Sunset Lake in Alaska Basin on July 8th, 2019
With warm temps in the valley, conditions are slowly transitioning from spring to summer in the alpine regions of Grand Teton National Park. However, climbing routes on the Grand still require ice axe, proper footwear (and potentially even crampons depending on the time of day), to safely ascend and descend from the summit. Likewise, visitors expecting dry conditions along the Teton Crest Trail may be surprised to hear that large portions of the trail such as Alaska Basin still remain primarily under snow making navigation difficult. An ice axe and possibly crampons are still needed to safely cross areas such as Hurricane Pass and Paintbrush Divide. In general, expect to find snow in shaded aspects, gullies and bowls in the high country.