Road/TH:
Road had just opened to sunrise which caused the whole park to be a mess. Instead of camping at white river we found a pretty sweet spot in the national forest. Lots of nice spots at white river, a little less busier on our way out on the 5th.
Glacier Basin Trail:
The first couple miles are very mellow and chill with only gaining ~1600 vert. We took the entire climb nice and slow to get everyone acclimated. The trail steepens up the morraine after the basin. Once hitting the rockier section there are many ways to go but we opted to veer right then head up the first snowfield at an angle. We roped up more for practice than anything. We headed up and to the left as the snow was slushy but not terrible in the late morning. Dropping from the rocks to the glacier is tricky but from camp ruth area basically drop diagonally to where you see the path we found this to be the easiest way on the way out. Once on the glacier there are two paths, go left and loop around the crevasse, you can go straight but there is a tricky bridge and no need to risk it.
Camp Schurman:
Camp Schurman was nice and we camped on the snow because a helicopter was expected which meant no camping on rocks. A bathroom and two nice rangers at the buildings. We did have to melt snow for a LONG time so be aware about that if your in a large group
Emmons-Winthrop Glacier:
We got started around 12:30 due to some group members taking a while (this would eventually hurt us). The route is pretty straightforward right now with some crevasses to jump over but nothing too sketchy. Snow is VERY slushy later in the day which caused the bootpack to be horrible at first. After the first 'ridge' it's easier to follow and gets better. There is one tricky catwalk traverse section near the top with a wide crevasse below. However, our whole group felt pretty comfortable with the ascent. We had to turn around ~500 feet below the summit due to time and other group members not feeling great.
The descent was trickier as our group moved VERY slow and caused the snow to be very slushy and dangerous along with it got very hot on the glacier (I'm pretty badly burnt). So be very careful as it gets slushy in the afternoon.
Summary:
It was a great trip but very unfortunate to turn back but it was the safe call considering how our group was doing. Just make sure you leave early from camp and everyone has the turn around time in mind. Be careful with crevasses just because it was fine on the way up doesn't mean the same on the way down. Very pretty the whole trip and we even got to see some fireworks as it was the 4th of July!
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