Fantastic blue bird day up to Vesper Peak, with spring like conditions. This is still a viable mountaineering hike while the Mtn Loop road is open and the weather holds. Once the next precip event happens, I expect it will be done. Thanks to the men and women before us who broke trail in the snow! This is a super hard endeavor given the low mileage, so buyer beware. 

Road to TH is in good shape, 3 spots with deeper potholes, but any vehicle can make it - a Tesla Model 3 was up there when we arrived, along with a pickup. We were the only ones all day and only 2 groups of 2 went to the summit.  Unlike the previous TR indicated, the toilet was open. Biggest driving risk of the day was ice on the Mtn Loop highway in spots where the frost took hold. Be careful around those corners!

The biggest risk on the trail right now is the ice, hard snow and frozen ground. It's all very slippery, especially on those rocks and roots in the first 1.5 miles of trail. We managed OK for the most part with my partner slipping a few times but no serious damage. I on the other hand, slipped on a stump crossing the 2nd creek from the TH on the way back down and face planted into the water. Luckily, doesn't seem like any serious injuries (edit: morning after, could be a fractured wrist). Despite that, creek crossings are easily doable. Snow starts in earnest up in the valley, but luckily there's enough coverage in the boulders that it's not too hard to avoid major postholes. We put microspikes on part way up and that made travel easier for a bit, but I had a ton of snow clumping and I ended up ditching them for the day once up at Headlee Pass. The couloir up to Headlee is in decent shape. In some places lower down, the only track is straight up so that's what we did. I tried to use as many of the switchbacks as possible on the way back down. Once up past the lake, the steps thin out but still useful. Lots of places where you're going in up to your knees. On this blue sky day, the track was clear all the way to the summit. Gorgeous views all around today. We spent 30 mins on summit having lunch and drinks and taking in the views. As we were heading down, the other party was just about at the summit - I have some pics if you are reading this, just comment. 

Stats: 7.2 miles, 4280' gain, 6:40 total time, 1:15 stopped time. Mileage is slightly shorter than summer since lots of the track goes' straight up, no switchbacks. 

Gear: Mountaineering boots for warmth and kicking steps, gaiters, microspikes, poles, used ice axes up the couloir probably not 100% required, brought crampons never used. Sunglasses and sunscreen with all the snow up high. 

GPX: https://www.peakbagger.com/climber/ascent.aspx?aid=2387715

After spending 7 month on the East coast I am so happy to be back! And to reunite with PNW I chose one of my favorite hikes.

We started around 9:30am from the TH. Rivers are too shallow now and crossing them was pretty easy. Trail is snow free up to the basin. Trail to the pass was broken which made pass ascent easier. On the other side tiny few days old boot track lead us to the lake. After the lake outlet we hiked towards the peak and broke rest of the trail to the summit. Snow conditions were pretty good, mostly solid crust and 5-10 inches of slightly wet snow on top, some postholes but not much, at some spots crust was super hard and icy though. We had snowshoes but never felt we need to put them on. Summit views were awesome as always.
Total time 5:50, gear used - poles and gaiters.

more photos https://photos.app.goo.gl/FnReh4b4tKyH1YmR9

Well, I think we JUST missed our last snow-free window for the year. Half way up Headlee pass, when you start to cross the boulder field, we ran into some fresh snow. This made navigation hard since the trail is skinny as is. GPS kept us going in the right direction, but there was quite a bit of careful traversing using all fours to scramble across and up. We made it to the left Couloir where there is like 15 tight switchbacks. With the talus field being snow covered, slippery, and very steep, we decided to turn around to keep ourselves safe. We were also concerned about our dog Nelson navigating this chute. A little disappointing being so close to the open area around Frozen Lake, but safety is first and we made the best choice to turn back. 

Also, I need to warn anyone traveling up that the initial stream crossings are no joke. The water is rushing pretty quick and we had to submerge our boots on slick rocks. It's not super deep so my waterproof boots stayed dry inside, but it was sketchy crossing it. Be warned!

Even if you just hike to Headlee pass and stop there, it would absolutely be worth your while. It's is stunning there standing in the clearing looking up at Sperry, Eros, Vega, and Morning Star peaks!!!!! The snow covered tops make for a truly magical experience  

Colors are stunning! Trail in good condition. Wet and root-y in places and therefore slower than regular return trip to the car. Hornets at 1.25 miles we’re active and angry at 7am but I never saw them on the way back around 1pm. Saw maybe 10 people total. Probably about 10 cars at the TH when I departed. Fresh auto glass on the ground at the TH but all cars were intact on this day.