mid-December? We'd like to take the tram up and spend a few hours hiking, but may reconsider if there's a strong likelihood of snow.

I would contact the Tram directly for best info. You can reach them at Phone: (888) 515-TRAM (8726). I found the following on mountain-forecast.com from 2012.

Plitzkin from UNITED STATES writes:
During winter months, microspikes are the recommended carry,
with crampons for the melt-freeze conditions that happens in spring

The Trail from round valley back to the tram will melt-freeze just from the volume of snowshoers and foot traffic at any time in the winter. The trail up to Wellmans divide
often times will resemble a luge run. The Sid Davis short cut suffers the same problem.

There are three established winter routes from the tram. 1.Main trail 2. Sid Davis shortcut. Gene peak traverse Ramp to the ranger station often icy at any time in the winter.Yes you can walk the main trail to the top without microspikes or crampons but your stride will be like walking on egg shells. It is all relative to your skill level. Being safe keeps it fun.

2012-05-07